Speaker: Shouyue Zhang, Ph.D, postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Jun-Jie Gogo Liu's lab at the School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University

Time: 13:30-14:30 p.m., Aug 20, 2024, GMT+8

Venue: Rm 311, Jinguang Building, PKU

Abstract: 

This seminar focuses on uncovering the structural co-evolution trend of protein and RNA systems and their applications in gene editing. The development of Structural Growth Trajectory (SGT) analysis has unveiled the evolutionary pathways of Cas9 proteins and highlighted the role of novel associated genes (NAGs) in enhancing Cas9 activities. This research also introduced the Pro-CRISPR proteins, providing insights into the genetic interactions between bacteria and phages. Additionally, the seminar will cover the creation of the HYER system, an RNA-only gene editing platform with significant DNA cleavage activity, and its structural optimization. In the Future, by tracing molecular evolution and using Al-based generation, we aim to expand RNA-based macromolecular tools for synthetic biology and therapeutic applications.

Source: School of Physics, PKU