Project description
Studying flexible protein interactions with new nuclear magnetic resonance methods
Understanding how proteins interact remains a major challenge in molecular biology, rendering it difficult to explain many essential cellular processes. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the 2FNMR4MInDer project is designing a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) methodology to overcome current limitations in studying dynamic, weakly structured protein interactions, especially those involving intrinsically disordered regions. It combines measurements at two magnetic fields and exploits complementary properties of fluorine-19 and carbon-13 signals, and it enhances resolution and sensitivity for systems that are normally difficult to observe due to signal broadening. The project’s goal is to better understand how partially disordered proteins function in key biological processes such as transcription, while also advancing NMR technology more broadly.
Objective
Interactions of biomolecules are essential for all molecular processes of life. Biomolecules interact dynamically, constantly changing their conformational ensembles to adapt to stimuli and carry out their functions. Protein interactions often involve intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs), which are challenging targets for traditional methods like X-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy). Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) excels at capturing molecular dynamics experimentally and characterizing IDRs with atomic-resolution. However, interacting IDRs suffer from signal broadening from conformational exchange, particularly when the interface retains a degree of disorder, often preventing NMR analysis. We need new methods to investigate these interactions. To address this, we introduce two-field TROSY NMR, a new methodology that leverages a world-unique prototype NMR spectrometer with two magnetic centers. This approach combines the favorable characteristics of two nuclei fluorine-19 and carbon-13 at two fields (1.88 and 14.1 T): narrower and more intense signals at low field for fluorine-19, combined with signal detection at high field for optimal relaxation of carbon-13 nuclei (less sensitive to chemical exchange broadening), ensuring high resolution and sensitivity. This new ability to observe 13C19F pairs on aromatic side chains will allow us to determine conformational properties of weakly folded states and reveal subtle conformational changes in IDPs, crucial for understanding biological processes like transcription. We will apply this method to investigate the interactions between the hub RST domain from Radical-Induced Cell Death1 and three transcription factors partners, which explore the conformational disorder-order continuum. This project will be a breakthrough for NMR methodology and instrumentation, opening a new era for the investigation of weakly folded systems and provide fundamental new insights on the molecular processes of transcription.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences geology mineralogy crystallography
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- natural sciences physical sciences optics microscopy
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Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
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Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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75230 Paris
France
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