Laboratory of Nucleoprotein Chemistry, Department of Chemistry of Natural Compounds, Faculty of Chemistry

To study the structural and functional features of telomerase using Hansenula polymorpha yeast as a model system of the simplest eukaryotic organism. The thermotolerance of this type of yeast ensures the stability of proteins, which allows for structural studies of telomerase components. Studies of telomerase in higher eukaryotes (including human studies). The subject of particular interest is the regulation of the expression of the main components of telomerase in human cells, telomerase RNA biogenesis and alternative enzyme functions unrelated to telomeric DNA synthesis.

Antibiotics inhibit cell growth or lead to cell death. The department has created a high-performance screening system for potential antibacterial and cytotoxic drugs, which is used to analyze extensive collections of compounds, both synthetic and natural origin. The report system used in bacteria allows, at the very first stage of screening, to identify compounds that lead to inhibition of protein or DNA biosynthesis. Collections of compounds are used to search for eukaryotic cell growth inhibitors. Screening of substances toxic against tumor cells makes it possible to identify compounds that predominantly inhibit the vital activity of cancer cells and do not affect the survival of normal cells in the cellular model of the tumor microenvironment.

There is a wide variety of different additional chemical functional groups that are attached to nucleotides by specific modification in the cell. Modified bases in the composition of RNA play an important role in regulating the functioning and structure of both RNA and RNA-protein complexes. Long-term studies of bacterial RNA methyltransferases have revealed the evolutionary aspect of the functioning of methyltransferases in eukaryotic cells. Bionformatic analysis makes it possible to identify new genes of potential RNA methyltransferases, and subsequent experimental approaches identify enzymes and determine their targets, as well as their effect on cell functioning. The work uses modern approaches, including genomic editing using the CRISPR/Cas9 system in eukaryotic cell lines and in laboratory animals.