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ItemBrownian dynamics simulation of macromolecule diffusion in a protocell(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2011) Ando, Tadashi ; Skolnick, JeffreyThe interiors of all living cells are highly crowded with macro molecules, which differs considerably the thermodynamics and kinetics of biological reactions between in vivo and in vitro. For example, the diffusion of green fluorescent protein (GFP) in E. coli is ~10-fold slower than in dilute conditions. In this study, we performed Brownian dynamics (BD) simulations of rigid macromolecules in a crowded environment mimicking the cytosol of E. coli to study the motions of macromolecules. The simulation systems contained 35 70S ribosomes, 750 glycolytic enzymes, 75 GFPs, and 392 tRNAs in a 100 nm × 100 nm × 100 nm simulation box, where the macromolecules were represented by rigid-objects of one bead per amino acid or four beads per nucleotide models. Diffusion tensors of these molecules in dilute solutions were estimated by using a hydrodynamic theory to take into account the diffusion anisotropy of arbitrary shaped objects in the BD simulations. BD simulations of the system where each macromolecule is represented by its Stokes radius were also performed for comparison. Excluded volume effects greatly reduce the mobility of molecules in crowded environments for both molecular-shaped and equivalent sphere systems. Additionally, there were no significant differences in the reduction of diffusivity over the entire range of molecular size between two systems. However, the reduction in diffusion of GFP in these systems was still 4-5 times larger than for the in vivo experiment. We will discuss other plausible factors that might cause the large reduction in diffusion in vivo.
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ItemAn interactive visualization tool and data model for experimental design in systems biology(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008-08) Kapoor, Shray ; Quo, Chang Feng ; Merrill, Alfred H. ; Wang, May DongmeiExperimental design is important, but is often under-supported, in systems biology research. To improve experimental design, we extend the visualization of complex sphingolipid pathways to study biosynthetic origin in SphinGOMAP. We use the ganglio-series sphingolipid dataset as a test bed and the Java Universal Network / Graph Framework (JUNG) visualization toolkit. The result is an interactive visualization tool and data model for experimental design in lipid systems biology research. We improve the current SphinGOMAP in terms of interactive visualization by allowing (i) choice of four different network layouts, (ii) dynamic addition / deletion of on-screen molecules and (iii) mouse-over to reveal detailed molecule data. Future work will focus on integrating various lipid-relevant data systematically i.e. SphinGOMAP biosynthetic data, Lipid Bank molecular data (Japan) and Lipid MAPS metabolic pathway data (USA). We aim to build a comprehensive and interactive communication platform to improve experimental design for scientists globally in high-throughput lipid systems biology research.
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ItemLearning About and Through Biologically Inspired Design(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008-06-22) Vattam, Swaroop ; Helms, Michael E. ; Goel, Ashok K. ; Yen, Jeannette ; Weissburg, Marc J.Biologically inspired design (BID) uses biological systems as analogues to develop solutions for design problems. Although designers have been looking to nature for inspiration for eons, only recently is BID gaining in importance as a wide-spread movement in design for environmentally-conscious sustainable development (e.g., Benyus 1997). But it is the tendency of the “products” of BID to be radically innovative (Forbes 2005; French 1998; Vogel 2000) that makes BID an interesting case for research in design creativity.
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ItemComputational modeling of a metabolic pathway in ceramide de novo synthesis(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2007-08) Dhingra, Shobhika ; Freedenberg, Melissa ; Quo, Chang Feng ; Merrill, Alfred H. ; Wang, May DongmeiStudies have implicated ceramide as a key molecular agent in regulating programmed cell death, or apoptosis. Consequently, there is significant potential in targeting intracellular ceramide as a cancer therapeutic agent. The cell’s major ceramide source is the ceramide de novo synthesis pathway, which consists of a complex network of interdependent enzyme-catalyzed biochemical reactions. To understand how ceramide works, we have initiated the study of the ceramide de novo synthesis pathway using computational modeling based on fundamental principles of biochemical kinetics. Specifically, we designed and developed the model in MATLAB SIMULINK for the behavior of dihydroceramide desaturase. Dihydroceramide desaturase is one of three key enzymes in the ceramide de novo synthesis pathway, and it converts a relatively inert precursor molecule, dihydroceramide into biochemically reactive ceramide. A major issue in modeling is parameter estimation. We solved this problem by adopting a heuristic strategy based on a priori knowledge from literature and experimental data. We evaluated model accuracy by comparing the model prediction results with interpolated experimental data. Our future work includes more experimental validation of the model, dynamic rate constants assessment, and expansion of the model to include additional enzymes in the ceramide de novo synthesis pathway.
