In this, the post-genome era, the emphasis has switched from the delineation of genome structure to the tremendous task of characterizing the gene products through the new and exciting discipline of proteomics. New strategies are emerging that enable the identification and quantification of global protein-protein and protein-ligand interactions - the so-called 'interactome'. The identification of a protein's interactome is likely to inform a number of areas of research including the detection and cause of diseases, drug discovery and bioprospecting. The Perugini research group is currently focused on three research areas:

• Enzymes of the Lysine Biosynthesis Pathway 
• Apolipoprotein-Lipid and Lipid-Lipid interactions
• Structure and Function of RNA Polymerase from Influenza

Enzymes of the Lysine Biosynthesis Pathway: The Perugini group is involved in a large program aimed at determining the structure, function, evolution and inhibition of bacterial enzymes involved in lysine biosynthesis, namely dihydrodipicolinate synthase (DHDPS) and dihydrodipicolinate reductase (DHDPR). The group are particularly interested in using a structural-based approach to design small molecule and peptide inhibitors of DHDPS and DHDPR from several bacterial pathogens including Bacillus anthracis, Clostridium botulinum, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae. This work is funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC) and the US Army Research Office and involves collaborations with Dr Craig Hutton (Bio21 Institute, School of Chemistry), Prof Juliet Gerrard (Univ of Canterbury, NZ), Prof Michael Parker (Bio21 Institute) and Prof Geoff Jameson (Massie University).

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Apolipoprotein-Lipid and Lipid-Lipid interactions: In collaboration with Richard O'Hair (Bio21 Inst, School of Chemistry) The Perugini group is currently characterizing protein-lipid and lipid-lipid interactions in the gas phase using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. They are particularly interested in determining the fragmentation of phospholipids in the gas phase and mapping the important determinants for mediating apolipoprotein-lipid interactions. This work is funded by the ARC.

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Structure and Function of RNA Polymerase from Influenza: The group have recently setup a collaboration with Dr Stephen Turner (Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne) to study the structure, assembly, stability  and function of the heterotrimeric RNA polymerase complex of the influenza virus. They are particularly interested in identifying structural features of the RNA polymerase complex that mediate virulence in different flu strains, including avian influenza H5N1.

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Techniques include: Analytical ultracentrifugation, circular dichroism spectroscopy, differential scanning microcalorimetry, enzyme kinetics, fluorescence spectroscopy, HPLC, isothermal titration microcalorimetry, mass spectrometry, recombinant protein expression, standard molecular biology techniques, two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (including 2D-DIGE), UV/Vis spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography.

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Matt Perugini Bio

During the 1990s, Matt Perugini completed his undergraduate and post-graduate degrees at the University of Melbourne. In 2000, Dr Perugini was awarded a Senior Tutor position and a role as the assistant coordinator of the Bachelor of Biomedical Science (BBiomedSc) degree at the University of Melbourne. He was promoted to Lecturer in 2003 and Senior Lecturer in 2005, and is now the BBiomedSc Student Coordinator, where he plays a key role in administration and pastoral care of over 500 undergraduate BBiomedSc students. In 2004, he was awarded the Young Biophysicists Award by the Australian Society for Biophysics for his contribution to the field of analytical ultracentrifugation; and in 2005, was awarded an Australian Postdoctoral Fellowship by the Australian Research Council. Dr Perugini was also recently awarded the 2007 Edman Award by the Australian Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. As described above, his current research focuses on the structure, function and inhibition of enzymes involved in bacterial lysine biosynthesis.

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Perugini Research Group

Research Staff

• Dr Renwick Dobson (CR Roper Fellow)
• Dr Con Dogovski (Post-doc)
• Tanzeela Siddiqui (Research Assistant)
• Nicole Taylor (Research Assistant)

Postgraduate Students

• Lauren Angley
• Sarah Atkinson
• Ben Burgess
• Sudhir Dommaraju
• Lilian Hor
• Natalia Sibarani
• Martin Peverelli
• Jacinta Wubben

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