User:Tommie Hata/2010 Pingry S.M.A.R.T. Team

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Revision as of 16:03, 24 December 2009

2010 Pingry S.M.A.R.T. Team-AKR's for Biofuel Cells

The 2010 Pingry School S.M.A.R.T. Team (Students Modeling A Research Topic) is working with Scott Banta at Columbia University to learn about enzymes being engineered for use in a biofuel cell. Features being engineered into these enzymes include (1) self-assembly into hydrogels, (2) alternate cofactor use, and (3) broader substrate specificity. The Banta Lab is engineering these features into AdhD alcohol dehydrogenase from the thermophile Pyrococcus furiosus. AdhD is a member of the aldo-keto reductase (AKR) family of oxidoreductases. Taking advantage of its innate thermostable properties, the Banta Lab is engineering AdhD for use in biofuel cells.

The logical design and engineering of AdhD is based partially on the solved structures of other enzymes belonging to the AKR family of enzymes. Structures of mutants that bind alternate cofactors and those bound to its substrate provide insight into how to engineer AdhD and other enzymes of use in a biofuel cell. The 2010 Pingry S.M.A.R.T. Team is producing physical models of various AKR's that highlight the enzymes' structural and functional characteristics that are relevant to the Banta Lab's work.

Article text.^[1]

What are S.M.A.R.T. Teams?

"SMART Teams (Students Modeling A Research Topic) are teams of high school students and their teachers who are working with research scientists to design and construct physical models of the proteins or other molecular structures that are being investigated in their laboratories. SMART Teams use state-of-the-art molecular design software and rapid prototyping technologies to produce these unique models." -from the Center of BioMolecular Modeling Website.

This project was supported by Grant Number 1 R25 RR022749-01 from the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Reference

• Sanli G, Dudley JI, Blaber M. Structural biology of the aldo-keto reductase family of enzymes: catalysis and cofactor binding. Cell Biochem Biophys. 2003;38(1):79-101. PMID:12663943 doi:10.1385/CBB:38:1:79