Biochemistry presentations (MU)
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Items in this collection are public presentations made by Department of Biochemistry faculty, staff, and students, either alone or as co-authors, and which may or may not have been published in an alternate format. Items may contain more than one file type.
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Item Scientists vs. journalists?: obligations, risks and benefits of communicating science to the public(2011) Beerman, Daniel; Allen, William, 1952-Scientists, for many reasons, aren't always the best communicators. Yet, communication skills are vital when informing the public about new research and scientific developments. This process involves scientists, the public and the media institutions through which they connect. The relationship between these groups is a subject of many studies and discussions.Item Salt Stress in Desulfovibrio Vulgaris Hildenborough: An Integrated Genomics Approach(2010-09) Mukhopadhyay, A.; He, Zhihai, 1973-; Alm, E.; Arkin, Adam, 1966-; Baidoo, E.; Borglin, S.; Chen, W.; Hazen, Terry C.; He, Qing; Holman, Hoi-Ying Ng; Joyner, D.; Keller, M.; Oeller, P.; Redding, A.; Sun, J.; Wall, Judy D.; Wei, J.; Yen, Huei-Che; Zhou, J.; Keasling, J.Recent interest in the ability of Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough to reduce, and therefore contain, toxic and radioactive metal waste, has made all factors that affect its physiology of great interest. Increased salinity constitutes an important and frequent fluctuation faced by D. vulgaris in its natural habitat. In liquid culture, exposure to excess salt resulted in a striking cell elongation in D. vulgaris. Using data from transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolite assays, phospholipid fatty acid profiling, and electron microscopy, we undertook a systems approach to explore the effects of excess NaCl on D. vulgaris. This study demonstrates that import of osmoprotectants such as glycine betaine and ectoine constitute the primary mechanism used by D. vulgaris to counter hyper-ionic stress. Several efflux systems were also highly up-regulated, as was the ATP synthesis pathway. Increase in both RNA and DNA helicases suggested that salt stress had affected the stability of nucleic acid base pairing. An overall increase in branched fatty acids indicated changes in cell wall fluidity. An immediate response to salt stress included upregulation of chemotaxis genes though flagellar biosynthesis was down-regulated. Other down-regulated systems included lactate uptake permeases and ABC transport systems. The extensive NaCl stress analysis was compared with microarray data from KCl stress and unlike many other bacteria, D. vulgaris responded similarly to the two stresses. Integration of data from multiple methods has allowed us to present a conceptual model for salt stress response in D. vulgaris that can be compared to other microorganisms.Item Development and characterization of fluorescent dye-doped nanoparticles with enhanced fluorescence intensity and photostability [abstract](2010) Bok, Sangho, 1972-; Korampally, Venumadhav, 1972-; Mukherjee, Somik; Dasgupta, Purnendu K.; Gangopadhyay, Keshab; Gangopadhyay, Shubhra; Polo-Parada, Luis; Folk, William Robert; University of Missouri (System); Missouri Life Sciences Summit (2010: University of Missouri--Kansas City)We report the development of fluorescent dye doped organosilicate nanoparticles (DOSNPs) synthesized from poly-methylsilsesquioxane(PMSSQ), resulting in high fluorescence intensity and excellent photostability. The surface modified DOSNPs have hydrophilic surfaces and hydrophobic cores that enhance water-solubility and protect the dyes from oxidation and phtobleaching. These DOSNPs show superior properties over conventional dyes such as high fluorescence intensity due to approximately hundred dye molecules per particle and photostability demonstrating 7% and 76% fluorescence decay under continuous excitation for rhodamine 6G (R6G) DOSNP and R6G molecules, respectively, and have potential to be used in many areas, for example, imaging, sensing and solar cells. DOSNPs, when conjugated to anti-fibronectin antibodies, increased sensitivity of detection by approximately 600 fold relative to individual dye molecules conjugated to antibody. The DOSNPs are being applied to the development of diagnostic devices to be used in the detection of drugs, metabolites and pathogens.Item Derivation and characterization of LIF and FGF2 dependent Porcine Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells [abstract](2010-02) Telugu, Bhanu Prakash V. L., 1977-; Ezashi, Toshihiko; Roberts, R. M. (Robert Michael), 1940-; University of Missouri (System); Missouri Life Sciences Summit (2010: University of Missouri--Kansas City)Authentic embryonic stem cells (ESC) have probably never been derived from the inner cell mass (ICM) of pig, despite over 25 years of effort. Recently, several groups, including ours, have reported derivation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) from swine by reprogramming somatic cells with a combination of four factors (OCT4, SOX2, KLF4, C-MYC) delivered by retroviral transduction. The piPSC resembled FGF2- dependent human (h) ESC and are likely to advance swine as a model in biomedical research, since grafts could potentially be matched to the animal that donated the cells for re-programming. The dependence of piPSC on FGF2 also draws parallels to murine pluripotent stem cells derived from advanced epiblast, so-called 'epiblast stem cells'. Indeed, an emerging concept is that there are two kinds of ESC, one dependent on FGF2 and not competent to contribute to germ-line chimeras, the other upon LIF and germ-line competent. The objective of our recent investigations has been to develop LIF- dependent piPSC by using the same reprogramming factors but selecting the colonies on a modified LIF- medium supplemented with two kinase inhibitors, CHIR99021, which inhibits GSK-3beta, and kenpaullone, which inhibits both GSK-3beta and CDK1. The LIF-dependent piPSC, derived here from outgrowths of umbilical cord mesenchyme, expressed markers consistent with pluripotency and bore a striking resemblance to ICM-derived murine ESC in colony morphology, culture characteristics, and short cell cycle time. Currently, the ability of LIF-piPSC to give rise to teratoma and chimeras is under investigation. Supported by Missouri Life Sciences Board Grant 00022147 and NIH grant HD21896.