Zishuo I. Hu

2nd Year Medical Student

Department: School of Medicine

Graduate Program: TBD

Advisor: TBD

Abstract (rotation):

Title:  Role of SmpB in Bacterial Translation Quality Control

Advisor: Dr. Wali Karzai, Dept. of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Stony Brook University

Small protein B (SmpB) is a required element in quality control of bacterial translation. Current questions involve the exact mechanism and involvement of SmpB in rescuing stalled ribosomes. SmpB forms a complex with SsrA RNA to facilitate this process. Previous efforts have shown that amino acids Glu-31, Leu-91, and Lys-124 of SmpB protein are conserved through bacterial species and suggest their role in SsrA and SmpB binding. Ongoing investigations are examining the specific amino acid residues in SsrA and SmpB needed for binding activity through PCR mutagenesis and analysis of purified protein.