Dr. Bonnie Murphy

Titel: Understanding redox protein mechanism through structure

Redox proteins carry out sophisticated reactions that shape our bodies, our planets and our climate. Understanding how these proteins work depends on an atomic-level understanding not only of the protein structure, but of structural changes associated with reduction and oxidation processes. As our group has worked toward understanding the structure and function of various redox proteins, we have brought together a set of tools for better assessing redox-dependent structural changes by single-particle cryo-EM. We have applied this toolkit to understand complexes including a hydrogen-producing ancestor of respiratory complex I and an electron-bifurcating, CO₂-fixing megacomplex from methanogens. In line with our interest in the essential role of metals in the function and regulation of complexes, another project in the lab aims to address the lack of spatially-resolved elemental identification in single-particle cryo-EM by bringing together well-established principles in analytical electron microscopy and cryo-EM.