Almost every single process inside the cell involves the interaction of a protein and a DNA molecule. In this talk, I will discuss some of my work in the area of protein-DNA interactions. First, I will show how novel biophysical techniques, like the laser induced temperature-jump spectroscopy combined with fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), can be applied to measure the dynamics of a sequence-specific DNA-bending protein during its interaction with DNA. This study provides an insight into the mechanistic question of how proteins recognize their specific binding sites on DNA. It is known chromatin must be altered to facilitate replication, transcription and repair inside the cell. ATP-dependent chromatin-remodeling factors are among the different regulators of chromatin, but the remodeling mechanism is not well understood. In the second part of my talk, I will show how single molecule magnetic tweezers experiments can be applied to gain a mechanistic understanding of the process. These novel biophysics methods can overcome some of the limitations faced by conventional biochemistry approaches and open a new window to explore complex biological processes.
