The overarching goal of my research program is to understand the system of inter- and intra-molecular interactions that dynamically regulate the catalytic mechanisms of enzymes to precisely time the events of the cell cycle. We employ a hybrid technological approach, including enzyme kinetics, mutagenesis, X-ray crystallography, NMR spectroscopy, and cryo-EM, to characterize these molecular machines. Our results provide mechanistic insight into the cell cycle that will influence the drug design of cancer therapeutics.
In the video the gray blob with eyes is the APC/C. The car speeds along with the three protein complexes that are working together as fast as they can to reach the finish line and complete mitosis. ~Animation by Alejandro R. Martinez Chacin.
Martinez-Chacin RC et al. Ubiquitin chain-elongating enzyme UBE2S activates the RING E3 ligase APC/C for substrate priming. Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2020 Jun;27(6):550-560.