Lorena Sue Beese

About

Lorena Sue Beese is the James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry at Duke University and a Professor of Biochemistry. She is a member of the Duke Cancer Institute. Her primary affiliation is with the Duke Department of Biochemistry, where she is involved in research and teaching activities. Her work focuses on biochemistry, and she is part of the faculty contributing to the academic and research missions of Duke University.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Biology
• Chemistry
• Programming language
• Genetics
• Microbiology
• Biochemistry
• Pharmacology
• Molecular biology

Selected publications

• Structural Factors That Determine Selectivity of a High Fidelity DNA Polymerase for Deoxy-, Dideoxy-, and Ribonucleotides

  Journal of Biological Chemistry · 2012-05-31 · 69 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  In addition to discriminating against base pair mismatches, DNA polymerases exhibit a high degree of selectivity for deoxyribonucleotides over ribo- or dideoxynucleotides. It has been proposed that a single active site residue (steric gate) blocks productive binding of nucleotides containing 2'-hydroxyls. Although this steric gate plays a role in sugar moiety discrimination, its interactions do not account fully for the observed behavior of mutants. Here we present 10 high resolution crystal str…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Sensing and Processing of DNA Interstrand Crosslinks by the Mismatch Repair Pathway

  Cell Reports · 2017-10-01 · 61 citations

  articleOpen access

  DNA interstrand crosslinks (ICLs) that are repaired in non-dividing cells must be recognized independently of replication-associated DNA unwinding. Using cell-free extracts from Xenopus eggs that support neither replication nor transcription, we establish that ICLs are recognized and processed by the mismatch repair (MMR) machinery. We find that ICL repair requires MutSα (MSH2-MSH6) and the mismatch recognition FXE motif in MSH6, strongly suggesting that MutSα functions as an ICL sensor. MutSα r…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Interplay of catalysis, fidelity, threading, and processivity in the exo- and endonucleolytic reactions of human exonuclease I

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2017-05-22 · 49 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Human exonuclease 1 (hExo1) is a member of the RAD2/XPG structure-specific 5'-nuclease superfamily. Its dominant, processive 5'-3' exonuclease and secondary 5'-flap endonuclease activities participate in various DNA repair, recombination, and replication processes. A single active site processes both recessed ends and 5'-flap substrates. By initiating enzyme reactions in crystals, we have trapped hExo1 reaction intermediates that reveal structures of these substrates before and after their exo-…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The Closing Mechanism of DNA Polymerase I at Atomic Resolution

  Structure · 2015-07-23 · 39 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Rapid Analysis of Protein Farnesyltransferase Substrate Specificity Using Peptide Libraries and Isoprenoid Diphosphate Analogues

  ACS Chemical Biology · 2014-05-19 · 34 citations

  articleOpen access

  Protein farnesytransferase (PFTase) catalyzes the farnesylation of proteins with a carboxy-terminal tetrapeptide sequence denoted as a Ca1a2X box. To explore the specificity of this enzyme, an important therapeutic target, solid-phase peptide synthesis in concert with a peptide inversion strategy was used to prepare two libraries, each containing 380 peptides. The libraries were screened using an alkyne-containing isoprenoid analogue followed by click chemistry with biotin azide and subsequent v…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant R01GM091487

  NIH · $647k · 2012

• NIH Grant R37GM052382

  NIH · $3.5M · 2016

• NIH Grant R01GM052382

  NIH · $1.8M · 2004

Frequent coauthors

• Homme W. Hellinga

  Duke University Hospital

  57 shared

• Patrick J. Casey

  Geological Survey of Sweden

  50 shared

• Michael A. Hast

  30 shared

• Stephen B. Long

  Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

  25 shared

• Paul Modrich

  Howard Hughes Medical Institute

  25 shared

• K.L. Terry

  Duke University Hospital

  21 shared

• Anita Changela

  National Institutes of Health

  21 shared

• Thomas A. Steitz

  Yale University

  21 shared

Labs

• Beese LabPI

Similar researchers at Duke University

• Robert J. Lefkowitzh-328