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Faculty
Jamie Williamson
DEAN, GRAD & POSTDOC STUDIES
Dean of Graduate Studies
RESEARCH ADMI
TSRI - 1998
Joint Appointments CHEMISTRY
The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology
Education
B.S. Mount Union College, 1981
Ph.D., Stanford University, 1988
Awards & Activities
Editorial Board for Journal of Magnetic Resonance, Chemistry and Biology, ACS Chemical Biology, Annual Reviews of Biophyics and Biomolecular Structure, and RNA
Research Focus
RNA Structure and RNP-Assembly
The goal of my research program is to understand the structural role of RNA in mediating its many biological functions. We are interested in the 3-dimensional architecture of RNA, recognition of RNA by proteins, and the process by which RNAs fold into their complex structures. Experimentally, we apply a wide range of biochemical and biophysical methods to characterize specific model systems to obtain insights into how RNA structure contributes to RNA function.
Two of the most powerful methods we use are NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. Structural information is extremely important in understanding biological function, but it is even more powerful in combination with biochemical and thermodynamic information. For each of the systems that we study, we also use binding assays and calorimetry to analyze the binding energetics of wild-type and mutant complexes.
In order to effectively apply NMR to the structure determination of RNAs and RNA-protein complexes, there are several obstacles that must be overcome. We have developed flexible methods for the selective incorporation of 13C, 2H, and 15N-labels into RNA, which can be used to design novel NMR experiments to access important new structural information.
We are also studying the structure and dynamics involved in assembly of RNPs, in particular the assembly of the 30S ribosomal subunit. We have identified a series of intermediates in the assembly of the 30S central domain, and we have characterized the conformational changes and protein binding events during assembly using transient electric birefringence, solution fluorescence, and single molecule fluorescence.
Selected References
Megan Trevathan Talkington, Gary Siuzdak, and James R. Williamson, "Assembly Landscape of the 30S Ribosomal Subunit", Nature 438, 628-632 (2005).
Jeffrey A. Chao, June Hyung Lee, Brian R. Chapados, Erik W. Debler, Anette Schneeman, and James R. Williamson, "Dual Modes of RNA Silencing Suppression by Flock House Virus Protein B2", Nat. Struct. Mol. Biol. 12, 952-957 (2005)
Sean P. Ryder, Leah A. Frater, Dana L. Abramowitz, Elizabeth B. Goodwin, and James R. Williamson, "RNA target specificity of the STAR/GSG domain post-transcriptional regulatory protein GLD-1", Nature Structural and Molecular Biology 11, 20-28 (2004).
Sultan C. Agalarov, G. Sridhar Prasad, Peter M. Funke, C. David Stout, and James R. Williamson "Structure of the S15, S6, S18-rRNA Complex:Assembly of the 30 S Ribosome Central Domain", Science 288,107-112 (2000).
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