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)
• Predoctoral Fellowship, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (1999)

Professional Education

• B.Sc., University of Washington Biochemistry (1998)
• Ph.D., UC, Berkeley Molecular and Cell Biology (2003)

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
• Ten years of tension: single-molecule DNA mechanics. Bustamante C,  Bryant Z, Smith SB.  Nature.  2003; 421 (6921): 423-7
• Structural transitions and elasticity from torque measurements on DNA. Bryant Z,  Stone MD, Gore J, Smith SB, Cozzarelli NR, Bustamante C.  Nature.  2003; 424 (6946): 338-41
• Chirality sensing by Escherichia coli topoisomerase IV and the mechanism of type II topoisomerases. Stone MD,  Bryant Z, Crisona NJ, Smith SB, Vologodskii A, Bustamante C, Cozzarelli NR.  Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A.  2003; 100 (15): 8654-9
• Mechanical unfolding of a beta-hairpin using molecular dynamics. Bryant Z,  Pande VS, Rokhsar DS.  Biophys J.  2000; 78 (2): 584-9
• Characterization of differentially expressed genes in purified Drosophila follicle cells: toward a general strategy for cell type-specific developmental analysis. Bryant Z,  Subrahmanyan L, Tworoger M, LaTray L, Liu CR, Li MJ, van den Engh G, Ruohola-Baker H.  Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A.  1999; 96 (10): 5559-64
• Mosaic analysis in the drosophila ovary reveals a common hedgehog-inducible precursor stage for stalk and polar cells. Tworoger M,  Larkin MK, Bryant Z, Ruohola-Baker H.  Genetics.  1999; 151 (2): 739-48
• maelstrom is required for an early step in the establishment of Drosophila oocyte polarity: posterior localization of grk mRNA. Clegg NJ,  Frost DM, Larkin MK, Subrahmanyan L, Bryant Z, Ruohola-Baker H.  Development.  1997; 124 (22): 4661-71