Dear All

It is my pleasure to invite you to a Nencki Institute Seminar, which will take place on Thursday, April 30th, at 3 pm in the CN Lecture Hall. We will host Dr. Tomasz Włodarski from the Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences (IBB PAN). Dr. Włodarski is a computational biophysicist whose research focuses on co-translational protein folding and the role of the ribosome in shaping nascent protein structure. He is currently a Research Associate in the Department of Bioinformatics at IBB PAN in Warsaw.

Dr. Włodarski will give a lecture entitled: Co-translational protein folding in the light of ribosome evolution

Abstract

In the cell, proteins begin to fold co-translationally as they emerge from the ribosome's exit tunnel during biosynthesis. This process is fundamental to cellular homeostasis; disruptions can drive protein misfolding, which is implicated in severe pathologies including cystic fibrosis, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, and a wide spectrum of protein aggregation diseases. Despite its critical importance, co-translational folding (co-TF) remains poorly understood, as capturing high-resolution structural data using experimental methods alone is a significant challenge. Consequently, integrating accurate computational techniques with experimental data is crucial. Furthermore, because most of our current understanding stems from E. coli, there is a significant knowledge gap regarding evolutionary variations in ribosome structure and their impact on co-TF. In my presentation, I will describe an integrative structural biology approach to study co-TF, combining molecular dynamics (MD) simulations with structural restraints from NMR data and cryo-EM maps. I will also demonstrate how we can use bioinformatics and MD simulations to analyse ribosome heterogeneity and its influence on nascent chain pathways inside the ribosomal tunnel. Ultimately, this research sheds light on the intricate dynamics of co-TF and paves the way for a deeper understanding of how evolutionary variations in the ribosome shape protein folding across different organisms.

Following the seminar, we warmly invite you to join us for an informal get-together with the speaker.

With best wishes,
Aleksandra Pękowska