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	2002 Fellow			Luis G. Brieba de Castro, Ph.D. Bioquimica CINVESTAV Av. Instituto Politécnico Nacional No. 2508 Col. San Pedro Zacatenco C.P. 07360 México, D.F. Mexico Tel: (52) (55) 5061-3800 Ext. 5213 Fax: (52) (55) 5061-3391 Email: lgbrieba@cinvestav.mx

Country: MEXICO

Field: Structure-function of DNA binding proteins.

Research Interest: DNA replication is a dynamical, multitask and orchestrated reaction carry out by a conserved macromolecular assemblage dubbed the replisome. The bacteriophage T7 has the simplest of all replisomes, since it only contains 4 proteins: a T7 DNA polymerase-thioredoxin polymerization complex, a single stranded DNA binding protein, and a bifunctional primase-helicase protein. Although the crystal structures of the individual T7 replisome proteins have been solved, the interactions that coordinate it replication are unknown. In order to start to understand the higher replisome assembly organization, I plan to perform crystallographic studies of the primosome subassembly. This subassembly is necessary for the T7 primase-helicase primer hand off to the replicative T7 DNA polymerase during the synthesis of each Okasaki fragment at the lagging strand. This project has foundations in an engineered monomeric primase-helicase constructed by Dr. Masato Kato that is able to form a stable primosome and therefore suitable for crystallographic studies.