ASBMB member Donald A. Bryant has received a prize for the best basic research paper of 2007 from the Rebeiz Foundation. The paper for which the award was given was published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. A goal of the Rebeiz Foundation for Basic Research is to promote chloroplast and bioengineering research.

Bryant is the Ernest C. Pollard Professor of Biotechnology at Penn State. Heshares the 2007 award with Aline Gomez Maqueo Chew, a former Ph.D. student in his laboratory, with whom he co-authored the paper. Gomez Maqueo Chew is presently a postdoctoral researcher at Ohio State University.

Bryant's research focuses on photosynthesis in bacteria. His long-term objectives are to understand the structure, function, assembly, and regulation of expression of the photosynthetic apparatuses of cyanobacteria and green-sulfur-bacteria.

Bryant has helped to sequence the genomes of three species of cyanobacteria, 13 species of green-sulfur bacteria, seven species of filamentous anoxygenic phototrophs, and one acidobacterium. These data have helped him to discover and characterize important genes that are involved in photosynthesis. The paper for which he won the Rebeiz Foundation award is titled "Characterization of a plant-like protochlorophyllide alpha divinyl reductase in green sulfur bacteria."

Among the current research topics in Bryant's lab are structure-function relationships in proteins, biogenesis of the photosynthetic apparatus, gene regulation, and photosynthetic physiology. To investigate these topics, he uses two model organisms: a species of cyanobacterium, Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002, and the green-sulfur bacterium, Chlorobium tepidum.

Read the full text article at JBC online.

Other recent JBC articles by Dr. Bryant:

Biogenesis of iron-sulfur clusters in photosystem I: Holo-NfuA from the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 rapidly and efficiently transfers [4Fe-4S] clusters to apo-PsaC in vitro.
J. Biol. Chem., Aug 2008. 

Biogenesis of Phycobiliproteins: III. CpcM IS THE ASPARAGINE METHYLTRANSFERASE FOR PHYCOBILIPROTEIN β-SUBUNITS IN CYANOBACTERIA.
J. Biol. Chem., Jul 2008; 283: 19293 - 19300.

Biogenesis of Phycobiliproteins: II. CpcS-I AND CpcU COMPRISE THE HETERODIMERIC BILIN LYASE THAT ATTACHES PHYCOCYANOBILIN TO CYS-82 OF β-PHYCOCYANIN AND CYS-81 OF ALLOPHYCOCYANIN SUBUNITS IN SYNECHOCOCCUS sp. PCC 7002
J. Biol. Chem., Mar 2008; 283: 7513 - 7522. 

 

 

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