- Generating Nucleosome Crystal Visuals and Reference Frames
- Project Year:
2018
- REU Student (s):
Timothy Stavetski | University of Notre Dame IN
- Student 1 Institution:
University of Notre Dame
- Project Mentor:
Wilma Olson
- Project Mentor Area:
Chemistry and Chemical Biology
- Project Abstract:
Nucleosomes, the first level of compaction for DNA, consist of DNA wrapped around histone proteins. My research involved reading about how nucleosomes are arranged in crystal structures. Crystal structures are identified with space groups, and so every nucleosome crystal is described by its space group. These crystal lattices and space groups are defined by the symmetry operations that produce them, but these symmetry operations do not lend themselves to analysis through other means. I came up with methods of writing symmetry data in terms of rigid body parameters. In addition I came up with different methods of visualizing the crystal structures that make the patterns easier to look at.
