GSSIMR Predoctoral Researcher Xingyu Liu and collaborators have developed an approach that integrates several technologies to build detailed structural models of protein complexes, which are made up of multiple proteins that assemble and work together to perform a biological function.

By figuring out the 3D structures of protein complexes, researchers can uncover details about how the proteins interact with each other and how these interactions may impact specific functional regions, or domains, of each protein.

These findings, which were recently published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, can help researchers understand how protein complexes function normally and how certain mutations or cellular states might alter protein complex structure and function, potentially leading to unhealthy conditions or disease.

This research, conducted in the Washburn Lab, was a collaboration with the Workman Lab as well as the Microscopy and Proteomics teams at Stowers. Liu successfully defended her thesis in early November.

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