Partner 4
Short name: IPM
Principal Investigator: Dr A. Buschiazzo, Institut Pasteur of Montevideo
Host Institution. The Pasteur Institute of Montevideo is a private non-profit foundation whose main fields of activities are research, education and technology transfer. The Institute is a member of the international network of Pasteur Institutes. The IPM has been launched recently in Montevideo (Uruguay) and is rapidly consolidating a highly innovative profile, strongly focused on high impact scientific research. It currently counts 8 core facilities with particular strengths in protein science and molecular biology, analytical biochemistry and mass spectrometry, state-of-the-art protein crystallography, protein biophysics, transcriptomics, among others. Highly dynamic teams of young scientists are being appointed, with a particular interest in molecular mechanisms of relevant cell processes.
Dr. Alejandro Buschiazzo obtained his PhD in Chemistry in 1999 from the University of Buenos Aires at the Instituto Luis F Leloir, working in the laboratory of Prof Alberto Frasch on structure/functional studies of sialidases from Trypanosomatidae parasites. After 4 years of postdoctoral training at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, working on protein crystallography of trypanosomal proteins involved in parasite/host interactions in the laboratory of Prof. P. Alzari, he obtained a position as staff scientist in the Unit of Structural Biochemistry. In 2006 he was commissioned to launch a Protein Crystallography laboratory, under a double appointment at the Pasteur Institute of Montevideo. As head of the laboratory, he has developed his independent research program interested on the understanding of protein function at the molecular level. His work lies on the interface between biology, chemistry and physics, looking at proteins as moderately flexible three-dimensional objects. Protein X ray crystallography in combination with biochemistry and molecular biology constitute the core of his experimental methods. Special attention is given to the study of carbohydrate processing enzymes, particularly those that perform key roles in pathological phenomena. His central line of research in Montevideo is the study of protein-protein complexes involved in signal transduction and transcriptional regulation in bacteria (Schujman et al. 2006).
Other scientists implicated:
H. Botti Research Assistant, Protein Crystallography, Lab Manager
F. Trajtenberg PhD Student, Structure Determination & Refinement
PhD to be appointed Protein crystallization, X ray data collection
Selected Publications :
-
Buschiazzo A, Goytia M, Schaeffer F, Degrave W, Shepard W, Gregoire C, Chamond N, Cosson A, Berneman A, Coatnoan N, Alzari PM, Minoprio P. 2006 Crystal structure, catalytic mechanism, and mitogenic properties of Trypanosoma cruzi proline racemase Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 103:1705-10
-
Watts AG, Oppezzo P, Withers SG, Alzari PM, Buschiazzo A. 2006 Structural and kinetic analysis of two covalent sialosyl-enzyme intermediates on Trypanosoma rangeli sialidase J Biol Chem 281:4149-55
-
Schujman GE, Guerin M, Buschiazzo A, Schaeffer F, Llarrull LI, Reh G, Vila AJ, Alzari PM, de Mendoza D. 2006 Structural basis of lipid biosynthesis regulation in Gram-positive bacteria. EMBO J 25:4074-83
-
Buschiazzo A, Ugalde JE, Guerin ME, Shepard W, Ugalde RA, Alzari PM. 2004 Crystal structure of glycogen synthase: homologous enzymes catalyze glycogen synthesis and degradation. EMBO J 23:3196-205
-
Buschiazzo A, Amaya MF, Cremona ML, Frasch AC, Alzari PM. 2002 The crystal structure and mode of action of trans-sialidase, a key enzyme in Trypanosoma cruzi pathogenesis. Mol Cell 10:757-68
|
