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Single-Cell Fluidic Force Microscopy Reveals Stress- Dependent Molecular Interactions In Yeast Mating, Marion Mathelié-Guinlet, Felipe Viela, JéRôMe Dehullu, Sviatlana Filimonava, Jason M. Rauceo, Peter N. Lipke, Yves F. DufrêNe Jan 2021

Single-Cell Fluidic Force Microscopy Reveals Stress- Dependent Molecular Interactions In Yeast Mating, Marion Mathelié-Guinlet, Felipe Viela, JéRôMe Dehullu, Sviatlana Filimonava, Jason M. Rauceo, Peter N. Lipke, Yves F. DufrêNe

Publications and Research

Sexual agglutinins of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae are proteins mediating cell aggregation during mating. Complementary agglutinins expressed by cells of opposite mating types “a” and “α” bind together to promote agglutination and facilitate fusion of haploid cells. By means of an innovative single-cell manipulation assay combining fluidic force microscopy with force spectroscopy, we unravel the strength of single specific bonds between a- and α-agglutinins (~100 pN) which require pheromone induction. Prolonged cell–cell contact strongly increases adhesion between mating cells, likely resulting from an increased expression of agglutinins. In addition, we highlight the critical role of disulfide bonds of the …


Proceedings Of The Cuny Games Conference 6.0, Robert O. Duncan, Joseph Bisz, Christina Boyle, Kathleen Offenholley, Maura A. Smale, Carolyn Stallard, Deborah Sturm Feb 2020

Proceedings Of The Cuny Games Conference 6.0, Robert O. Duncan, Joseph Bisz, Christina Boyle, Kathleen Offenholley, Maura A. Smale, Carolyn Stallard, Deborah Sturm

Publications and Research

The CUNY Games Network is an organization dedicated to encouraging research, scholarship and teaching in the developing field of games-based learning. We connect educators from every campus and discipline at CUNY and beyond who are interested in digital and non-digital games, simulations, and other forms of interactive teaching and inquiry-based learning. These proceedings summarize the CUNY Games Conference 6.0, where scholars shared research findings at a three-day event to promote and discuss game-based pedagogy in higher education. Presenters could share findings in oral presentations, posters, demos, or play testing sessions. The conference also included workshops on how to modify existing …


An Amyloid Core Sequence In The Major Candida Albicans Adhesin Als1p Mediates Cell-Cell Adhesion, Vida Ho, Philippe Herman-Bausier, Christopher Shaw, Karen A. Conrad, Melissa C. Garcia-Sherman, Jeremy Draghi, Yves F. Dufrene, Peter N. Lipke, Jason M. Rauceo Oct 2019

An Amyloid Core Sequence In The Major Candida Albicans Adhesin Als1p Mediates Cell-Cell Adhesion, Vida Ho, Philippe Herman-Bausier, Christopher Shaw, Karen A. Conrad, Melissa C. Garcia-Sherman, Jeremy Draghi, Yves F. Dufrene, Peter N. Lipke, Jason M. Rauceo

Publications and Research

ABSTRACT The human fungal commensal Candida albicans can become a serious opportunistic pathogen in immunocompromised hosts. The C. albicans cell adhesion protein Als1p is a highly expressed member of a large family of paralogous adhesins. Als1p can mediate binding to epithelial and endothelial cells, is upregulated in infections, and is important for biofilm formation. Als1p includes an amyloidforming sequence at amino acids 325 to 331, identical to the sequence in the paralogs Als5p and Als3p. Therefore, we mutated Val326 to test whether this sequence is important for activity. Wild-type Als1p (Als1pWT) and Als1p with the V326N mutation (Als1pV326N) were expressed …


Proceedings Of The Cuny Games Conference 5.0, Robert O. Duncan, Joe Bisz, Julie Cassidy, Kathleen Offenholley, Carolyn Stallard, Deborah Sturm, Anders A. Wallace Mar 2019

Proceedings Of The Cuny Games Conference 5.0, Robert O. Duncan, Joe Bisz, Julie Cassidy, Kathleen Offenholley, Carolyn Stallard, Deborah Sturm, Anders A. Wallace

