Joel Weiner

Biography

We seek an understanding of the structure and function of respiratory electron transfer enzymes at atomic resolution. Our strategy has been to select bacterial respiratory chain enzymes as model systems, to over-express them to high levels in the Escherichia coli inner membranes, and to subject them to intense biochemical, structural, and biophysical scrutiny. Our objectives are to: (a) obtain or utilize atomic-resolution structural data to generate models for respiratory energy conservation; (b) to use molecular genetics to probe redox-active cofactor communication and the influence of protein structure on cofactor function; and (c) to investigate the role of substrate binding sites in biological energy conservation.

Research Interest

Biochemistry