​Chinese scientist maps important genetic machine

By Park Sae-jin Posted : September 1, 2015, 16:07 Updated : September 1, 2015, 16:07
Chinese scientists have made a monumental breakthrough in understanding the structure and mechanism of the spliceosome, arguably the most complex macromolecular machine in genetics.

Shi Yigong, dean of the School of Life Sciences at Tsinghua University, announced the findings following the publication of two papers in the U.S. journal Science.

Shi's lab used the latest cryo-EM technology, which is used to study the architecture of cells, to map the structure of the spliceosome at atomic resolution. His findings improved the resolution by almost eight times, he said.

"Mapping spliceosome has been extremely difficult because it is very dynamic, and exists in a series of distinct conformations, with different components," Shi said.

By Ruchi Singh
기사 이미지 확대 보기
닫기