Our laboratory's research goal is to unravel the structural basis of the functioning of macromolecular complexes involved in translation regulation and ribosome assembly, thereby identifying potential drug targets. Translation, the process of protein synthesis in which genetic information present in mRNA is decoded into a polypeptide, occurs on the ribosome in all cells. Protein synthesis is one of the most energy-consuming cellular processes, consuming nearly 50% of the cell's energy, and the ribosome is a target of nearly 40% of known antibiotics. We focus on understanding the structural aspects of translation regulation in Mycobacterium tuberculosis under different stresses and how a mega Dalton protein synthesis machinery, the ribosome, assembles inside the cell. We apply the structural biology tool cryo-electron microscopy alongside molecular biology and biochemistry techniques.