Publications and Research

The CUNY Games Network is an organization dedicated to encouraging research, scholarship and teaching in the developing field of games-based learning. We connect educators from every campus and discipline at CUNY and beyond who are interested in digital and non-digital games, simulations, and other forms of interactive teaching and inquiry-based learning. The CUNY Games Conference distills its best cutting-edge interactive presentations into a two-day event to promote and discuss game-based pedagogies in higher education, focusing particularly on non-digital learning activities that faculty can use in the classroom every day. The conference will include workshops lead by CUNY Games Organizers on …


Postmortem Toxicology Of New Synthetic Opiods, Marta Concheiro, Rachel Chesser, Justine Pardi, Gail Cooper Oct 2018

Postmortem Toxicology Of New Synthetic Opiods, Marta Concheiro, Rachel Chesser, Justine Pardi, Gail Cooper

Publications and Research

One hundred fifteen Americans die every day from opioid overdose. These overdose fatalities have been augmented by the increased availability of potent synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl and its derivatives. The death rate of synthetic opioids, other than methadone, increased by 72.2% from 2014 to 2015, and doubled from 2015 to 2016, situating the USA in the midst of an opioid overdose epidemic. The analytical identification of these opioids in postmortem samples and the correct toxicological data interpretation is critical to identify and implement preventive strategies. This article reviews the current knowledge of postmortem toxicology of synthetic opioids and the …


Optimizing Spacer Length For Positioning Functional Groups In Bio-Waste, Revathi Iyengar, Maria Faure-Betancourt, Saleh Talukdar, Jinting Ye, Abel E. Navarro Sep 2018

Optimizing Spacer Length For Positioning Functional Groups In Bio-Waste, Revathi Iyengar, Maria Faure-Betancourt, Saleh Talukdar, Jinting Ye, Abel E. Navarro

Publications and Research

The goal of this study was to determine the optimal chain length needed for tethering functional groups on bio-wastes. The purpose of modifying the surface of bio-waste is to improve their affinity for phenols. To this end, four different aminated green tea leaves, with the amine group located at the end of 6, 8, 10, and 12 carbons were synthesized. Green approaches to functionalization lead to fewer reactive sites. Optimizing spacer length is one way to ameliorate this. The aminated tea leaves were prepared by a tosylation reaction followed by displacement with a diamine used in excess. The tea leaves …


The Fata Morgana Of Unconscious Perception, Marjan Persuh Apr 2018

The Fata Morgana Of Unconscious Perception, Marjan Persuh

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.


Working Memory And Consciousness: The Current State Of Play, Marjan Persuh, Eric Larock, Jacob Berger Mar 2018

Working Memory And Consciousness: The Current State Of Play, Marjan Persuh, Eric Larock, Jacob Berger

Publications and Research

Working memory (WM), an important posit in cognitive science, allows one to temporarily store and manipulate information in the service of ongoing tasks. WM has been traditionally classified as an explicit memory system—that is, as operating on and maintaining only consciously perceived information. Recently, however, several studies have questioned this assumption, purporting to provide evidence for unconscious WM. In this article, we focus on visual working memory (VWM) and critically examine these studies as well as studies of unconscious perception that seem to provide indirect evidence for unconscious WM. Our analysis indicates that current evidence does not support an unconscious …


The Candida Albicans Stress Response Gene Stomatin-Like Protein 3 Is Implicated In Ros-Induced Apoptotic-Like Death Of Yeast Phase Cells, Karen A. Conrad, Ronald Rodriguez, Eugenia C. Salcedo, Jason M. Rauceo Feb 2018

The Candida Albicans Stress Response Gene Stomatin-Like Protein 3 Is Implicated In Ros-Induced Apoptotic-Like Death Of Yeast Phase Cells, Karen A. Conrad, Ronald Rodriguez, Eugenia C. Salcedo, Jason M. Rauceo

