Biswajit Pradhan

Pre-catalytic activation pathway of the Smc5/6 complex

This study defines the pre-catalytic activation pathway of the Smc5/6 complex using cryo-EM and conformational analysis, revealing a structural transition from Bridge to Engaged states.

Probing intracellular physical environments by rotational and translational single-particle tracking

This paper introduces a method combining rotational and translational single-particle tracking to analyze nanoscale dynamics, showing it reveals distinct biophysical features of cellular compartments.

SMC Motor Proteins Operate at the Near-Minimal Forces for DNA Loop Extrusion

This study presents a coarse-grained model to simulate SMC motor protein loop extrusion, showing they operate at near-minimal forces to overcome entropic barriers.

Loop extrusion-mediated plasmid DNA cleavage by the bacterial SMC Wadjet complex

This study reveals that the bacterial SMC Wadjet complex uses loop extrusion to specifically recognize and cleave plasmid DNA, establishing loop extrusion as a conserved mechanism across SMC complexes.

A DNA tension-dependent tug-of-war between dimeric SMC motors governs loop extrusion directionality

This study shows that dimeric SMC motors switch extrusion directionality based on DNA tension, with cohesin being constitutively biased toward one-sided extrusion.

Loop-extruding Smc5/6 organizes transcription-induced positive DNA supercoils

This study identifies Smc5/6's role in organizing transcription-induced positive DNA supercoils by initiating loop extrusion at cohesin-dependent boundaries.