The common theme to all research in the Rayment laboratory is understanding how proteins function at the molecular level, which typically starts with the determination of a three-dimensional structure by X-ray crystallography. This interest is driven by the simple fact that although proteins may contain hundreds of amino acid residues, alteration of a single side chain or just a few atoms, may render a protein non-functional. Understanding how this can happen demands a detailed knowledge of the context of each amino acid, hence the need for a molecular structure. However, all of the current studies also include a wide range of kinetic, ultrastructural, biophysical, and biological approaches to gain a deeper understanding of function. Problems under investigation include the studies of motor proteins, microtubule-organizing centers, and proteins involved associated with the control of Fusarium Head Blight. Coiled-coils are a common feature of many of these projects.
