Contact: Maridith Geuder
A major research unit at Mississippi State is receiving National Science Foundation support to acquire state-of-the-art technologies.
The university's Life Sciences and Biotechnology Institute is receiving a $400,000 Major Research Instrumentation Grant from NSF to expand capabilities in proteomics research, or the study of plant and animal protein structures.
Established in 2000, LSBI conducts research, educational and outreach programs related to biotechnology and its impact on humans and the environment. The MSU work also helps promote economic development through the commercialization of new biotechnology products.
Faculty members in areas as diverse as forestry and tissue engineering are using a new mass spectrometer to document the ways in which proteins interact to form cells, tissues, organs, or organisms, said LSBI director H. Alan Wood.
"If there's a genetic disorder, there's a change in proteins," Wood explained. With advanced proteomics research, scientists have the potential to identify diseases before there are symptoms, he added.
Housed in the LSBI laboratories at Pace Hall, the MSU Proteomics Facility is supporting research into the drought stress of Mississippi crops, poultry diseases, insect pests, and cattle reproduction, among others.
In addition to the NSF, the new equipment, formally known as the Applied Biosystems 4700 Proteomics Discovery System, is being funded with an additional $200,000 of LSBI cost-sharing funds.
"This is a state-of the-art mass spectrometer that has become the universal standard because of its ease of use, extreme accuracy, and high sensitivity, making it an ideal instrument for both research and teaching," Wood said.
With the addition, LSBI is enhancing its capabilities in research that affects some of Mississippi's most important economic enterprises, he explained.
In a yearlong MSU study, Cetin Yuceer is using the proteomics facility for research designed to identify genes and proteins that are involved in reproduction in trees. The assistant professor of forestry said the information eventually will be used to predict future seed production for tree species such as oaks.
"Abundant and consistent seed crops from trees are preferred for production of seedling planting stock, establishment of adequate natural regeneration and food for wildlife," Yuceer said. The problem is that annual seed production varies and "bumper" crop years can't be predicted, he added.
Yuceer said his research project is using a unique plant-insect interaction to gain a better understanding of how insect larvae affect flower bud formation. When insect larvae feed in the shoot tip, more flower buds--and fewer leaf buds--tend to form. Insect larvae might secrete a chemical that promotes more flower bud formation by turning on certain genes.
Yuceer said he's hopeful the chemical, genes and proteins can be captured and used to develop a computational model that will help predict future seed stocks.
"An understanding of how environmental factors, chemicals, genes, and proteins control reproduction in trees will provide information needed to develop methods for regular production and early prediction of seed crops," he said.
Wood said capabilities of the MSU Proteomics Facility can reduce complex research such as Yuceer's from hundreds of hours to minutes. Among other research equipment are the 2-D gel electrophoresis, 2-D liquid chromatography and related technologies.
"With our range of equipment, we now rank among the premier proteomic facilities in the United States," Wood said.
In addition to its research mission, LSBI will provide training to researchers at other Mississippi universities who will use the equipment. "We believe this is a real resource for Mississippi," Wood said.
For more information about MSU's Life Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, telephone Wood at (662) 325-9208.