Sandians are also assisting in a five-year DOE Genomics: Genomes to Life (GTL) project led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, for the rapid deduction of stress-response pathways in metal/radionuclide-reducing bacteria. The team will develop computational models to describe and predict the behavior of gene regulatory networks in microbes in response to the environmental conditions found in contaminated waste sites.
The project is based on the phenomenon that when bacteria are exposed to stressful conditions, some alter their metabolism to ensure survival. Sandia will help identify and quantify proteins and protein complexes involved in bacterial stress-response pathways, examining large number of proteins at a time by using our unique expertise and infrastructure in microseparations and mass spectrometry to determine the nature and composition of protein complexes.
Another project led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a three-year effort to develop a research program to identify and characterize protein complexes. Sandia will lend our expertise at determining 3-D structures.
This unique in-house capability, called MS3D, uses mass spectrometry to identify protein complexes embedded—like raisins in bread—in outer bacteria membranes. The complexes act as "gatekeepers" for surrounding interactions. To gain structural clues, the complexes have been hooked chemically to their immediate spots in the membranes. This gives researchers a picture of how the assemblies nest and how they function in their native states.
