CCeMMP PhD Exit Seminar – Isabella Russell – March 2025
March 27, 2025
Past Seminars
The Australian Research Council Centre for Cryo-Electron Microscopy of Membrane Proteins (CCeMMP) held their inaugural ‘Bench to Art’ Exhibition to showcase the artistic flair of structural biologists in a virtual exhibition during National Science Week, 2024. Our goal was to share stories of exploration and discovery in structural biology with the broader community.
2024 Winners
First Prize
The judges awarded first prize to “Aquaporin: The portal of life” by Mohammad Turhan Pathan, Freelance scientific illustrator.
Aquaporins are channel proteins which facilitate the movement of water across cell membranes. From the smallest microorganism to the largest mammals, every life form depends on water for proper functioning at the molecular level, thus making aquaporin the seasoned conductor of the beautiful interconnected tapestry named life.
Second Prize
The judges awarded equal second to “Iron Bound” by Jesse Mobbs, Monash University, Australia.
Human 12-lipoxygenase (12-LOX) is an iron-containing enzyme involved in platelet activation. Here I show the hexameric form of 12-LOX bound to the inhibitor ML355 (PDB 8GHD; EMD: 40041). The protein is shown as rusted iron-textured ribbons and the ligands as glowing molten spheres.
and “”Lego Enzymes” edition: The AAA-ATPase Drg1 Remodels the Precursor of the Large Ribosomal Subunit” by Michael Prattes, BBMRI-ERIC, Graz, Austria.
By playing with molecular building blocks for billions of years, nature’s playfulness and creativity has culminated in the the most beautifully designed molecular machines: enzymes. This artwork aims to honour this act of playful creation and make the heart of every scientist’s inner child beating faster. Who wouldn’t love to play with one’s favourite enzymes? The rendering is based on one of our published cryo-EM structures of the AAA-ATPase Drg1, assembled at its native substrate, the precursor of the large ribosomal subunit, also called pre-60S particle (Prattes et al., 2022, NSMB, PDB:7Z34).
People’s Choice – First Prize
For the People’s Choice, voter’s selected “Tanatic Delirium”, by Juan Valenzuela, Mexico, as the first prize winner.
I show a protein (in three different positions) called “Serine Protease”, which cuts other structures into smaller pieces. Serine protease is related to premature senescence, considered one of the main evolutionary theories of aging. We notice that someone is aging because of the density of their skin. It must be deplorable when we witness the last moments of a loved one. In this artwork, I show a texture that reflects the pain (red veins) of someone who is in an eternal duel between life and death, suffering from their illness. It is said that said individual separates body and soul when he is no longer with us, something that no longer feels anything as if it were a stone (rough gray texture). PDB:8JHZ
People’s Choice – Second Prize
The voter’s selected “Crochet Motors Drive Bacterial Swimming” by Daniel Fox, Monash University and The University of Melbourne, Australia, as the second prize winner.
Depicted is the cryoEM structure of the Salmonella enterica Typhimurium flagellar motor-hook complex, as determined and described by Tan, Zhang, Wang, et al.; in Structural Basis of Assembly & Torque Transmission of the Bacterial Flagellar Motor, Cell (2021).
People’s Choice – Third Prize
The voter’s selected “Knot Bound” by Laura Humphrys, Monash University, Australia, as the third prize winner.
A G protein coupled receptor in faux 2D – the protein wanting to jump out of the flat confinement we often portray it with. Each knot in the string represents an amino acid giving life to the protein. Extracellular proteins in green hint at the nature of communication, whereas intracellular proteins are pink, characterising corpus. Recycled chopsticks convey the cyclical nature of membrane proteins in the membrane trafficking respectively.