Publications and Research

The ubiquitous presence of SPFH (Stomatin, Prohibitin, Flotillin, HflK/HflC) proteins in all domains of life suggests that their function would be conserved. However, SPFH functions are diverse with organism-specific attributes. SPFH proteins play critical roles in physiological processes such as mechanosensation and respiration. Here, we characterize the stomatin ORF19.7296/SLP3 in the opportunistic human pathogen Candida albicans. Consistent with the localization of stomatin proteins, a Slp3p-Yfp fusion protein formed visible puncta along the plasma membrane. We also visualized Slp3p within the vacuolar lumen. Slp3p primary sequence analyses identified four putative S-palmitoylation sites, which may facilitate membrane localization and are conserved features …


The Candida Albicans Stress Response Gene Stomatin-Like Protein 3 Is Implicated In Ros-Induced Apoptotic-Like Death Of Yeast Phase Cells, Karen A. Conrad, Ronald Rodriguez, Eugenia C. Salcedo, Jason M. Rauceo Feb 2018

The Candida Albicans Stress Response Gene Stomatin-Like Protein 3 Is Implicated In Ros-Induced Apoptotic-Like Death Of Yeast Phase Cells, Karen A. Conrad, Ronald Rodriguez, Eugenia C. Salcedo, Jason M. Rauceo

Publications and Research

The ubiquitous presence of SPFH (Stomatin, Prohibitin, Flotillin, HflK/HflC) proteins in all domains of life suggests that their function would be conserved. However, SPFH functions are diverse with organism-specific attributes. SPFH proteins play critical roles in physiological processes such as mechanosensation and respiration. Here, we characterize the stomatin ORF19.7296/SLP3 in the opportunistic human pathogen Candida albicans. Consistent with the localization of stomatin proteins, a Slp3p-Yfp fusion protein formed visible puncta along the plasma membrane. We also visualized Slp3p within the vacuolar lumen. Slp3p primary sequence analyses identified four putative S-palmitoylation sites, which may facilitate membrane localization and are conserved features …


Species Identification Of Necrophagous Insect Eggs Based On Amino Acid Profile Differences Revealed By Direct Analysis In Real Time-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry, Justine E. Giffen, Jennifer Y. Rosati, Cameron M. Longo, Rabi A. Musah Jun 2017

Species Identification Of Necrophagous Insect Eggs Based On Amino Acid Profile Differences Revealed By Direct Analysis In Real Time-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry, Justine E. Giffen, Jennifer Y. Rosati, Cameron M. Longo, Rabi A. Musah

Publications and Research

The colonization of decomposing remains by necrophagous insects such as blow flies is of forensic importance because the progression through the various stages of insect development can be correlated to time of death. The ability to infer this information hinges on accurate determination of the fly species that are associated with the entomological evidence collected. This evidence can include eggs, larvae, pupae, and puparial casings. Determination of the egg’s identity is particularly challenging because the eggs of multiple species are morphologically very similar. We report here that the species identity of fly eggs can be determined from their chemical fingerprint …


Stability Of Synthetic Cathinones In Oral Fluid Samples, Briana Miller, Jiyoung Kim, Marta Concheiro May 2017

Stability Of Synthetic Cathinones In Oral Fluid Samples, Briana Miller, Jiyoung Kim, Marta Concheiro

Publications and Research

Synthetic cathinones are new stimulant drugs derived from cathinone that have been sold as “legal highs” worldwide. These compounds can elicit powerful effects such as delusions, hallucinations as well as other potentially dangerous behavior. New analogs with varying effects and potencies are constantly introduced in the market to evade legislation, and they are not detected by routine screening and confirmation methods. Oral fluid is an alternative matrix of increasing interest in forensic toxicology. Its collection is non-invasive and easily supervised, and positive drug findings typically reflect recent drug exposure. The focus of this research was to develop a method for …


Bioanalysis For Cocaine, Opiates, Methadone And Amphetamines Exposure Detection During Pregnancy, Marta Concheiro, Elena Lendoiro, Ana De Castro, Eva Gonzalez-Colmenero, Ana Concheiro-Guisan, Patricia Penas-Silva, Manuel Macias-Cortina, Angelines Cruz-Landeira, Manuel Lopez-Rivadulla Jan 2017

