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Research Interests
The research projects in our laboratory concern hyperthermophiles, which are microorganisms that grow near and even above 100°C. The main focus is the archaeon Pyrococcus furiosus (Pf), which grows optimally at the boiling point. The Pf genome contains 2,200 genes and a proteomics effort is in progress involving the large-scale fractionation of native biomass to identify macromolecular assemblies on a genome-wide basis. These include multiprotein complexes that contain metals, RNA and metabolites. A functional genomics effort is also underway in which DNA microarrays representing the complete genome are being used to investigate the response of Pf to various stress conditions. These include low temperature (~ 70°C), limiting amounts of iron and sulfur, and the presence of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. Novel proteins involved in these responses are being characterized by a variety of biochemical, molecular and spectroscopic techniques. Hyperthermophiles are also of great interest in the bioenergy field as they can metabolize various types of biomass to produce hydrogen gas, a potential biofuel. Two additional projects currently underway seek to understand the nature of the enzymes that are involved in hydrogen production. We are using Pf and Thermotoga maritima, a hyperthermophilic bacterium, as model systems. The research in the laboratory is funded by grants from the Georgia Research Alliance, the Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.
Selected Recent Publications
- Tan, M. L., Bizzarri, A. R., Xiao, Y., Cannistraro, S., Ichiye, T., Manzoni, C., Cerullo,G., Adams, M. W. W., Jenney, F. E. and Cramer, S. P. (2007) "Observation of terahertz vibrations in Pyrococcus furiosus rubredoxin via impulsive coherent vibrational spectroscopy and nuclear resonance vibrational spectroscopy - Interpretation by molecular mechanics" J. Inorg. Biochem. 101, 375-384
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Wang, X., Lee, H.-S., Sugar, F., Jenney, F. E., Adams, M. W. W. and Prestegard, J. H. (2007) PF0610, a novel winged HTH variant possessing a rubredoxin-like Zn-ribbon motif from the hyperthermophilic archaeon, Pyrococcus furiosus" Biochemistry 46, 752-761
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Tran, T. T., Dam, P., Su, P., Poole, F. P., Adams, M. W. W., Zhou, G. T. and Xu, Y. (2007) “Operon prediction in Pyrococcus furiosus” Nucleic Acid Res. 35, 11-20
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Jenney, F. E. Jr., Tachdjian, S., Chou, C.-J., Kelly, R. M. and Adams, M. W. W. (2007) Functional Genomics. In: Archaea: Molecular Cell Biology (Cavicchioli, R., ed.) John Wiley, in press
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Adams, M. W. W., Jenney, F. E. Jr., Chou, C.-J., Hamilton-Brehm, S., Poole, F. L., Shockley, K. R., Tachdjian, S. and Kelly, R. M. (2007) Transcriptomics, Proteomics and Structural Genomics of Pyrococcus furiosus. In: Archaea – Physiology, Molecular Biology and Evolution (Klenk, H.-P. and Garrett, R., eds.), Blackwell, 239-246
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Schut, G., Bridger, S. L. and Adams, M. W. W. (2007) “Insights into the metabolism of elemental sulfur by the hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus furiosus: characterization of a coenzyme A-dependent NAD(P)H sulfur oxidoreductase” J. Bacteriol. 189, 4431-4441
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Zhang, Y. H. P., Evans, B. R., Mielenz, J. R., Hopkins, R. C. and Adams, M. W. W. (2007) “High yield hydrogen production from starch and water by a synthetic enzyme pathway” PLoS One 5, e456 (1-6)
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Jenney, F. E., Jr. and Adams, M. W. W. (2007) “The impact of structural genomics on extremophiles (and vice versa)” Extremophiles (in press)
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Zhu, J., Fu, X., Koo, Y. D., Zhu, J. K., Jenney, F. E., Jr., Adams, M. W. W., Zhu, Y., Shi, H., Yun, D. J., Hasegawa, P. M. and Bressan, R. A. (2007) “An enhancer mutant of Arabidopsis salt overly sensitive 3 mediates both ion homeostasis and the oxidative stress response” Mol. Cell. Biol. (in press)
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Cacciapuoti1, G., Porcelli. M., Moretti, M. A., Zappia,V., Liu, Z.-J., Tempel, W., Schubot, F., Rose, J. P., Wang, B.-C., Brereton, P. S., Jenney, F. E. and Adams, M. W. W. (2007) “The first agmantine/cadaverine aminopropyl transferase: biochemical and structural characterization of the enzyme involved in polyamine biosynthesis in the hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus furiosus” J. Bacteriol. (in press)
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