HR: 11:00h
AN: NB52A-03    [Abstracts]
TI: Proteogenomic studies of natural microbial biofilms
AU: * Ram, R J
EM: rjram@nature.berkeley.edu
AF: Dept. of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720 United States
AU: VerBerkmoes, N C
EM: nverberk@utk.edu
AF: Graduate School of Genome Science and Technology, University of Tenessee - Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37830 United States
AU: VerBerkmoes, N C
EM: nverberk@utk.edu
AF: Chemical Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 United States
AU: Thelen, M P
EM: mpthelen@berkeley.edu
AF: Dept. of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720 United States
AU: Tyson, G W
EM: gtyson@nature.berkeley.edu
AF: Dept. of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720 United States
AU: Baker, B J
EM: bbaker@eps.berkeley.edu
AF: Dept. of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720 United States
AU: Shah, M
AF: Life Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831
AU: Blake, R C
EM: rblake@xula.edu
AF: College of Pharmacy, Xavier University, New Orleans, LA 70125 United States
AU: Hettich, R L
EM: hx2@ornl.gov
AF: Chemical Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 United States
AU: Banfield, J F
EM: jill@seismo.berkeley.edu
AF: Dept. of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720 United States
AU: Banfield, J F
EM: jill@seismo.berkeley.edu
AF: Dept. of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720 United States
AB: Acid mine drainage (AMD) forms when rocks rich in pyrite, FeS2, are oxidized upon exposure to air and water. Iron-oxidizing microorganisms accelerate pyrite dissolution by generating ferric iron, an especially effective sulfide oxidant. We have used cultivation-independent methods to study the gene (Tyson et al., 2004) and protein (Ram et al., in review) complements of microbial biofilms from an AMD environment in Richmond, CA. The genomes of the biofilm organisms indicated potential proteins and other small molecules that each organism type can produce. We then used this genome data in combination with 2D LC-MS/MS mass spectrometry to identify proteins within extracellular/periplasmic, soluble, and membrane fractions of the biofilm. This method enabled us to infer the most abundant proteins in each fraction and their general location. In particular, it led us to identify an extracellular/periplasmic cytochrome central to iron oxidation and acid mine drainage, as well as to analyze hypothetical proteins (proteins predicted from the genome with no significant homology to known proteins), some of which are likely to be adaptations by the biofilm organisms for thriving in this unique metal-rich acidic environment.
DE: 0400 Biogeosciences
SC: North American Benthological Society [NB]
MN: 2005 Joint Assembly