Bioanalysis For Cocaine, Opiates, Methadone And Amphetamines Exposure Detection During Pregnancy, Marta Concheiro, Elena Lendoiro, Ana De Castro, Eva Gonzalez-Colmenero, Ana Concheiro-Guisan, Patricia Penas-Silva, Manuel Macias-Cortina, Angelines Cruz-Landeira, Manuel Lopez-Rivadulla

Publications and Research

Drug exposure during pregnancy constitutes a major legal issue and public health concern. Drug and metabolite determination in biological matrices from mother and newborn is an objective indication of prenatal drug exposure. However, limited data are available regarding the interpretation of these analytical results in terms of window of detection and degree of exposure. We collected paired maternal hair, meconium, placenta and umbilical cord from 727 mother-newborn dyads. We analyzed these specimens by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry for the determination of cocaine, opioids, methadone and amphetamines, and compared the analytical results from the four different matrices. The cases were …


A Machine Learning Approach For Using The Postmortem Skin Microbiome To Estimate The Postmortem Interval, Hunter R. Johnson, Donovan D. Trinidad, Stephania Guzman, Zenab Khan, James V. Parziale, Jennifer M. Debruyn, Nathan H. Lents Dec 2016

A Machine Learning Approach For Using The Postmortem Skin Microbiome To Estimate The Postmortem Interval, Hunter R. Johnson, Donovan D. Trinidad, Stephania Guzman, Zenab Khan, James V. Parziale, Jennifer M. Debruyn, Nathan H. Lents

Publications and Research

Research on the human microbiome, the microbiota that live in, on, and around the human person, has revolutionized our understanding of the complex interactions between microbial life and human health and disease. The microbiome may also provide a valuable tool in forensic death investigations by helping to reveal the postmortem interval (PMI) of a decedent that is discovered after an unknown amount of time since death. Current methods of estimating PMI for cadavers discovered in uncontrolled, unstudied environments have substantial limitations, some of which may be overcome through the use of microbial indicators. In this project, we sampled the microbiomes …


Potyviral Genome-Linked Protein And Its Interaction With Plant Defense Ribosome Inactivating Protein From Phytolacca Americana, Artem V. Domashevskiy Jul 2016

Potyviral Genome-Linked Protein And Its Interaction With Plant Defense Ribosome Inactivating Protein From Phytolacca Americana, Artem V. Domashevskiy

Publications and Research

Agriculture is an indispensable part of every person’s life, ensuring that nutritious and inexpensive food is readily available. Agriculture continues to be confronted with epidemics, having devastating effects on economies and the plant sources essential for human and animal life. Plants and their pathogens have developed evolutionary adaptations, each shaping the other’s defence and invasive strategies. Many different plants produce toxic ribosome inactivating proteins that aid in their defence mechanisms against pathogenic invaders. Viruses must adapt to the host translational machinery, several having evolved to include viral genome-linked proteins that carry numerous viral functions. Here, we review how a potyviral …


Comparative Error-Free And Error-Prone Translesion Synthesis Of N2‑2′-Deoxyguanosine Adducts Formed By Mitomycin C And Its Metabolite, 2,7-Diaminomitosene, In Human Cells, Arindam Bose, Chaitra Surugihalli, Paritosh Pande, Elise Champeil, Ashis K. Basu Apr 2016

Comparative Error-Free And Error-Prone Translesion Synthesis Of N2‑2′-Deoxyguanosine Adducts Formed By Mitomycin C And Its Metabolite, 2,7-Diaminomitosene, In Human Cells, Arindam Bose, Chaitra Surugihalli, Paritosh Pande, Elise Champeil, Ashis K. Basu

