Abstracts

Hendrickson lab gets $2.8 million from the NIH for genetics research projects

Eric Hendrickson (Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics) and colleagues in his laboratory have been awarded grants of $2.8 million from the National Institutes of Health for research on a common genetic mechanism that underlies a rare disease and for a project on a gene involved in repairing damaged DNA.

Eric Hendrickson (top, second from left) and members of his lab: Goutam Ghosh, Der-I Kao, Farjana Fattah, Matthew Thorseth, Junghun Kweon, Brian Ruis, Kat Larson, Yongbao Wang, and Riaz Fattah.

The researchers will receive $1.8 million over five years for “A human somatic cell model for Dyskeratosis congenita.” The study focuses on KARP-1, a gene believed to cause Dyskeratosis congenita (DC), a rare inherited disorder that affects continuously renewed tissues such as the skin, mucous, and bone marrow. DC, which causes death from bone marrow failure or cancer, appears to be related to dysfunction of telomeres— repetitive sequences of noncoding DNA that cap chromosomes. The goal of Hendrickson’s research is to use human cells with altered expression of KARP-1 to understand the molecular mechanisms of telomere dysfunction in human patients. By studying the abnormal processing of telomeres in individuals with this disease, his team also hopes to characterize the mechanism of telomere maintenance in normal human beings.

For the second study, Hendrickson and colleagues will receive $1 million over four years to study a gene that regulates telomere length and genomic stability and is involved in repairing damaged DNA. The gene is also believed to play a role in several forms of cancer.

Wind turbine launches Morris center for renewable energy

A wind turbine that will meet half of the electricity needs for the University’s Morris campus will be commissioned at an Earth Day celebration on April 22, culminating a week of events to promote renewable energy.

The first large-scale wind research instrument at a public university in the Midwest, the turbine is part of a larger demonstration project at the University’s Renewable Energy Research and Demonstration Center at Morris. The center was funded by the Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment.

A community-scale, research and demonstration initiative, the center will focus on wind, biomass, biofuels, anaerobic digestion, and renewable hydrogen. Its purpose is to integrate renewable energy into Minnesota’s rural economy and develop Minnesota’s research and
education strengths in this area. Greg Cuomo is director.

Other projects being developed at the Morris outreach center include:

• Wind-to-hydrogen demonstration;
• A biomass district heating and cooling system;
• A hybrid wind and biodiesel energy system;
• An energy “smart” solar building addition; and
• A community anaerobic digester and methane pipeline system.

CBS researcher is co-investigator of $6.6 million corn genomics grant

Nathan Springer (Plant Biology) is a co-principal investigator on a $6.6 million, four-year
award from the National Science Foundation Plant Genome Project for a research effort
entitled “Functional genomics of corn [maize] chromatin.”
Corn production in the U.S. is double that of any other grain, and it is used for materials and fuel as well as food. Understanding corn genomics provides insights for making corn more productive and nutritious while decreasing the need for chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
The project involves collaborators at the University of Missouri, University of Arizona, Washington University, University of Wisconsin, and University of Georgia.

IN PRINT

Anthony Dean (Biotechnology Institute and Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior) and G. Zhu (Biotechnology Institute) published an article titled “The Selective Cause of an Ancient Adaptation” in the February 25 issue of Science. By genetically engineering an ancestral version of an enzyme and using subsequent selection experiments to show how the enzyme changed, their research revealed the selective basis of an adaptive event that occurred billions of years ago.

David Redish (Neuroscience) has developed a computational model of addiction that can be used to make predictions about human and animal behavior. The model was reported in the
December 10, 2004 issue of Science. Redish says that bringing addiction theory into a computational realm helps researchers address questions that will lead to a better understanding of addictive behavior. The model was developed based on two hypotheses: that the normal brain uses the neurochemical dopamine to reward learning, and that cocaine produces an increase in dopamine.

David Stephens (Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior) has discovered what may be the evolutionary basis for impulsive behavior. Through experiments involving blue jays, he and colleagues observed that this behavior evolved because, in nature, short-term small rewards (small morsels of food) actually provide more long-term benefits than waiting for bigger rewards. The work may help explain why many humans today find it hard to turn down an immediate reward—for example, food, money, sex, or euphoria—to wait for something better. The work was published in the December 7 issue of the Proceedings of the Royal Society(London).

Larry Wackett (Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics) co-authored a study published November 5, 2004, in Science titled “Accumulation of Mn(II) in Deinococcus radiodurans Facilitates Gamma-radiation Resistance.” The article attributes this bacterium’s ability to withstand high levels of radiation to its accumulation of manganese.
Deinococcus radiodurans could be used to clean up sites contaminated by radiation.

Tropical food web study shows caterpillars are picky eaters

Findings could help biologists identify species at risk of extinction

Despite a smorgasboard of dining choices, 90 percent of caterpillars in the tropical rain forests of Papua, New Guinea, eat only one kind of plant, according to a study coauthored by George Weiblen, assistant professor of plant biology at the College of Biological Sciences.

The study was published in the November/December, 2004, issue of Ecology Letters.

Weiblen says that’s probably because the two co-evolved, with the caterpillar evolving ways to overcome defenses that plants evolved to avoid becoming dinner.

The findings could mean that rain forest creatures have a tough time adapting when their favorite food is eliminated by deforestation. About two percent of remaining rain forests are lost to deforestation each year, Weiblen says. Understanding tropical food webs could help biologists identify which species are at risk of extinction.

Tropical food webs are challenging study subjects because of their complexity. Weiblen overcame that by using native parataxonomists—members of local tribes—to gather, identify, and record data. With a little training, they can actually do a better job than scientists, Weiblen says, because they so are attuned to rain forest life.