Dr. Jacek Wower
  Professor of Biochemistry
  Program in Cell and Molecular Biosciences
  Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences
  209 Upchurch Hall
  Auburn University
  Auburn, AL 36849-5415

  Tel: (334) 844-1508 (office) or (334) 844-1554 (lab)
  Fax: (334) 844-1519
  e-mail: wowerja@auburn.edu

 

 
 
 
 

Research

Our main research interests lie within the overlapping fields of RNA structure and function, protein-nucleic acid interactions, and protein synthesis. The work is concentrated on tRNA and tmRNA, two small RNA molecules which play an important role in protein synthesis and trans-translation.
Recent Publications (selected)
Petrov, A.I., S. J.E. Kay, R. Gibson, E. Kulesha, D. Staines, E.A. Bruford, M.W. Wright, S. Burge, R. D. Finn, P. J. Kersey, G. Cochrane, A. Bateman, S. Griffiths-Jones, J. Harrow, P. P. Chan, T. M. Lowe, C. W. Zwieb, J. Wower, K.P. Williams, C.M. Hudson, R. Gutell, M. B. Clark, M. Dinger, X. Cheng Quek, J. M. Bujnicki, N-H. Chua, J. Liu, H. Wang, G. Skogerbo, Y. Zhao, R. Chen, W. Zhu, J. R. Cole, B. Chai, H-D. Huang, H-Y. Huang, J. M. Cherry, A. Hatzigeorgiou, K. D. Pruitt. (2015) RNAcentral: An international database of ncRNA sequences. Nucleic Acid Research, 43 (Database Issue), D1, 14-18.

Wower, I.K., Zwieb C. and Wower, J. (2014) Requirements for Resuming Translation in Chimeric Transfer-messenger RNAs of Escherichia coli and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. BMC Molecular Biology, 15(1):19; DOI: 10.1186/1471-2199-15-19.

Wower, I.K., Nusrat J., Zwieb C. and Wower, J. (2013) Ribosomal Protein S1: An important trans-translational factor. Biochemistry and Physiology S2, 1-7. Doi: 10.4172/2168-9652.S2-001.

Sundaram P, Kurniawan H, Byrne ME and Wower J (2013) Therapeutic RNA Aptamers in Clinical Trials, Eur. J. Pharm. Sci. 48(1-2): 259-271[Epub ahead of print].

Sundaram P, Wower J and Byrne ME (2012) A Nano Scale Drug Delivery Carrier Using Nucleic Acid Aptamers for Extended Release of Therapeutic. Nanomedicine, 8(7), 1143-1151, doi:10.1016/j.nano.2012.01.010.

Sundaram P, Wower J and Byrne ME (2011) Controlled Therapeutic Release from a Nucleic Acid Aptamer Functionalized Gold Nanoparticle Platform.Trans. Soc. Biomater. 34, 674.

Fu J, Hashem Y, Wower J and Frank J. (2011) tmRNA on Its Way Through the Ribosome: Two Steps of Resume, and What Next? RNA Biology 8(4), 586-590. Epub 2011 July 1.

Burks JM, Zwieb C, Mueller F, Wower IK and Wower J (2011) Comparative Structural Studies of Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus IRES RNA (2011) Virus Res. 160(1-2): 136-142. Epub 2011 June 12.

Burks JM, Zwieb C, Mueller F, Wower IK and Wower J (2011) In Silico Analysis of IRES RNAs of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus and Related Picornaviruses. Arch. Virol. 156(10): 1737-47. Epub 2011 Jun 17.

Fu J, Hashem J, Wower I, Lei J, Liao HY, Zwieb C, Wower J. and Frank J. (2010) Visualizing the transfer-messenger RNA as the ribosome resumes translation. EMBO J, 29(22): 3819-3825. Epub 2010 Oct. 12.

Mao C, RI Fish, Bhardwaj K, Sharkady SM, Driscoll T, Wower J, Zwieb CW, Sobral BWS and Williams KP (2009) Variations on the tmRNA gene. RNA Biology 6(4):355-361. Epub 2009 Sept. 4.

Venkatesh S, Wower J, Byrne M (2009) Nucleic Acid therapeutic carriers with on-demand triggered release. Bioconjugate Chemistry 20(9):1773-1782.

Wower J, Zwieb C, Wower IK. (2009) Escherichia coli tmRNA lacking pseudoknot 1 tags truncated proteins in vivo and in vitro. RNA 15:128-137.

Iakhiaeva E, Wower J, Wower I, Zwieb C. (2008) An 11-nucleotide motif in helix 5 of eukaryotic signal recognition particle RNA contains a conserved adenosine residue that is indispensable for the binding of protein SRP72. RNA 14:1143-1153.

Wower J, Wower I, Zwieb C. (2008) Making the jump: the insights into the mechanism of trans-translation. J. Biol. 7(5)-17-21.

Andersen ES, Rosenblad MA, Larsen N, Westergaard JC, Burks J, Wower IK, Wower J, Gorodkin J, Samuelsson T, Zwieb C. (2006) The tmRDB and SRPDB resources. Nucleic Acids Res. 34(Database issue):D163-8.

Wower IK, Zwieb C, Wower J. (2005) Transfer-messenger RNA unfolds as it transits the ribosome. RNA. 11(5):668-73.

Burks J, Zwieb C, Muller F, Wower I, Wower J. (2005) Comparative 3-D modeling of tmRNA. BMC Mol Biol. 6(1):14.

Wower IK, Zwieb C, Wower J. (2005) Contributions of pseudoknots and protein SmpB to the structure and function of tmRNA in trans-translation. J Biol Chem. 279(52): 54202-9.

Okada T, Wower IK, Wower J, Zwieb CW, Kimura M. (2004) Contribution of the second OB fold of ribosomal protein S1 from Escherichia coli to the recognition of tmRNA. Biosci. Biotechnol. Biochem. 68 (11): 2415-21.

Zwieb, C., Gorodkin, J., Knudsen, B., Burks, J. and Wower, J. (2003) tmRDB. Nucleic Acids Res. 31(1), 446-447.
 
 


tmRNA database (Auburn University/mirror site)

tmRNA database (University of Texas Health Center at Tyler, TX)

Other useful links

The tmRNA Website
The RNA Society

Courses Taught

Biochemistry  (BCHE7210; 5h; Spring) Classification, structure and chemistry of the major chemical constituents of living matter
Proteins (BCHE 7260; 5h; Spring) A project-based course; each presentation covers a major area of bioinformatics

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