Identify this molecule. You need to describe what you see as accurately as possible and name the species from which this protein was purified. I don't think any of you can do it without a hint so here's a clue.1There's a direct connection between today's "molecule" and a Nobel Prize. I'm looking for the person(s) who discovered the molecule as won the Nobel Prize for the discovery.
The first one to correctly identify the molecule and name the Nobel Laureate(s), wins a free lunch at the Faculty Club. Previous winners are ineligible for one month from the time they first collected the prize. There are four ineligible candidates for this week's reward. You know who you are.
THEME:
Nobel Laureates
Send your guess to Sandwalk (sandwalk (at) bioinfo.med.utoronto.ca) and I'll pick the first email message that correctly identifies the "molecule" and names the Nobel Laureate(s). Note that I'm not going to repeat Nobel Laureate(s) so you might want to check the list of previous Sandwalk postings by clicking on the link in the theme box.
Correct responses will be posted tomorrow. I reserve the right to select multiple winners if several people get it right.
UPDATE: Alex Ling of University of Toronto is this week's winner. We was able to identify the PDB file as 1whu, part of the structure of polynucleotide phosphorylase from Mus musculis (mouse). Once you've identified the enzyme the Nobel Laureate is obvious: it's Severo Ochoa. Congratulations Alex, I now owe you two lunches.
1. It is NOT the flying spaghetti monster. GSSGSSGPQKIFTPSAEIVK YTKIIAMEKLYAVFTDYEHD KVSRDEAVNKIRLDTEEHLK EKFPEVDQFEIIESFNIVAK EVFRSIILNEYKRCDGRDSG PSSG
Some off-the-beaten-track discussion of polynucleotide phosphorylase may be found here.
ReplyDeleteTypo, probably. The PDB is 1WHU, not 1who (which is some pollen-specific allergen).
ReplyDelete