Structural Biology & Biophysics Facility

Overview

The Structural Biology and Biophysics Facility is a University of Rochester research resource located within the Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics. Our goal is to provide non-specialist and specialist users with access to biophysical instrumentation designed to:

• Determine macromolecular structures by X-ray crystallography
• Quantitatively characterize biomolecular interactions

Learn more about our Services and User Fees.

The facility features the following equipment:

1. Bruker AXS X8 Prospector Ultra microfocus IµS sealed-tube X-ray generator
2. Mosquito crystallization robot (TTP LabTech) or high-throughput, nanoliter-scale crystallization experiments
3. Microscopes for crystal viewing
4. Computers and software for structure determination and graphics
5. Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) DynaPro Plate Reader II (Wyatt Technologies)
6. BIAcore T200 for automated surface plasmon resonance (SPR)
7. Vitrobot Mark IV (Thermo Fisher) for preparation of vitrified sample grids for Cryo-EM
8. Fluoromax-4 fluorimeter then renumber 8-11 to 9-12
9. ÄKTA Pure modular chromatography system
10. JASCO J-1100 Circular Dichroism (CD) spectrometer
11. Avestin EmulsiFlex-C3 Homogenizer
12. GloQube (Quorum Technologies) discharge system

Staff

Dr. Jermaine Jenkins is the Facility Manager who is available to train individuals in the use of core instruments. He can also assist with experimental design and data interpretation. Dr. Jenkins reports to the Executive Directors of the facility, Profs. Joseph Wedekind and Clara Kielkopf. Operation of the Facility is overseen by a steering committee comprised of local scientists.

Recent Facility Publications

• Srivastava Y, Blau ME, Jenkins JL, Wedekind JE. Full-Length NAD(+)-I Riboswitches Bind a Single Cofactor but Cannot Discriminate against Adenosine Triphosphate. Biochemistry. 2023 Dec 5;62(23):3396-3410. PubMed PMID: 37947391; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10702441.
• Schroeder GM, Kiliushik D, Jenkins JL, Wedekind JE. Structure and function analysis of a type III preQ(1)-I riboswitch from Escherichia coli reveals direct metabolite sensing by the Shine-Dalgarno sequence. J Biol Chem. 2023 Oct;299(10):105208.  PubMed PMID: 37660906; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10622847.
• Schroeder GM, Akinyemi O, Malik J, Focht CM, Pritchett EM, Baker CD, McSally JP, Jenkins JL, Mathews DH, Wedekind JE. A riboswitch separated from its ribosome-binding site still regulates translation. Nucleic Acids Res. 2023 Mar 21;51(5):2464-2484. PubMed PMID: 36762498; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10018353.
• Sparks RP, Arango AS, Starr ML, Aboff ZL, Hurst LR, Rivera-Kohr DA, Zhang C, Harnden KA, Jenkins JL, Guida WC, Tajkhorshid E, Fratti RA. Correction: A small-molecule competitive inhibitor of phosphatidic acid binding by the AAA+ protein NSF/Sec18 blocks the SNARE-priming stage of vacuole fusion. J Biol Chem. 2022 Nov;298(11):102576.  PubMed PMID: 36257250; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9579040.
• Galardi JW, Bela VN, Jeffery N, He X, Glasser E, Loerch S, Jenkins JL, Pulvino MJ, Boutz PL, Kielkopf CL. A UHM-ULM interface with unusual structural features contributes to U2AF2 and SF3B1 association for pre-mRNA splicing. J Biol Chem. 2022 Aug;298(8):102224.  PubMed PMID: 35780835; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9364107.
• Glasser E, Maji D, Biancon G, Puthenpeedikakkal AMK, Cavender CE, Tebaldi T, Jenkins JL, Mathews DH, Halene S, Kielkopf CL. Pre-mRNA splicing factor U2AF2 recognizes distinct conformations of nucleotide variants at the center of the pre-mRNA splice site signal. Nucleic Acids Res. 2022 May 20;50(9):5299-5312.  PubMed PMID: 35524551; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9128377.

​See all publications »

Publications resulting from the use of instrumentation should reference support from NIH NCRR grants 1S10 RR026501 and 1S10 RR027241, as well as NIH NIAID P30 AI078498 and the University of Rochester SMD.