Dieter Soll, PhD
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Sterling Professor Emeritus of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry
Biography
A native of Germany, Prof. Dieter Söll earned undergraduate and Ph.D. degrees from Technische Hochschule in Stuttgart, Germany. He did postdoctoral work at the University of Wisconsin's Institute for Enzyme Research and served as an assistant professor there 1965-1967. He joined the Yale faculty as an associate professor in MB&B in 1967, was promoted to a full professorship in the department in 1976 and became a professor in the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, and the Department of Chemistry in 1985 and 1995, respectively. He was chair of MB&B 1982-1984.
Söll's honors include a 1988 Humboldt Preis (Senior Distinguished Scientist Award). He was named a Humboldt Fellow in 2000. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Academy of Microbiology, and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering. He has served on the editorial boards of numerous scientific journals and has been a member of many federal advisory panels and committees responsible for the examination of issues related to genetic research.
The editor of nine books and author of over 600 scientific articles, Söll spearheaded international efforts in the 1980s to adopt a common computer database and format for recording masses of genetic information gleaned in the worldwide initiative to decipher the entire human genome. He undertook this effort while serving as chair of the International Advisory Committee for DNA Sequence Databases. Earlier in his career, he helped draw national attention to the dangers of genetic engineering research, particularly experiments using hybrid molecules. His and other scientists' concerns ultimately led to federal guidelines for genetic research.
Appointments
Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry
EmeritusPrimaryMolecular Biophysics and Biochemistry
Research ProfessorSecondary
Other Departments & Organizations
Education & Training
- Postdoctoral Fellow
- University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (1965)
- PhD
- Stuttgart Technical University (1962)
Research
Overview
Research in the Söll laboratory centers around functional genomic investigations that explore the translation of the genetic code with canonical and modified amino acids. We are studying archaeal, bacterial and eukaryotic systems in a multidisciplinary approach that includes genetics, biochemistry, enzymology, structural analysis, and molecular biology.
The ancient essential process of ribosomal protein synthesis requires twenty sets of aminoacyl-tRNAs, one for each canonical amino acid, for the correct transmission of the genetic information. Since Crick proposed his adaptor hypothesis it was commonly accepted that all organisms or organelles possess twenty aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, each enzyme specific for attaching one amino acid to tRNA. It is now clear that aminoacyl-tRNA formation is far more varied, as the biosynthetic routes to asparaginyl-tRNA, glutaminyl-tRNA, lysyl-tRNA and cysteinyl-tRNA vary greatly in nature. For instance, the amide aminoacyl-tRNAs (Asn-tRNA and Gln-tRNA) can be formed by two redundant mechanisms, direct acylation or pre-translational amino acid modification by amidation. Thus, the routes to these tRNAs differ not only in the three domains of life but also vary among organelles. These transamidation enzymes appear to have evolved by recruitment of amino acid metabolizing enzymes. This possible evolutionary link between protein synthesis and amino acid biosynthesis is further highlighted by the discovery that tRNA-dependent amidation of aspartate appears to be the sole route to asparagine synthesis in most bacteria.
The discovery of a non-canonical lysyl-tRNA synthetase gave the first clues on the aminoacylation of pyrrolysine, the 22nd cotranslationally inserted amino acid. Formation of pyrrolysyl-tRNA in the Methanosarcinaceae is catalyzed by an aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase solely specific for a modified amino acid. An analogous enzyme forms O-phosphoseryl-tRNACys, the required intermediate in Cys-tRNA formation in methanogenic archaea. Based on similar enzymology, O-phosphoseryl-tRNASec is the required precursor for synthesis in archaea and eukaryotes of selenocysteine, the 21st cotranslationally inserted amino acid.
New challenges to our understanding of tRNA biosynthesis and the role of the RNA intron emerge from the finding that the deep-rooted organism Nanoarcheaon equitansmakes functional tRNA from encoded half-genes.
Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
Academic Achievements and Community Involvement
Links & Media
News
- March 23, 2018
A path toward drug synthesis in cells
- October 16, 2017
Key to expanding genetic code described by Yale scientists
- September 22, 2017Source: Yale Daily News
New center to advance biology research
- April 21, 2016
New protein-making factory promises better medicines