ONGOING COLLABORATIONS

The Fournier Laboratory
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
University of Massachusetts, Amherst MA

      We have a long standing collaboration with Skip Fournier's lab investigating box C/D snoRNP structure and function. Most recently, this collaboration has demonstrated the essential nature of the yeast box C/D snoRNP accessory proteins p50 and p55 for snoRNP biogenesis.

The Brown Laboratory
Department of Chemistry
Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC

     We are collaborating with Bernie Brown's lab to examine the physical structure and architecture of the box C/D RNP complex. Most recently, the crystal structure of the archaeal box C/D RNP core protein L7 has been solved and current work is determining the fine structure of the box C/D and C'/D' motifs complexed with this same core protein.

The Gupta Laboratory
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL

     We have recently initiated a collaboration with Ramesh Gupta's lab examining the role of the archaeal box C/D core proteins in cis methylation of archaeal tRNA. Site-specific 2'-O-methylation of two designate tRNA nucleotides within the archaeal Trp tRNA is guided by box C/D motifs located within the intron of the Trp tRNA precursor.