Star
Schools: The New Millennium Oklahoma State University
This is a multi-departmental education project
directed toward improving, via distance education, the science and mathematics
preparation of in-service middle school science and mathematics teachers.
Sponsor: Department of Education
PIs: James Blankemeyer
Center
for Science Literacy: Smith Holt
Department
of Physics: Bruce Ackerson
Arts
& Sciences Extension: Robert Brown
Department
of Mathematics: James Choike
Department
of Chemistry: Mark Rockley
Tomatine
Derivatives
This
project will research tomatine derivatives including tomato plant powders to
test the response of the frog embryos to the tomato compounds. The interaction
of tomatine, tomatine derivatives, and plant powders with various natural
protectants including folic acid and derivatives of folic acid will also be
tested.
Sponsor:
U.S. Department of
Agriculture
PI:
James Blankemeyer
Assembly
and Function of Cyanobacteria H2O-Oxidation Complex
The focus of this
project is on the structure and assembly of the catalytic site of the H2O-splitting
reaction. The work combines molecular genetic, biochemical and biophysical
approaches to clarify the process of photoactivation, which is the sequential
light-dependent assembly of the catalytic tetramer of manganese atoms that
forms the core of the H2O-oxidation complex.
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
PI: Robert Burnap
Functional
Genomics of Plant Stress Tolerance
The
long-term goal of this proposal is to isolate, characterize and define the
functional roles of all genes essential, important and ancillary to the water
and ion stress response and tolerance phenotype of plants. To tackle the
genetic basis of abiotic stress tolerance in higher plants in the most efficient,
comprehensive, integrative way possible, a consortium has been formed between
Purdue University, Oklahoma State University, and the University of Arizona.
There will be four distinct, yet complimentary approaches to isolate,
characterize, and assess the function of the core-set of stress responsive
genes involved with the water and ion stress response and tolerance phenotype
in plants. Considering the exceptional impact of abiotic stress on crop
productivity, which according to USDA statistics amounts to two-thirds of all
yield reductions in agriculture, the project to define and understand the
number and nature of genes and physiological mechanisms that constitute abiotic
stress tolerance is exceptionally timely.
Sponsor:
National Science
Foundation
PIs:
Robert Burnap, Rolf
Prade
The Oklahoma
BRIN will play a key role in achieving the goal of increasing biomedical
research in Oklahoma but recruiting 100 new National Institute of Health-funded
scientists over the next seven years. The development of a solid infrastructure
will provide the research resources necessary to recruit the needed new cadre
of biomedical investigators to Oklahoma as well as retain existing talent. In
addition, the new networks established through the BRIN with undergraduate
institutions will enhance the educational opportunities of Oklahoma’s
students and provide a stream of new graduate students to Oklahoma’s
graduate institutions.
Sponsor: University of Oklahoma Health Sciences
Center
PI: Robert Burnap
Little
is known about the effect of estrogenic compounds on lizard immunity. However,
it is known that steroid hormones have significant effects on immunity in
mammalian species, which include effects on lymphocyte viability, activation,
and migration. These compounds are also known to affect other cell types in
mammals important in immunity such as macrophages and dendritic cells. Because
estrogenic compounds are common among environmental pollutants, and immune
capacity plays a significant role in the health and survival of vertebrate
animals, it is important to assess the possible effects of these agents on
immune function within lizards since there is currently no good reptile
laboratory model for such studies. In this study, the numbers of lymphocytes of
different subsets obtained from ethinyestradiol treated and control fence
lizards and their proliferative responses to mitogens are being analyzed.
Sponsor: Environmental Institute
PI: D. Kim Burnham
Aerobic
Biodegradation of Chloreothenes in Aquifer
Material from Various Contaminated Sites
The
primary objectives of the current project are to: 1) evaluate the potential of
aerobic oxidation of cis-DCE
(dechloroethene) and VC (vinyl chloride) in contaminated soil obtained from
various geographic locations in the United States; 2) identify important groups
of bacteria that are involved in cis-DCE and VC degradation; and 3) determine mechanisms of
enhancing the cis-DCE
and VC degradation rates. Laboratory research in this project will provide
insight into which factors may control aerobic oxidation of cis-DCE and VC and hence improved site
assessment and remedial design.
Sponsors: Strategic Environmental Research and
Development Program (SERDP), Department of Defense, Department of Energy,
Environmental Protection Agency
PI: Babu Fathepure
Biodegradation
Potential of Petroleum Hydrocarbons in Salt-Impacted Soils by Halophiles and
Strategies for Enhanced Degradation
The primary goal of this research is to
demonstrate biodegradability of benzene and naphthalene in oil-brine impacted
soil, and evaluating this activity can be enhanced by the addition of simple
osmoprotectants.
Sponsor: Integrated Petroleum Environmental Consortium
(IPEC)
PI:
Babu Fathepure
Sustainability
of Aerobic Biodegradation of cis-Dichloroethene (cis-DCE) and Vinyl Chloride (VC) in
Subsurface: Natural Attenuation and Plume Control
This
project seeks to: 1) Determine the sustainability key factors including
degradative bacteris, substrates and the environmental conditions controlling
contaminant degradation; 2) Evaluate the potential of VC as a carbon source for
aerobic TCE, cis-DCE
and trans-DCE degradation;
and 3) develop 16S rDNA-based probes for the detection of cis-DCE and VC degrading bacteria at
contaminated aquifers
Sponsor: Environmental Institute for Water
Research
PI: Babu Fathepure
G
Protein Signal Transduction Pathways to Dictyostelium Development
Regulation
of Cell Fate by G Protein-Mediated Signals
The objectives
of this research are to genetically and biochemically characterize G
protein-mediated signal transduction pathways that are important for the
multicellular development of the slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum. Results of the research will provide
greater insight into the roles of G proteins in basic cellular processes that
become altered in cancerous states.
