Wayne Anderson, PhD
Professor
Department of Molecular Pharmacology & Biological Chemistry
To contact Dr. Anderson:
Office: Ward 8-262, (312) 503-1697
Lab: Ward 8-264, (312) 503-0813
email: wf-anderson@northwestern.edu
Dr. Anderson's website
PubMed
Reference Lookup
Research Interests:
The interactions of proteins with nucleic acids, other proteins and small
molecule ligands are central to the molecular basis of genetics. A molecular
understanding of these interactions requires a knowledge of both three dimensional
structures and biological functions of the molecules involved.
One area of work in the laboratory of Wayne Anderson is in protein-nucleic
acid interactions and their roles in biological processes. Research is aimed
at determining how protein-nucleic acid interactions affect the accuracy of
replication and the consequences of DNA modification by mutagens and carcinogens.
They have recently determined the structure of the E. coli DNA polymerase
II, which is related to the human replicative polymerases. The crystal structure
has revealed the arrangement of the polymerase and proofreading exonuclease
active sites. The structure suggests how the enzyme binds DNA and further
work will provide information on the mechanisms that contribute to the fidelity
of replication.
Genome sequencing projects are producing a large database
of sequence information. The next logical step in this process is determination
of the biochemical functions and the structures of the encoded proteins. For
many proteins sequence comparisons can identify a family of related proteins
and allow tentative assignment of function. However, a large number of proteins
are left with no known function. Our aim is determining the structures of
selected proteins that are conserved in a wide range of species but belong
to protein sequence families that have no structurally characterized members.
This will help complete the catalog of protein structures as well as provide
important information for functional studies. It is not surprising that many
of these proteins are involved in the maintenance or regulation of expression
of the genetic material.