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Inbal Mermershtian from the Kosloff lab used a computational structural bioinformatics pipeline that requires hundreds of cores working in parallel for accurate atomic-level calculations of protein-protein interactions - analyzing multiple proteins 3D complexes quantitatively.
In this project Inbal focused on the small G-proteins Rabs, comparing their modulation by host GAP proteins (that turn Rab switches “off”) with the modulation by pathogen GAP proteins. She use a computational method developed in the Kosloff lab that applies structure-based electrostatic energy calculations to pinpoint structural determinants that are critical for fine-tuning protein-protein interaction specificity. 
Inbal's analysis uncovers a convergent structural basis for Rab recognition and modulation by eukaryotic and bacterial pathogens, and highlighted key specificity-determining interactions that might be used to target such pathogens with new antibiotics. More generally, this study presents a fascinating case-study of how similar interaction specificity can be achieved by structurally-dissimilar proteins.

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Rana Saad from the Privman lab came first place in Hive usage in 2015! She used 698,830 CPU hours, out of a total of 1,135,463 CPU hours used on the cluster in 2015.
All this computer power went into estimation of a huge number of parameters in sophisticated probabilistic models of sequence evolution. The result: detection of episodes of adaptive evolution in the superfamily of genes coding for olfactory receptors in ants. That is, the genes responsible of the sense of smell in ants, which allow them to react to a wide range of odors. These odors include the many pheromones used for communication in ant societies.
Rana analyzed a huge set of 2793 genes from nine different species and tested each and every branch in this huge phylogeny (gene tree) for evidence of positive selection, i.e. natural selection pressures that led to changes in the sequence of the genes, indicating adaptive evolution of new olfactory functions. In total, Rana tested 3326 branches, out of which 293 showed significant evidence for positive selection. These genes are promising candidate genes that may be involved in the evolution of social communication in ants.
 

 

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