Publications and Research

Mitomycin C (MC) is a cytotoxic and mutagenic antitumor agent that alkylates DNA upon reductive activation. 2,7-Diaminomitosene (2,7-DAM) is a major metabolite of MC in tumor cells, which also alkylates DNA. MC forms seven DNA adducts, including monoadducts and inter- and intrastrand cross-links, whereas 2,7-DAM forms two monoadducts. Herein, the biological effects of the dG-N2 adducts formed by MC and 2,7-DAM have been compared by constructing single-stranded plasmids containing these adducts and replicating them in human embryonic kidney 293T cells. Translesion synthesis (TLS) efficiencies of dG-N2-MC and dG-N2-2,7-DAM were 38 ± 3 and 27 …


Insights Into The Molecular Antiviral Mechanism Of Pokeweed Protein From Phytolacca Americana, Valentina R. Aitbakieva, Artem V. Domashevskiy Jan 2016

Insights Into The Molecular Antiviral Mechanism Of Pokeweed Protein From Phytolacca Americana, Valentina R. Aitbakieva, Artem V. Domashevskiy

Publications and Research

Agriculture is an indispensable part of every person’s life, ensuring that nutritious and inexpensive food is readily available. As any other organisms, plants are subject to numerous parasitic infections. Biological evolution has allowed plants to produce a variety of toxic compounds to deal with their pathogens. American pokeweed plant (Phytolacca americana) manufactures pokeweed antiviral protein, a ribosome inactivating protein that disrupts protein synthesis and lowers infectivity of many plant and animal viruses. The intricate mechanism of PAP antiviral activity entails a delicate coordination and interplay of several factors, allowing the plant to battle its invaders. Here, we examine the molecular …


Factors Influencing The Choice Of A Safe Haven For Offloading Illegally Caught Fish: A Comparative Analysis Of Developed And Developing Economies, Nerea Marteache, Julie S. Viollaz, Gohar A. Petrossian Oct 2015

Factors Influencing The Choice Of A Safe Haven For Offloading Illegally Caught Fish: A Comparative Analysis Of Developed And Developing Economies, Nerea Marteache, Julie S. Viollaz, Gohar A. Petrossian

Publications and Research

Using data from 72 countries, this study focuses on factors that affect illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing vessels’ choice of country to offload their catch, with a specific emphasis on the differences between developed and developing economies. The concept of choice-structuring properties is applied to analyze whether the following factors influence the selection of a country: concealability of vessels and illegally caught fish; convenience of the ports; strength of fisheries monitoring, control, and surveillance measures; effectiveness of country governance; and commitment to wildlife protection regulations. Results indicate that, rather than a country’s level of development, situational factors play a …


Geospatial Resolution Of Human And Bacterial Diversity With City-Scale Metagenomics, Ebrahim Afshinnekoo, Cem Meydan, Shanin Chowdhury, Dyala Jaroudi, Collin Boyer, Nick Bernstein, Julia M. Maritz, Darryl Reeves, Jorge Gandara, Sagar Chhangawala, Sofia Ahsanuddin, Amber Simmons, Timothy Nessel, Bharathi Sundaresh, Elizabeth Pereira, Ellen Jorgensen, Sergios-Orestis Kolokotronis, Nell Kirchberger, Isaac Garcia, David Gandara, Sean Dhanraj, Tanzina Nawrin, Yogesh Saletore, Noah Alexander, Priyanka Vijay, Elizabeth M. Hénaff, Paul Zumbo, Michael Walsh, Gregory D. O'Mullan, Scott Tighe, Joel T. Dudley, Anya Dunaif, Sean Ennis, Eoghan O'Halloran, Tiago R. Magalhaes, Braden Boone, Angela L. Jones, Theodore R. Muth, Katie Schneider Paolantonio, Elizabeth Alter, Eric E. Schadt, Jeanne Garbarino, Robert J. Prill, Jane M. Carlton, Shawn Levy, Christopher E. Mason Jul 2015

