Zev Bryant

Honors and Awards

• Pew Scholars Award, Pew Charitable Trusts (2009)
• Director's New Innovator Award, NIH (2008)
• Postdoctoral Fellowship, Helen Hay Whitney Foundation (2005)
• Alan Bearden Award, UC, Berkeley (2004)
• Harold M. Weintraub Award, FHCRC (2004)

Professional Education

Postdoctoral Advisees

Daniel Cipriano , Florian Oberstrass

Graduate & Fellowship Program Affiliations

• Biophysics
• Bioengineering

Web Site Links

• Bryant Lab

Research Interests

Molecular motors lie at the heart of biological processes from DNA replication to vesicle transport. My laboratory seeks to understand the physical mechanisms by which these nanoscale machines convert chemical energy into mechanical work. We use single molecule tracking and manipulation techniques to observe and perturb substeps in the mechanochemical cycles of individual motors. Protein engineering helps us to explore relationships between molecular structures and mechanical functions. Broad topics of current interest include torque generation by DNA-associated ATPases and mechanical adaptations of unconventional myosins.

Publications

• Engineered myosin VI motors reveal minimal structural determinants of directionality and processivity. Liao JC, Elting MW, Delp SL, Spudich JA, Bryant Z. J Mol Biol. 2009; 392 (4): 862-7
• The power stroke of myosin VI and the basis of reverse directionality. Bryant Z, Altman D, Spudich JA. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007; 104 (3): 772-7
• Multiple modes of Escherichia coli DNA gyrase activity revealed by force and torque. Nöllmann M, Stone MD, Bryant Z, Gore J, Crisona NJ, Hong SC, Mitelheiser S, Maxwell A, Bustamante C, Cozzarelli NR. Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2007; 14 (4): 264-71
• DNA overwinds when stretched. Gore J, Bryant Z, Nöllmann M, Le MU, Cozzarelli NR, Bustamante C. Nature. 2006; 442 (7104): 836-9
• Mechanochemical analysis of DNA gyrase using rotor bead tracking. Gore J, Bryant Z, Stone MD, Nöllmann M, Cozzarelli NR, Bustamante C. Nature. 2006; 439 (7072): 100-4