Seminar “Chaperones drive proteins and RNA away from the control of thermodynamic equilibrium”

Date

Wednesday, 19 October 2016

Time

12:00 am

Place

University of Barcelona
Faculty of Physics Building
Room 3.20, 3rd floor 

Speaker

Dr Paolo de los Rios, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (Switzerland)

Abstract

After synthesis, proteins and RNA in the cell must reliably find their functional states. It is usually believed that these states also correspond to the the minimum of their free energies, thus ensuring their thermodynamic stability. Yet, the necessity for biopolymers to be easily “manipulated” during different cellular processes requires that their stability can only be marginal. How can then they reliably populate their functional states, especially in the presence of ever changing environmental conditions?

Here we bring theoretical arguments and experimental proofs that the action of (protein and RNA) chaperone proteins, regulated by ATP hydrolysis (an external energy source) can maintain biological polymers in states that are not the most thermodynamically favorable ones. In particular, the native state of proteins can be preserved even in denaturing conditions.

We are going to discuss, from a broader perspective, the consequences for our present understanding of the molecular state of the cell, for protein and RNA homeostasis and for molecular evolution more in general.