Xiaomeng Lu

Extension of PolyQ and PolyA work

The striking differences between polyQ and polyA peptides are studied in our previous work. How would polyN behave? We will compare the self-assembly properties of polyN and polyQ peptides. Also, we will synthesize peptides with different flanking residues, namely Dab-polyN/Q, Ornithine-polyN/Q and Lysine-polyN/Q to see the effect of different lengths of flanking residues in peptides self-assembly.  We will explore the roles of flanking residues and side chain length in oligomer formation and oligomer to fibril transition.

I will also develop an experimental database to validate, challenge, and refine theoretical models of self-assembly of low-complexity polyalanine peptides. We will synthesize several polyalanine peptides of varying composition and sequence to compare, qualitatively and quantitatively, experimental data to theoretical predictions and suggest modifications to the theory to bring it more in line with experimental results.