Synthesizing Supercoiled Synthetic DNA Circles In Vitro with Fenfei Leng, Ph.D.

Fenfei Leng, Ph.D., studies how transcription affects DNA structural changes and activates or inhibits nearby promoters. Using defined protein systems and in vivo E. coli cells, the Leng laboratory has found that transcription is a major force driving chromosome remodeling in exponentially growing bacteria. The lab has also shown that certain DNA-binding proteins, including FIS and HU, function as