|
|
Donald P. Nierlich Department of Microbiology, Immunology, & Molecular Genetics |
|
|
Donald P. Nierlich Department of Microbiology, Immunology, & Molecular Genetics |
Since my formal retirement, I have been a guest in MIMG-Professor Larry Simpson’s laboratory in the Howard Hughes Medical Research Labs. Simpson pursues basic questions related to gene expression in the trypanosome, Leishmania tarentolae, such as the mechanism of RNA editing in the mitochondria of these strangely unique organisms. Close relatives of this non-human pathogen cause African sleeping sickness, leishmaniasis and other illnesses affecting millions of people globally.
Currently, I am working to set up a sensitive assay for mitochondrial gene
expression in L. tarentolae based on transcription and translation
in the mitochondria of a green-fluorescent-protein gene. A synthetic gene, customized
for expression in the mitochondria has been made and, after attachment of the
appropriate regulatory sequences, it will be introduced by electroporation.
If fluorescing cells are isolated, the GFP gene will be further modified to
identify features and functions required for the gene’s function and regulation.
In addition, to search for factors that likely influence messenger synthesis,
a project is underway to identify proteins that interact directly with the mitochondrial
RNA polymerase.
Selected Recent Publications:
Nierlich, D.P. and G.J.Murakawa. The Decay of Bacterial Messenger RNA. Prog. Nucleic Acids Res. Mol. Biol. 52:153-215 (1996).
Nierlich, D.P., Benson, D., Berlyn, M.K.B., Blaine, L., Karp, P., and K. Sanderson. World Wide Web Resources for Microbiologists. BioTechniques 26:70-78 (1999).
Ly, H., Nierlich, D.P., Olsen, J.C., and A.H. Kaplan. Moloney Murine Sarcoma Virus Genomic RNAs Dimerize via a Two-Step Process: a Concentration-Dependient Kissing-Loop Interaction is Driven by Initial Contact between Consecutive Guanines. J. Virol. 73:7255-7261 (1999).
Ly, H., Nierlich, D.P., Olsen, J.C. and A.H. Kaplan. Functional characterization of the dimer linkage structure RNA of Moloney murine sarcoma virus. J Virol. 21:9937-45 (2000).
|