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Research & Reviews: Journal of Material Sciences | ISSN: 2321-6212 | Volulme 6
November 07-08, 2018 | Atlanta, USA
Materials Science and Engineering
15
th
International Conference and Exhibition on
Applied Crystallography
3
rd
International Conference on
&
Engaging undergraduate researchers in macromolecular crystallography
Herbert Lawrence Axelrod
1
, JuHe Lee, Ali H Saleh, Victoria Ngo, Michael J Collazo
2
, Duilio Cascio, Christopher R Meyer
3
and
Madeline E Rasche
1
1
California State University, USA
2
UCLA-DOE Institute for Genomics and Proteomics, USA
3
Fresno State University, USA
G
round-breaking work in bringing sophisticated X-ray diffraction methods within the reach of undergraduate researchers has
been reported by established leaders in the field. The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at California State University
is committed to providing undergraduate students opportunities to engage in independent, state of the art and cutting-edge
research through its capstone CHEM 495 course. Since crystallographic structure determination is the mainstream technique and
plays an ever-increasing role in pharmaceutical and biotechnology strategies, we sought to bring opportunities for undergraduate
researchers to embrace X-ray diffraction methods and three-dimensional structure determination for improving an understanding of
structure and function in for their projects. However, this method requires a significant investment in equipment and computational
infrastructure which are inaccessible to most undergraduate programs. Fortunately, resources have been made generously available to
us in Fullerton through the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource and the UCLA-DOE Institute for Genomics and Proteomics.
At these facilities, undergraduates have access to high-throughput crystallization robots and synchrotrons to collect X-ray diffraction
data. Utilization of these resources has created unique opportunities for teams of undergraduate researchers to tackle novel research
projects including the structure determination of ADP-Glucose Pyrophosphorylase (ADPG-PPase) a key enzyme involved in rate-
limiting step of starch synthesis the from the thermophilic marine bacterium
Thermotoga maritima
and a key protein designated
Orf19 that believed to catalyze one of the steps in the synthesis of tetrahydromethanopterin (THMPT). In several species of archaeal
microbes that live in the digestive tract of ruminants including cattle, THMPT is a cofactor that is required for the production of
methane. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas; therefore inhibition of the enzymes involved in THMPT biosynthesis is a promising
strategy to help mitigate the emission of this gas from large-scale cattle and dairy farming. Knowledge of the structure of Orf19 is
likely to lead to a better understanding of how effective inhibitors of the enzyme can be designed for diminishing the production of
methane.
haxelrod@fullerton.eduRes. Rev. J Mat. Sci. 2018, Volume 6
DOI: 10.4172/2321-6212-C8-036