Methods for Studying Nucleic Acid Metabolizing Enzymes

TOPICAL COLLECTIONS

Guest Editor

Somenath Roy Chowdhury

School of Biomedical Sciences, Galgotias University, Greater Noida

Dr. Somenath Roy Chowdhury started his academic career with a BTech in Biotechnology from The West Bengal University of Technology (WBUT), presently known as Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology (MAKAUT). After BTech, he worked as a Junior Research Fellow at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur in an industry-academia collaborative project between IIT, Kharagpur, and ONGC, New Delhi. Later, he joined the Infectious Diseases & Immunology Division, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata for his doctoral studies. He worked to develop topoisomerase-targeted compounds for antileishmanial and anticancer applications. He did a brief postdoc in the same Institute as a CSIR-Research Associate. He elucidated the functional interplay between TDP1 and MRE11, two DNA damage repair proteins, in Leishmania donovani. He received The National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI) - Young Scientist Platinum Jubilee Award (2020) for his contributions in biological research. He is a recipient of many National & International Awards like CNPq-Brazilian National Visiting Fellowship (2016), the “Special Research Achievement Award” by CSIR-IICB (2018), the EMBO-Travel Grant (2019), “Professional Enhancement Grant” by TATA-Education & Development Trust (2019) and many more. In 2021, he received the very prestigious Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship and worked at the Institute of Physical Chemistry, Universität Münster (Formerly, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität-Münster, Germany), in the field of single-molecule biophysics. To date, he has sixteen International publications. Dr. Roy Chowdhury has also filed an Indian patent. Apart from academic interests, he is formally trained in Indian Classical Music and ‘Rabindrasangeet’.

Collection Overview

For the survival of a species, a precise and robust metabolism of nucleic acids is essential. Nucleic acid metabolism encompasses a wide range of reactions from diverse biochemical backgrounds. The field of nucleic acid research has expanded multidimensionally, starting from the early identification of DNA by Swiss biochemist Friedrich Miescher in 1869, predating the Watson-Crick Model in 1950.

Studying nucleic acid metabolizing enzymes has involved biochemical assays and crystallography techniques. Recent advancements in single-molecule techniques have allowed for a mechanistic understanding of these enzymes at the resolution of individual molecules, reaching new heights. Techniques such as single-molecule FRET using total internal reflection microscopy, magnetic tweezers, and DNA curtain analysis have significantly contributed to the real-time tracking of enzyme dynamics.

Moreover, the emergence of modern DNA manipulation tools, exemplified by TALENs and CRISPR/Cas systems, has opened up new avenues of research. These tools have already paved the way for targeted gene engineering to benefit human welfare, including combatting deadly diseases.

Building upon the significant progress in the field, this Methods Collection aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of techniques and methods used to study various nucleic acid metabolizing enzymes, such as topoisomerase, helicases, etc. These enzymes work together to ensure the successful metabolism of DNA and RNA within cells, safeguarding genomic integrity. Overall, this collection serves as a valuable resource for following and comprehending the diverse techniques employed to study enzymes involved in nucleic acid metabolism.