Siegfried Musser

Biography

Dr. Siegfried Musser earned an AB degree in biochemistry with High Distinction from the University of California, Berkeley in 1990. He then obtained his PhD in chemistry from the California Institute of Technology in 1996, working in the laboratory of Sunney I. Chan. After postdoctoral work at the University of California, Davis with Steven Theg from 1996-1999 and postdoctoral work at Brandeis University with Jeff Gelles from 1999-2001, he joined the faculty of Texas A&M in 2001.

Research Interest

Since the majority of proteins are synthesized in a different cellular compartment than that in which they carry out their biological function, efficient protein transport machineries exist in many biological membranes. The Musser lab investigates the molecular mechanism of protein transport across: (i) the nuclear envelope via the nuclear pore complex (NPC); and (ii) the bacterial cytoplasmic membrane via the Sec(retion) and Tat (twin-arginine translocation) machineries. We seek to understand how large molecules such as proteins are transported across biological membranes without leakage. Using real-time transport measurements, we expect to construct detailed kinetic models of the stepwise transport, specifically deciphering the energetic driving force behind these processes. Our model systems range from well-established in vitro systems using purified components to transport within intact cells. While many traditional biochemical techniques are used routinely, fluorescence is our primary investigative tool. Strategies are being devised to study all of these protein transport systems using single-molecule particle tracking microscopy techniques.