Geospatial Resolution Of Human And Bacterial Diversity With City-Scale Metagenomics, Ebrahim Afshinnekoo, Cem Meydan, Shanin Chowdhury, Dyala Jaroudi, Collin Boyer, Nick Bernstein, Julia M. Maritz, Darryl Reeves, Jorge Gandara, Sagar Chhangawala, Sofia Ahsanuddin, Amber Simmons, Timothy Nessel, Bharathi Sundaresh, Elizabeth Pereira, Ellen Jorgensen, Sergios-Orestis Kolokotronis, Nell Kirchberger, Isaac Garcia, David Gandara, Sean Dhanraj, Tanzina Nawrin, Yogesh Saletore, Noah Alexander, Priyanka Vijay, Elizabeth M. Hénaff, Paul Zumbo, Michael Walsh, Gregory D. O'Mullan, Scott Tighe, Joel T. Dudley, Anya Dunaif, Sean Ennis, Eoghan O'Halloran, Tiago R. Magalhaes, Braden Boone, Angela L. Jones, Theodore R. Muth, Katie Schneider Paolantonio, Elizabeth Alter, Eric E. Schadt, Jeanne Garbarino, Robert J. Prill, Jane M. Carlton, Shawn Levy, Christopher E. Mason

Publications and Research

The panoply of microorganisms and other species present in our environment influence human health and disease, especially in cities, but have not been profiled with metagenomics at a city-wide scale. We sequenced DNA from surfaces across the entire New York City (NYC) subway system, the Gowanus Canal, and public parks. Nearly half of the DNA (48%) does not match any known organism; identified organisms spanned 1,688 bacterial, viral, archaeal, and eukaryotic taxa, which were enriched for harmless genera associated with skin (e.g., Acinetobacter). Predicted ancestry of human DNA left on subway surfaces can recapitulate U.S. Census demographic data, and bacterial …


Inhibition Of Cell Differentiation In Bacillus Subtilis By Pseudomonas Protegens, Matthew J. Powers, Edgardo Sanabria-Valentín, Albert A. Bowers, Elizabeth A. Shanka Jul 2015

Inhibition Of Cell Differentiation In Bacillus Subtilis By Pseudomonas Protegens, Matthew J. Powers, Edgardo Sanabria-Valentín, Albert A. Bowers, Elizabeth A. Shanka

Publications and Research

Interspecies interactions have been described for numerous bacterial systems, leading to the identification of chemical compounds that impact bacterial physiology and differentiation for processes such as biofilm formation. Here, we identified soil microbes that inhibit biofilm formation and sporulation in the common soil bacterium Bacillus subtilis. We did so by creating a reporter strain that fluoresces when the transcription of a biofilm-specific gene is repressed. Using this reporter in a coculture screen, we identified Pseudomonas putida and Pseudomonas protegens as bacteria that secrete compounds that inhibit biofilm gene expression in B. subtilis. The active compound produced by P. protegens was …


The Phytotronist And The Phenotype: Plant Physiology, Big Science, And A Cold War Biology Of The Whole Plant., David Munns Jan 2015

The Phytotronist And The Phenotype: Plant Physiology, Big Science, And A Cold War Biology Of The Whole Plant., David Munns

Publications and Research

This paper describes how, from the early twentieth century, and especially in the early Cold War era, the plant physiologists considered their discipline ideally suited among all the plant sciences to study and explain biological functions and processes, and ranked their discipline among the dominant forms of the biological sciences. At their apex in the late-1960s, the plant physiologists laid claim to having discovered nothing less than the “basic laws of physiology.” This paper unwraps that claim, showing that it emerged from the construction of monumental big science laboratories known as phytotrons that gave control over the growing environment. Control …


Laboratory Evaluation Of A Prospective Remediation Method For Pcb-Contaminated Paint, Erin K H Saitta, Michael J. Gittings, Christian Clausen, Jacqueline Quinn, Cherie L. Yestrebsky Mar 2014

Laboratory Evaluation Of A Prospective Remediation Method For Pcb-Contaminated Paint, Erin K H Saitta, Michael J. Gittings, Christian Clausen, Jacqueline Quinn, Cherie L. Yestrebsky