Sponsor: Oklahoma Center for the Development of
Science and Technology, Health Research Program
PI: Jeffrey Hadwiger
This project is
involved in characterizing the diversity of azoreductases present in different
intestinal bacteria. Azoreductase enzymes catalyze the reductive cleavage of
Azo (N=N) linkages to produce aromatic amines, in which some are known
carcinogens. The gene(s) from these microbes have not been identified, thereby
the structure and function of these enzymes have not been fully characterized.
The effect of the generated aromatic amines may have on the expression of
hepatic cytochrome P450 enzymes is also being explored. Understanding the link
between intestinal bacteria metabolism and heptic metabolism and their role in
disease development is an important human health issue.
Sponsor: College of Arts and Sciences
PI: Gilbert John
This
project has demonstrated the “proof-of-concept” for using enzymes
to detect various xenobiotics. The developed assay used bacterial enzymes to
specifically bind toxic organic solvents in water. The binding process was
measured using spectrophotometric measurements. The project is currently
developing an assay, using similar human enzymes that can detect potential
human toxicants in water. The human enzymes are being modified to improve their
stability without compromising their function, thereby, enabling the enzymes to
be used in the field.
Sponsor: Center for Sensors and Sensor
Technologies (CSST)
PI: Gilbert John
Because
of antigenic drift, immunization against influenza virus requires repeated
vaccinations and constant upgrading of the vaccine. Current vaccines are based
on inactivated whole virus. This approach is inadequate due to the low
immunogenicity and a long lag time is required for testing after a vaccine
strain has been chosen. A DNA vaccine circumvents the lag time involved in
vaccine updates. A DNA vaccine elicits both cell-mediated and humoral immune
response. The results of testing a DNA vaccine expressing the HA gene of equine
influenza virus indicates that mucosal immunization with this DNA vaccine
confers complete protection.
Sponsors: Fort Dodge Animal
Health, Hong Kong Jockey Club
PI: Alexander Lai
This
project is developing an oligonucleotide micro-array as a rapid detection and
identification system for viruses. This micro-array is being used to detect and
identify avian influenza viruses from environmental samples as an ongoing
surveillance for emerging viruses. This system can potentially be used for the
detection and identification of biological terrorism agents.
Sponsors: Environmental Institute, Center for
Sensor and Sensor Technologies
PIs: Alexander Lai
Department of
Biochemistry: Ulrich Melcher
This project
involves research on a new approach for vaccination against equine influenza
virus. The goal of this project is to first identify and isolate equine
cytokine genes believed to be involved in mucosal immunity, followed by cloning
and expression of these cytokines. Their roles in eliciting mucosal immunity
will be studied. Several multigenic DNA vaccine vectors will be constructed to
express these cytokines along with the hemagglutinin of equine influenza virus.
Expression of these cytokines could enhance mucosal immunity against the
antigen—the hemagglutinin—for better protection. The efficacy of
these engineered DNA vaccine vectors will be tested both in vitro and in vivo. The result of this research would
potentially be applicable for human influenza virus vaccine.
Sponsor: Hong Kong Jockey Club
PI: Alexander Lai
The principal
objective of this research is to trace nitrogen sources that support
bacterioplankton production in estuarine and coastal ecosystems. A large part
of the effort in this project has concentrated on developing and refining
methods for using stable nitrogen isotopes to trace nitrogen into bacteria and
measuring dissolved organic nitrogen concentrations.
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
PI: Robert Miller
Micro-arrays are
the new tools in molecular biology that derive precise genetic results from
large gene expression surveys. This research aims the production of first- and
second-generation micro-arrays containing approximately 6,000 arrayed genes. A
first-generation A. nidulans micro-array
will be constructed from unique gene probes of known sequences currently available,
non-redundant and dbEst databases. A second-generation A. nidulans micro-array will consist of new
EST’s gene probes determined for the A. nidulans Chromosome IV sequencing initiative.
Sponsor: Genencor International
PI: Rolf Prade
The objective of
this research is to test the biological necessity of plant cell wall degrading
enzymes during fungal plant infections, via the inactivation of regulatory
genes that control expression of these activities. The project should provide
important insights into the role of plant cell wall degradation during fungal
infections because at least some mutations in regulatory genes are likely to
result in strains unable to produce any transcripts that encode cell wall degrading
activities.
Sponsor: U.S. Department of Agriculture
PI: Rolf Prade
This
research deals with a novel class of transposons capable of intracellular as
well as intercellular transponsition. Besides being causative agents for the
horizontal spread of multiple antibiotic resistance among clinical
streptococci, this group of genetic elements has been shown to transfer from
Gram positive to Gram negative bacteria. An investigation of the properties of
these is of biological interest and medical relevance.
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
PI: Moses Vijayakumar