Biswajit Pradhan

Office - B 2.185

Max-von-Laue-Str. 3

60438 Frankfurt am Main

Hey there! I’m Biswajit, and I’m fascinated by the tiny details that make life tick. I’m currently on a quest to unravel the mysteries of DNA organization at the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics. My background is a bit of a mix - I’ve built microscopes, delved into the world of single molecules, and even written code to make sense of all the scientific data. I’m passionate about pushing the boundaries of science and technology, and I’m always up for collaborating on exciting projects. Feel free to reach out - let’s chat about science, life, or anything that sparks your curiosity!

news

Sep 10, 2024	Creating this website to share my learnings and experiences.

latest posts

Sep 10, 2024	a post with tabs
May 14, 2024	Google Gemini updates: Flash 1.5, Gemma 2 and Project Astra
Apr 23, 2022	Displaying External Posts on Your al-folio Blog

selected publications

The Smc5/6 complex is a DNA loop-extruding motor

Biswajit Pradhan, Takaharu Kanno, Miki Umeda Igarashi, and 6 more authors

Nature, 2023

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Structural maintenance of chromosomes (SMC) protein complexes are essential for the spatial organization of chromosomes. Whereas cohesin and condensin organize chromosomes by extrusion of DNA loops, the molecular functions of the third eukaryotic SMC complex, Smc5/6, remain largely unknown. Using single-molecule imaging, we show that Smc5/6 forms DNA loops by extrusion. Upon ATP hydrolysis, Smc5/6 reels DNA symmetrically into loops at a force-dependent rate of one kilobase pair per second. Smc5/6 extrudes loops in the form of dimers, whereas monomeric Smc5/6 unidirectionally translocates along DNA. We also find that the subunits Nse5 and Nse6 (Nse5/6) act as negative regulators of loop extrusion. Nse5/6 inhibits loop-extrusion initiation by hindering Smc5/6 dimerization but has no influence on ongoing loop extrusion. Our findings reveal functions of Smc5/6 at the molecular level and establish DNA loop extrusion as a conserved mechanism among eukaryotic SMC complexes.