Topic：Exploring the Mysterious RNA World with Cryo-EM

Speaker：Prof. Kaiming Zhang

Host：Prof. Kaige Yan

Time：April 10. 10:00 - 11:30am

Venue：Yidan Library, Lecture Room 301

Abstract: RNA plays a key role in gene expression and regulation. Beyond mRNA, non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) dominate transcription (~98% in human cells) and are essential in viruses like HIV and coronaviruses. Despite their importance in gene regulation and disease, most ncRNA functions remain unknown. Since RNA function depends on structure, high-resolution 3D structures are crucial for understanding mechanisms and drug development. Yet, pure RNA structures make up less than 1% of the PDB.The Zhang Lab uses cryo-EM to study RNA structure and function, developing methods applied to bacterial, viral, and catalytic RNAs. For example, we determined multiple Group I intron ribozyme structures, revealing dynamic changes, including large-scale movements of the internal guide sequence and subtle rearrangements of active-site metals, providing a comprehensive mechanistic view of self-splicing. Our study demonstrates cryo-EM’s power in capturing RNA structural dynamics, marking a new era in RNA structure-function analysis.

Brief introduction of the speaker: 

Tenure-track Professor and Ph.D. advisor at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC). He received his B.S. from Jilin University in 2010 and Ph.D. from Peking University in 2015. From July 2015 to April 2021, he conducted postdoctoral and research scientist work at Baylor College of Medicine and Stanford University. Since May 2021, he has established the RNA Structural Biology Laboratory at USTC. He was awarded funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) through the "Excellent Young Scientists Fund (Overseas)." He has led or participated in projects supported by the NSFC General Program, the Ministry of Science and Technology’s Key R&D Program, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences Strategic Priority Program. He has also received honors such as Anhui Province Innovation Talent and the USTC Alumni Foundation Award for Young Faculty. Currently, he serves as a committee member of the Cryo-Electron Microscopy Division of the Biophysical Society of China and a youth editorial board member of Fundamental Research. To date, he has published over 70 papers in internationally renowned journals, including Nature, Science, Nature Methods, and Nature Structural & Molecular Biology.