IRES: U.S.-Czech Research Experience for Students: Structure and Function of Novel Flavoprotein (WrbA)

国际学生研究经验奖(IRES)将普林斯顿大学的珍妮特·凯里与位于诺夫赫拉迪的南波希米亚大学物理生物学研究所的捷克同行联系起来。在捷克共和国，IRES项目将由伊万娜·斯马塔诺娃和鲁迪格·埃特里奇领导，并与该大学的蛋白质结构和功能系合作。这些美国和捷克导师的共同目标是帮助我们了解大肠杆菌黄素蛋白Wrba的生化特性，同时通过对新型Wrba和相关蛋白质功能的定向研究，为他们指导的本科生提供早期职业研究经验。在合作的IRES过程中，美国-捷克团队的研究计划将通过提供野生型和突变菌株的生长研究、代谢图谱、酶动力学、X射线结晶学和分子建模的第一手研究经验来吸引学生参与者。如果成功，研究人员和学生的共同努力有望更好地定义Wrba的机制和生理作用，允许出现结构-功能关系的详细图景。这一生物分子科学的跨学科IRES项目通过使美国和欧洲的专家能够结合互补的人才并在共同感兴趣和能力强的领域共享研究资源，实现了促进科学知识和吸引学生的计划目标。更广泛的影响包括为美国本科生早期职业介绍国际专业知识，以及团队合作，让他们更好地为全球劳动力做好准备。通过对相对简单的生物体--大肠杆菌进行研究，美国和捷克的这项研究结果可能有助于解释膜如何在其他生物体中解毒。如果成功，对Wrba酶的了解可能会影响生物化学的其他研究，特别是对有趣的可溶性黄递酶的研究。

OISE 0853423CareyThis award for International Research Experience for Students (IRES) links Jannette Carey from Princeton University with Czech counterparts from the Institute of Physical Biology at the University of South Bohemia, in Nove Hrady. In the Czech Republic, the IRES program will be headed by Ivana Smatanova and Rudiger Ettrich, with the University's Department of Structure and Function of Proteins. These U.S. and Czech mentors share the goal of contributing to our understanding of the biochemical properties of the E. coli flavoprotein WrbA while providing the undergraduate students they mentor with early career research experience through directed study of the function of the novel WrbA and related proteins. During the course of the collaborative IRES, the US-Czech team's research plans will engage student participants by providing first hand research experience with growth studies of wild-type and mutant strains, metabolic profiling, enzyme kinetics, x-ray crystallography, and molecular modeling. If successful, the combined efforts of researchers and students are expected to better define the WrbA mechanism and physiological roles, allowing for a detailed picture of structure-function relationships to emerge. This interdisciplinary IRES program in biomolecular science fulfills the program objective of advancing scientific knowledge and engaging students by enabling experts in the United States and Europe to combine complementary talents and share research resources in areas of strong mutual interest and competence. Broader impacts include early career introduction of U.S. undergraduate students to international expertise and teamwork to better prepare them for the global workforce. By working with the relatively simple organism, E. coli, the results of this U.S.-Czech effort may help explain how membranes detoxify in other organisms. If successful, knowledge of the enzyme WrbA may influence other research in biochemistry, particularly work with the interesting soluble diaphorase enzymes.