Agricultural and Life Sciences (IFAS)
Laboratory of Nucleic Acids
Led by Luiz Passalacqua · Microbiology and Cell Science
What we study
The lab studies how RNA, DNA, and modified nucleic acids fold into shapes that control biological processes. They use bioinformatics, biochemistry, and structural biology to understand these structures and their roles in gene regulation, host-pathogen interactions, and more.
What working here is like
- Wet lab
- Computational
- Bacteria & microbes
- Coding helps
- Projects
- 4
- Papers
- 5
Current projects
Discovery and characterization of structured non-coding RNAs
They study how ribozymes, riboswitches, and RNA thermometers regulate genes and interact with pathogens.
Deciphering how complex DNA structures in R-loops impact genome stability
They investigate how DNA structures in R-loops affect genome stability.
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DNA and RNA aptamer development and characterization
They develop and study DNA and RNA aptamers, which are molecules that bind specific targets.
Astrobiology - nucleic acids in origins and evolution of life in the universe
They explore how nucleic acids might have played a role in the origins and evolution of life in the universe.
Summaries are written by AI in plain language from public symposium abstracts and may be imperfect.
Recent papers, explained
- Defining Thermodynamic and Structural Features of ROSE-like RNA Thermometer
2026 · UF Journal of Undergraduate Research
Analyzes how ROSE-like RNA thermometers regulate translation in response to temperature changes.
- Structure-informed design of an ultrabright RNA-activated fluorophore
2025 · Nature Chemistry
Develops a brighter RNA fluorophore for imaging with improved binding to Mango aptamers.
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- The RNA thermometer motif ROSE-G regulates ABC transporter gene expression in bacteria
2025 · Journal of Biological Chemistry
Discovers a new RNA motif, ROSE-G, that regulates ABC transporter gene expression in bacteria.
- Symmetry breaking of fluorophore binding to a G-quadruplex generates an RNA aptamer with picomolar KD
2024 · Nucleic Acids Research
Creates a high-affinity RNA aptamer with picomolar binding for imaging and purification.
- RNA thermometers are widespread upstream of ABC transporter genes in bacteria
2024 · Journal of Biological Chemistry
Finds that ROSE-like RNA thermometers regulate ABC transporter genes in bacteria.
Plain-language summaries are AI-written and reviewed by us; check the paper for details.
How to reach out
Luiz Passalacqua hasn't set up this page yet. Their UF Scholars profile lists their publications.