Sl Adhya

Biography

Dr Adhya, an eminent molecular biologist, is known for his outstanding contributions in the area of regulation of gene transcription in prokaryotes. Using model system as a gal Operon and cyclic AMP and cyclic AMP receptor protein in Escherichia coli, he showed how transcription regulation is carried out. He was the first one to show that the transcription control element can reside within a structural gene. He has investigated in detail the regulation of transcription repression by using the two promoters and operators of gal Operon. These studies have clearly shown that the DNA looping arising due to interaction of repressor with the control elements play an important role in the regulation of gal Operon. Most specifically using a series of DNA molecules which can form different kinds of helical orientation with respect to the RNA polymerase and the repressor, he was able to demonstrate that the repressors inhibit or stimulate transcription initiatin by disabling or stimulating RNA polymerase activity at a post-binding step by directly or indirectly altering the C-terminal alpha domain to an unfavourable state. His outstanding studies indicate an intriguing possibility that interaction between two proteins bound to different sites on DNA modulating the activity of the intervening segment toward other proteins by allostery may be a common mechanism of regulation in DNA-multiprotein complexes.

Research Interest

Genetics, Biochemistry, Prokaryotes, Bacteriophages