Person:

Viel, Alain

Background: The human homologue of the Drosophila Discs-large tumor suppressor protein, hDlg, is a multi-domain cytoplasmic protein that localizes to the membrane at intercellular junction sites. At both synaptic junctions and epithelia cell-cell junctions, hDlg is known to recruit several signaling proteins into macromolecular complexes. hDlg is also found at the midbody, a small microtubule-rich structure bridging the two daughter cells during cytokinesis, but its function at this site is not clear. Results: Here we describe the interaction of hDlg with the activated form of MEK2 of the canonical RAF/MEK/ERK pathway, a protein that is found at the midbody during cytokinesis. We show that both proteins localize to a sub-structure of the midbody, the midbody ring, and that the interaction between the PDZ domains of hDlg and the C-terminal portion of MEK2 is dependent on the phosphorylation of MEK2. Finally, we found that E-cadherin also localizes to the midbody and that its expression is required for the isoform-specific recruitment of hDlg, but not activated MEK2, to that structure. Conclusion: Our results suggest that like at other cell-cell junction sites, hDlg is part of a macromolecular complex of structural and signaling proteins at the midbody.

Background: Plant biotechnology can be leveraged to produce food, fuel, medicine, and materials. Standardized methods advocated by the synthetic biology community can accelerate the plant design cycle, ultimately making plant engineering more widely accessible to bioengineers who can contribute diverse creative input to the design process. Results: This paper presents work done largely by undergraduate students participating in the 2010 International Genetically Engineered Machines (iGEM) competition. Described here is a framework for engineering the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana with standardized, BioBrick compatible vectors and parts available through the Registry of Standard Biological Parts (http://www.partsregistry.org). This system was used to engineer a proof-of-concept plant that exogenously expresses the taste-inverting protein miraculin. Conclusions: Our work is intended to encourage future iGEM teams and other synthetic biologists to use plants as a genetic chassis. Our workflow simplifies the use of standardized parts in plant systems, allowing the construction and expression of heterologous genes in plants within the timeframe allotted for typical iGEM projects.

There is little doubt that the Internet has transformed the world in which we live. Information that was once archived in bricks and mortar libraries is now only a click away, and people across the globe have become connected in a manner inconceivable only 20 years ago. Although many scientists and educators have embraced the Internet as an invaluable tool for research, education and data sharing, some have been somewhat slower to take full advantage of emerging Web 2.0 technologies. Here we discuss the benefits and challenges of integrating Web 2.0 applications into undergraduate research and education programs, based on our experience utilizing these technologies in a summer undergraduate research program in synthetic biology at Harvard University. We discuss the use of applications including wiki-based documentation, digital brainstorming, and open data sharing via the Web, to facilitate the educational aspects and collaborative progress of undergraduate research projects. We hope to inspire others to integrate these technologies into their own coursework or research projects.