WILLIAM DARNELL GRAHAM
LABORATORY RESEARCH SPECIALIST
LABORATORY MANAGER

The chemical synthesis of RNA requires stringent application of purification and analyses. The techniques we employ are multifaceted and include: Ion-exchange HPLC under denaturing condition; polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under denaturing conditions, and native conditions; ultraviolet, circular dichroism, and mass spectral analyses.

Analyses of modification-dependent structure/function relationships are accomplished by determining the contributions of RNA modifications to both RNA structure and to the binding of metal ions, antibiotics and proteins (peptides). These approaches require the use of UV-monitored thermal denaturations, CD, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). In addition, the lab uses isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) and spectrafluorimetry. The appropriate instruments are housed in Dr. Agris' lab and are available to other labs' studying RNA.

Personal research efforts are conducted in collaboration with other members of the lab and include: Human mitochondrial tRNA mutations; Aminoglycoside antibiotic binding of ribosomal RNAs; Peptide interactions with tRNA modifications.

PUBLICATIONS