Dr Atlanta G. Cook
Wellcome Senior Research Fellow
- Wellcome Centre for Cell Biology
- Institute for Quantitative Biology, Biochemistry and Biotechnology
Contact details
- Tel: +44 131 6504995
- Email: atlanta.cook@ed.ac.uk
Background
WT Senior Research Fellow at Wellcome Trust centre for Cell Biology in Edinburgh (2016-present)
MRC career development Fellow at Wellcome Trust centre for Cell Biology in Edinburgh (2011-2016)
Postdoctoral research Fellow, MPI for biochemistry in Martinsried, Germany (2007-2010)
Postdoctoral Research Fellow EMBL Heidelberg, Germany (2004-2007)
Qualifications
DPhil, Biochemistry, Oxford University (1999-2003)
MBiochemistry, Oxford University (1995-1999)
Research summary
The expression of individual genes is controlled at the levels of mRNA transcription and also post-transcriptionally, by processes such as splicing, localization, modification or editing, and degradation. To gain a mechanistic understanding of these processes it is important to understand the interactions between the individual players, including both protein and nucleic acid components, at the molecular level. We have used structural approaches to tackle mechanistic questions about how protein-RNA interactions can control RNA maturation and RNA editing and how transcriptional repressors are recruited to methylated DNA. By combining structural studies with biochemical, biophysical and cell-based functional assays we can gain powerful insights into these molecular processes.
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Structure of SALL4 zinc-finger domain reveals link between AT-rich DNA binding and Okihiro syndrome
(13 pages)
In:
Life Science Alliance, vol. 6
DOI: https://doi.org/10.26508/lsa.202201588
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Missense variants reveal functional insights into the human ARID family of gene regulators
(15 pages)
In:
Journal of Molecular Biology, vol. 434
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmb.2022.167529
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Yeast Ssd1 is a non-enzymatic member of the RNase II family with an alternative RNA recognition interface
(15 pages)
In:
Nucleic Acids Research
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkab615
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
SALL4 controls cell fate in response to DNA base composition
(14 pages)
In:
Molecular Cell, vol. 81, pp. 845-858
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2020.11.046
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Repeated evolution of inactive pseudonucleases in a fungal branch of the Dis3/RNase II family of nucleases
(10 pages)
In:
Molecular Biology and Evolution, vol. 38, pp. 1837-1846
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaa324
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
SPOCD1 is an essential executor of piRNA-directed 1 de novo DNA methylation
(5 pages)
In:
Nature, vol. 584, pp. 635-639
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2557-5
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Structure of the MeCP2-TBLR1 complex reveals a molecular basis for Rett syndrome and related disorders
(8 pages)
In:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), vol. 114, pp. E3243-E3250
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1700731114
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Pre-40S ribosome biogenesis factor Tsr1 is an inactive structural mimic of translational GTPases
(8 pages)
In:
Nature Communications, vol. 7
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms11789
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Nuclear Factor 90 uses an ADAR2-like binding mode to recognize specific bases in dsRNA
In:
Nucleic Acids Research, vol. 44, pp. 1924-1936
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkv1508
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
The NF45/NF90 Heterodimer Contributes to the Biogenesis of 60S Ribosomal Subunits and Influences Nucleolar Morphology
(13 pages)
In:
Molecular and Cellular Biology, vol. 35, pp. 3491-3503
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/MCB.00306-15
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Snapshots of pre-rRNA structural flexibility reveal eukaryotic 40S assembly dynamics at nucleotide resolution
In:
Nucleic Acids Research, vol. 42, pp. 12138–12154
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gku815
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Kinase Activity of Fission Yeast Mph1 Is Required for Mad2 and Mad3 to Stably Bind the Anaphase Promoting Complex
In:
Current Biology, vol. 22, pp. 296–301
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2011.12.049
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
NF45 dimerizes with NF90, Zfr and SPNR via a conserved domain that has a nucleotidyltransferase fold
In:
Nucleic Acids Research, vol. 40, pp. 9356-9368
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gks696
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Nuclear export complexes in the frame
(6 pages)
In:
Current opinion in structural biology, vol. 20, pp. 247-52
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbi.2010.01.012
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Nuclear import mechanism of the EJC component Mago-Y14 revealed by structural studies of importin 13
(12 pages)
In:
Molecular Cell, vol. 37, pp. 211-22
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2010.01.007
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Structures of the tRNA export factor in the nuclear and cytosolic states
(6 pages)
In:
Nature, vol. 461, pp. 60-65
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature08394
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Structural biology of nucleocytoplasmic transport
(25 pages)
In:
Annual review of biochemistry, vol. 76, pp. 647-71
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.biochem.76.052705.161529
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published)