Dylan Plaskon

Current Research

DNA as an Allosteric Regulator of Transcription Factor Ligand Specificity

I worked on determining whether DNA was an allosteric regulator of transcription factor ligand specificity.  I use the bacterial transcription factor NalC as a model system.  I use a GFP reported system coupled with flow cytometry to determine how NalC responds to a library of randomized promoters.  I then use mutual information to determine which sequence features determine the specificity of NalC to different inducers includning pentachlorophenol (PCP), trichlorophenol (TCP), and dichlorophenol (DCP).