MRI: MALDI Acquisition for Collaborative Species and Biomolecule Identification

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Analysis of protein structure and expression has become a routine method in modern biological and biochemical research. This award from the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program will fund a matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometer (MALDI-TOF MS) that will be central to five major research projects currently underway at Calvin College. These include: identification of novel proteins involved in oxygen-consumption or tolerance in termite gut organisms previously thought to be strict anaerobes; analysis of eukaryotic proteinase expression following stimulation by prokaryotic collagenases; profiling of proteins involved in snail immunity to parasites; identification of crosslinked, redox-active amino acid sidechains in proteins, and identification of biocatalytic peptide-substrate complexes. The MALDI-TOF MS will also be used in several freshman and upper-level courses, including a freshman-level bacteriophage genomics course that will allow students to ask and answer real research questions regarding protein expression changes upon infection of bacteria with phage isolated from environmental samples. Calvin College outreach and transitional programs that target large numbers of under-represented minorities will be encouraged to use this instrument to investigate and classify microbes collected variety of sources. Such investigations will expose young students to real-world, pertinent scientific research in an exciting and collaborative environment. The scientific and pedagogical outcomes from the research described above will be available in peer-reviewed literature, including undergraduate research-focused journals, as well as poster presentations and seminars at national, regional, and internal meetings.