NSF Award
0313754
A grant has been awarded to Drs. Leroy Hood, Nitin Baliga and Pat Ehrman of the Institute for Systems Biology to evaluate the global oxygen-response mechanisms in Halobacterium sp. NRC-1 through a research program including a strong parallel high-school educational component. Halobacterium sp. NRC-1 belongs to a group of organisms called Archaea that are frequently encountered in extreme environments such as deep-sea vents and solar salt flats and are, therefore, resources for novel biotechnology and health-related products. It is an extreme halophile (salt-loving organism) that experiences frequent sways in light, temperature, salinity and oxygen. The availability of its complete genome sequence and sophisticated experimental analysis tools render this microorganism pliable for studying whole cell (global) mechanisms of adaptation to changes in important environmental factors. The research goal of this project is to dissect the biological networks that mediate the oxygen-stress response. Dr. Baliga and co-workers will simultaneously analyze data for all of the genes in the organism such as abundance of mRNA and proteins, and protein-protein interactions with advanced modeling and simulation methods to decipher an essential biological network at a level unprecedented in scope and detail.<br/><br/>Halobacterium sp. NRC-1 cultures being vibrant and colorful will prove effective in provoking interest in young students. More importantly, it is non-pathogenic and easily decontaminated overriding the need for expensive and potentially hazardous sterilization instruments. The education goal of this project is to develop inquiry-based supplemental high school teaching modules and materials. To achieve this goal Drs. Hood, Baliga and Ehrman will work collaboratively with teachers, students and other science educators. Students will learn the modern collaborative approaches in systems biology and that biology is not exclusively a fixed-narrative dominated science. Mr. Ehrman and his colleagues will work with education products developers to ensure nationwide dissemination of the educational products to high schools.
