Peter B. Moore

EUGENE HIGGINS PROFESSOR OF CHEMISTRY
Born 1939; B.S. Yale University 1961; Ph.D. Harvard 1966; Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute de Biologie Moleculaire, Geneva, Switzerland 1966-67; Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, U.K. 1967-69;Joined Yale Faculty 1969; Guggenhim Fellow, University Of Oxford, UK 1979-80; Elected to the National Academy of Sciences 1997.

Research

Even though the importance of RNA in gene expression has long been appreciated, relatively little is known about RNA structure and function. Thus RNA structure determination is an attractive research area for a biophysical group interested in gene expression. Over the years we have focussed on a ribonucleoprotein particle called the ribosome, which catalyzes the formation of peptide bonds during protein synthesis. In addition to being interesting for its own sake, the ribosome is a system in which general questions about RNA structure and function can be addressed.

Recently, the group has been involved in the determination of RNA structures by NMR. It has also been investigating components of the gene expression system by X-ray crystallography. Advances in spectroscopic technology and isotopic labeling techniques have gradually raised the size limit of RNAs that can be addressed to about 20,000, and the number of biologically significant RNA structure/function problems accessible by NMR has expanded significantly. Among the RNA/ribonucleoprotein systems now being investigated by NMR are: the helix II-III arm of bacterial 5S rRNA, the loop E arm of chloroplast 5S rRNA, and complexes of L18 and L25 with 5S rRNA. The large ribosomal subunit (MW~ 1,500,000) is the principle target of our crystallographic efforts. The structure of the large ribosomal subunit from H. marismortui has been solved to 9 A resolution, and electron density maps of significantly higher resolution should emerge shortly.

Recent Publications

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