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Paul Adams
Vice President, Technology, Joint BioEnergy Institute
Deputy Division Director, Physical Biosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Head, Berkeley Center for Structural Biology
Adjunct Professor, Department of Bioengineering UC Berkeley
Contact Information
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Physical Biosciences Division
One Cyclotron Road
Mailstop 64R0121
Berkeley, California 94720-8118
USA
Location
Bldg. 64, Room 248
Phone: (510) 486-4225
Fax: (510) 486-5909
Email: PDAdams@lbl.gov
Current Research
Synergistic Activities
Development of the PHENIX software for automated analysis of macromolecular crystallographic data
The advent of several large-scale projects worldwide has lead to many new challenges in the field of macromolecular structure determination. We are developing a novel software package called PHENIX (Python-based Hierarchical Environment for Integrated Xtallography). This new software provides the necessary algorithms to facilitate rapid structure solution for both the novice and expert crystallographer. The development of the PHENIX software involves the extended international community of crystallographers. This software is being developed as part of an international collaboration, headed by Paul Adams at LBNL. PHENIX is designed with an open and flexible architecture to encourage its use by other developers, and to promote easy incorporation into the home lab and synchrotron beamline environments such as the ALS. JBEI structural studies will benefit from access to this software at all stages of development.
Structural studies of cellulose synthase
This LBNL LDRD-funded collaboration with Chris Somerville (Stanford) and Manfred Auer (LBNL) applies medium to high resolution imaging methods to determine the detailed mechanism of cellulose synthase (CESA); the molecular machine responsible for the synthesis of the cellulose component of the plant wall. Specifically, we are using X-ray crystallographic, electron microscopy, and tomographic methods to determine the stoichiometry of the CESA complex, its position in the cell membrane, its relationship to the nascent cellulose fibrils, and ultimately the atomic resolution structure of the CESA active site. The information generated will be critical to the development of modified plants as the source of cellulose for ethanol production. This work leverages LBNL’s expertise in EM-tomography, and X-ray crystallography at the Berkeley Center for Structural Biology. This research directly supports the goals of the JBEI.