Publications and Research

Background: Paint laden with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) often acts as a point source for environmental contamination. It is advantageous to address contaminated paint before the PCBs transport to surrounding media; however, current disposal methods of painted material introduce a variety of complications. Previous work demonstrates that PCBs can be broken down at ambient temperatures and pressures through a degradation process involving magnesium metal and acidified ethanol. This report is an extension of that work by describing the development of a delivery system for said reaction in preparation for a field test. Two treatment options including the Activated Metal Treatment System …


Yeast Cell Adhesion Molecules Have Functional Amyloid-Forming Sequences, Caleen B. Ramsook, Cho Tan, Melissa C. Garcia, Raymond Fung, Gregory Soybelman, Ryan Henry, Anna Litewka, Shanique O’Meally, Henry N. Otoo, Roy A. Khalaf, Anne M. Dranginis, Nand K. Gaur, Stephen A. Klotz, Jason M. Rauceo, Chong K. Jue, Peter N. Lipke Mar 2010

Yeast Cell Adhesion Molecules Have Functional Amyloid-Forming Sequences, Caleen B. Ramsook, Cho Tan, Melissa C. Garcia, Raymond Fung, Gregory Soybelman, Ryan Henry, Anna Litewka, Shanique O’Meally, Henry N. Otoo, Roy A. Khalaf, Anne M. Dranginis, Nand K. Gaur, Stephen A. Klotz, Jason M. Rauceo, Chong K. Jue, Peter N. Lipke

Publications and Research

The occurrence of highly conserved amyloid-forming sequences in Candida albicans Als proteins (H. N. Otoo et al., Eukaryot. Cell 7:776–782, 2008) led us to search for similar sequences in other adhesins from C. albicans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The beta-aggregation predictor TANGO found highly beta-aggregation-prone sequences in almost all yeast adhesins. These sequences had an unusual amino acid composition: 77% of their residues were beta-aggregation aliphatic amino acids Ile, Thr, and Val, which is more than 4-fold greater than their prevalence in the S. cerevisiae proteome. High beta-aggregation potential peptides from S. cerevisiae Flo1p and C. albicans Eap1p rapidly formed insoluble …


Structure And Function Of Glycosylated Tandem Repeats From Candida Albicans Als Adhesins, Aaron T. Frank, Caleen B. Ramsook, Henry N. Otoo, Cho Tan, Gregory Soybelman, Jason M. Rauceo, Nand K. Gaur, Stephen A. Klotz, Peter N. Lipke Mar 2010

Structure And Function Of Glycosylated Tandem Repeats From Candida Albicans Als Adhesins, Aaron T. Frank, Caleen B. Ramsook, Henry N. Otoo, Cho Tan, Gregory Soybelman, Jason M. Rauceo, Nand K. Gaur, Stephen A. Klotz, Peter N. Lipke

Publications and Research

Tandem repeat (TR) regions are common in yeast adhesins, but their structures are unknown, and their activities are poorly understood. TR regions in Candida albicans Als proteins are conserved glycosylated 36-residue sequences with cell-cell aggregation activity (J. M. Rauceo, R. De Armond, H. Otoo, P. C. Kahn, S. A. Klotz, N. K. Gaur, and P. N. Lipke, Eukaryot. Cell 5:1664–1673, 2006). Ab initio modeling with either Rosetta or LINUS generated consistent structures of three-stranded antiparallel beta-sheet domains, whereas randomly shuffled sequences with the same composition generated various structures with consistently higher energies. O- and N-glycosylation patterns showed that each TR …


Controlling The Environment: The Australian Phytotron And Postcolonial Science, David Munns Jan 2009

Controlling The Environment: The Australian Phytotron And Postcolonial Science, David Munns

Publications and Research

The phytotron story is concered with the presence in Australia of large scientific instruments. The scientific and political commitment to those instruments was overlapping and indistinguishable. The instruments signalled Australia’s place as a first world scientific nation, preemminant in its region. Moreover the instrument was a sign of Australia’s standing as a member of the international first-world community, the community which contributed towards the stock of ‘pure’ knowledge for the defence of the free-world. But there were ideological battles as well. The defence of the free world was, for the principal proponents in Australia and the United States, connected to …