Mura Lab
at the University of Virginia
Welcome...
The Mura Lab seeks a deeper understanding of the structure, function/dynamics, and evolution of RNA– and DNA–based protein assemblies. In particular, we are currently investigating ribonucleoprotein (RNP) assemblies built upon a scaffold of Sm proteins, such as the Sm-like archaeal protein ('SmAP') shown at left, as part of efforts to elucidate long-term questions such as — What these protein•••RNA complexes look like at atomic resolution (structure), their assembly pathways and dynamical behavior (function), and the interrelationships between Sm and Sm-like systems from the Archaeal, Bacterial, and Eukaryotic domains of life (evolution). Pursuit of this work is necessarily highly interdisciplinary, employing both experimental techniques (e.g., wet-lab biochemistry and crystallography) as well as computational methodologies (e.g., bioinformatics, MD simulations, etc.)