Wei Yang, Ph.D.

NIH Distinguished Investigator

Mechanism of DNA Repair, Replication, and Recombination Section, Laboratory of Molecular Biology

NIDDK

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Building 5, Room B103N
5 Memorial Dr
Bethesda, MD 20814

+1 301 402 4645

wei.yang@nih.gov

Research Topics

My group studies DNA recombination, repair, and replication. In particular, we are interested in V(D)J recombination, mismatch repair, nucleotide excision repair, and translesion DNA synthesis. We use X-ray crystallography, cryoEM, molecular biology, and various biochemical and biophysical approaches to find out the molecular mechanisms underpinning these biological processes. In recent years, we have discovered that DNA synthesis and RNA degradation reactions are propelled by cation trafficking and require transiently bound Mg²⁺ and K⁺ ions that are absent in the static structures of substrate- or product-enzyme complexes.

Biography

  • American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2015
  • National Academy of Sciences, 2013
  • Ph.D., Columbia University, 1991
  • M.A., Columbia University, 1985
  • B.A., State University of New York at Stony Brook, 1985
  • B.A., State University of New York at Stony Brook, 1983

Selected Publications

  1. Chen X, Cui Y, Wang H, Zhou ZH, Gellert M, Yang W. How mouse RAG recombinase avoids DNA transposition. Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2020;27(2):127-133.

  2. Chen X, Cui Y, Best RB, Wang H, Zhou ZH, Yang W, Gellert M. Cutting antiparallel DNA strands in a single active site. Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2020;27(2):119-126.

  3. Wu J, Samara NL, Kuraoka I, Yang W. Evolution of Inosine-Specific Endonuclease V from Bacterial DNase to Eukaryotic RNase. Mol Cell. 2019;76(1):44-56.e3.

  4. Gao Y, Cui Y, Fox T, Lin S, Wang H, de Val N, Zhou ZH, Yang W. Structures and operating principles of the replisome. Science. 2019;363(6429).

  5. Samara NL, Yang W. Cation trafficking propels RNA hydrolysis. Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2018;25(8):715-721.

Related Scientific Focus Areas

This page was last updated on March 3rd, 2021