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ItemDynamic pathway modeling of sphingolipid metabolism(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2004-09) Henning, Peter A. ; Merrill, Alfred H. ; Wang, May DongmeiWe report our research results on computational metabolome study. The goal of this research is to extend the integrated experimental modeling methodologies in sphingolipid metabolism study to other complex biological process studies such as signal transduction or gene regulation. Another feature of this work is that the 3-D information representation enables the user orchestrate the simulated pathways in real time.
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ItemA hierarchical approach to the prediction of the quaternary structure of GCN4 and its mutants(Georgia Institute of Technology, 1996) Vieth, Michal ; Kolinski, Andrzej ; Brooks, C. L., III ; Skolnick, JeffreyA hierarchical approach to protein folding is employed to examine the folding pathway and predict the quaternary structure of the GCN4 leucine zipper. Structures comparable in quality to experiment have been predicted. In addition, the equilibrium between dimers, trimers and tetramers of a number of GCN4 mutants has been examined. In five out of eight cases, the simulation results are in accordance with the experimental studies of Harbury, et al.
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ItemAn object oriented environment for artificial evolution of protein sequences: The example of rational design of transmembrane sequences(Georgia Institute of Technology, 1995) Milik, Mariusz ; Skolnick, JeffreyA system is presented for generating peptide sequences with desirable properties, using combination of neural network and artificial evolution. The process is illustrated by an example of a practical problem of generating artificial transbilayer peptides. The peptides generated in the process of artificial evolution have the physico-chemical properties of transmembrane peptides, and forms stable transmembrane structures in testing Monte Carlo simulations. The artificial evolution system is designed to emulate natural evolution; therefore it is of both practical and theoretical interest, both in terms of rational design of protein sequences and modeling of natural evolution of proteins.
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ItemMonte Carlo dynamics of diamond-lattice multichain systems(Georgia Institute of Technology, 1986-01-30) Kolinski, Andrzej ; Skolnick, Jeffrey ; Yaris, RobertWe present preliminary results of Monte Carlo studies on the dynamics of multichain diamond-lattice systems at considerably greater densities than those done previously. Chain dynamics were simulated by a random sequence of three or four bond kink motions. The single bead autocorrelation function exhibits "slow" mode relaxation behavior with a g(t)∝ tβ. There is a smooth crossover from Rouse-like dynamics, β=1/2, at low density to smaller values of β at higher density and β=0 at the glass transition density (φG≅0.92). The simulation provides a self-diffusion coefficient D ∝ n-2, with n the number of beads, in agreement with experiment. A phenomenological model, different from the widely accepted reptation picture, is proposed.
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ItemBetween-habitat differences in herbivore impact on Caribbean coral reefs(Georgia Institute of Technology, 1983-12) Hay, Mark E. ; Goertemiller, TimTransplanted sections of the seagrass Thalassia testudinum were used as a bioassay to assess between-habitat differences in herbivory on three Caribbean reefs. Consumption of Thalassia by herbivorous fishes on shallow (1-10 m) reef slopes was significantly higher than on deep (30-40 m) reef slopes or on shallow reef flats. Seaweeds typical of reef flat habitats were rapidly consumed when placed on shallow reef slopes. Seaweeds typical of either deep or shallow reef slopes were relatively resistant to herbivory and a high proportion of these species are known to contain secondary chemical compounds that appear to deter herbivorous fishes. Shallow reef flats provide seaweeds with a predictable spatial escape from major reef herbivores; algae characteristic of these habitats have evolved few, if any, characteristics that significantly reduce losses to herbivory.