January 10, 2008 

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The editors of Nature, an international weekly journal of science, cited two papers authored by a UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) scientist as among the top research studies published in the journal in 2007. Dmitry Vassylyev, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry and molecular genetics, published two papers on the role of RNA polymerase in antibiotic resistance.

The journal editors said Vassylyev’s papers, published in the July 12 edition of Nature, were “in the classic mold of structural biology”.

“This is a high honor for Dr. Vassylyev and for UAB,” said Tim Townes, Ph.D., professor and chair of the UAB Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics. “Nature is one of the most distinguished scientific journals in the world and their recognition of this work is indicative of the high quality of research conducted at UAB.”

Vassylyev’s research reported new information on the structure of a key enzyme in bacteria that could lead to improved antibiotics and less antibiotic resistance. His team described the differences in an enzyme called RNA polymerase in bacterial cells as opposed to human cells. These differences provide potential new targets for drug design.

“RNA polymerase is the key enzyme regulating the transfer of genetic information from DNA to RNA,” Vassylyev said. “All living organisms use this enzyme to transmit the instructions stored in genes (DNA) to messenger RNA (mRNA), which in turn communicates those instructions to the cells.”

Specifically, Vassylyev’s team traced the similarities and differences between human RNA polymerase and bacteria RNA polymerase, painting a more complete picture of the structure of this essential enzyme.

“Knowing how RNA polymerase differs in human and bacterial cells means antibiotics can be designed with a greater probability that they will interact with and kill bacteria, while leaving healthy human cells alone,” Vassylyev said.