BE/Gen-En: The Oxygen-stress Response in the Extremophile Halobacterium sp. NRC-1: Systems Analysis and Development of Supplemental High School Instruction Modules

博士们已获得一笔赠款。系统生物学研究所的Leroy Hood， Nitin Baliga和Pat Ehrman通过一项研究计划评估盐杆菌sp. NRC-1的全球氧反应机制，该研究计划包括一个强大的平行高中教育组成部分。盐杆菌sp. NRC-1属于古细菌，它们经常在深海喷口和太阳盐滩等极端环境中遇到，因此是新型生物技术和健康相关产品的资源。它是一种极端的嗜盐生物（嗜盐生物），在光线、温度、盐度和氧气中经历频繁的变化。其完整的基因组序列和复杂的实验分析工具的可用性使这种微生物易于研究全细胞（全球）适应重要环境因素变化的机制。本项目的研究目标是剖析介导氧应激反应的生物网络。Baliga博士及其同事将同时分析生物体中所有基因的数据，如mRNA和蛋白质的丰度，以及蛋白质与蛋白质之间的相互作用，并采用先进的建模和模拟方法，以在前所未有的范围和细节上破译一个基本的生物网络。盐杆菌属NRC-1培养物充满活力和色彩，将证明有效地激发年轻学生的兴趣。更重要的是，它是非致病性的，容易消毒，不需要昂贵和潜在危险的消毒仪器。本课题的教育目标是开发探究式的高中辅助教学模块和教材。为了实现这一目标。胡德、巴利加和埃尔曼将与教师、学生和其他科学教育者合作。学生将学习系统生物学中的现代合作方法，并了解生物学并不完全是一门固定叙事主导的科学。埃尔曼先生和他的同事将与教育产品开发商合作，确保教育产品在全国范围内向高中传播。

A grant has been awarded to Drs. Leroy Hood, Nitin Baliga and Pat Ehrman of the Institute for Systems Biology to evaluate the global oxygen-response mechanisms in Halobacterium sp. NRC-1 through a research program including a strong parallel high-school educational component. Halobacterium sp. NRC-1 belongs to a group of organisms called Archaea that are frequently encountered in extreme environments such as deep-sea vents and solar salt flats and are, therefore, resources for novel biotechnology and health-related products. It is an extreme halophile (salt-loving organism) that experiences frequent sways in light, temperature, salinity and oxygen. The availability of its complete genome sequence and sophisticated experimental analysis tools render this microorganism pliable for studying whole cell (global) mechanisms of adaptation to changes in important environmental factors. The research goal of this project is to dissect the biological networks that mediate the oxygen-stress response. Dr. Baliga and co-workers will simultaneously analyze data for all of the genes in the organism such as abundance of mRNA and proteins, and protein-protein interactions with advanced modeling and simulation methods to decipher an essential biological network at a level unprecedented in scope and detail.Halobacterium sp. NRC-1 cultures being vibrant and colorful will prove effective in provoking interest in young students. More importantly, it is non-pathogenic and easily decontaminated overriding the need for expensive and potentially hazardous sterilization instruments. The education goal of this project is to develop inquiry-based supplemental high school teaching modules and materials. To achieve this goal Drs. Hood, Baliga and Ehrman will work collaboratively with teachers, students and other science educators. Students will learn the modern collaborative approaches in systems biology and that biology is not exclusively a fixed-narrative dominated science. Mr. Ehrman and his colleagues will work with education products developers to ensure nationwide dissemination of the educational products to high schools.