Sangjin Kim, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign

Bacterial cell biology of gene expression

Abstract:

Because bacterial cells do not have a nucleus that separates transcription from mRNA degradation, mRNAs can even be degraded during transcription. In our recent work, we studied how transcription, translation, and mRNA degradation are coordinated during the life cycle of an mRNA and found certain rules that may explain the genome-wide and cross-species differences in mRNA regulation. This finding has important implications for gene regulation in bacteria as well as other systems lacking membrane-bound compartmentalization. In the second part of my talk, I will talk about our on-going work on the physical properties of the bacterial cytoplasm and chromosome dynamics. 

Speaker: Sangjin Kim, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign

I obtained my Ph.D. in chemistry at Harvard University, working in Professor Sunney Xie's group. I used in vitro single molecule assays to study DNA-protein interactions. For my postdoc, I wanted to learn more biology and cell imaging, so I joined Professor Christine Jacobs-Wagner's group at Yale University to study gene regulation in bacteria. I started my own group at UIUC in 2019, and my group studies diverse topics in bacteria, including gene regulation, chromosome dynamics, and physical properties of the cytoplasm. 

Host: Arpita Upadhyaya

Seminars start at 4:00 pm, and refreshments will be served at 3:45 pm. All seminars are held in the Conference Room (1116) of the Institute for Physical Science and Technology (IPST) Building (Bldg #085) unless otherwise noted.