Engineering (MS, BS) and Applied Physics (BS). He is currently working on research projects at NASA Jet Propulsion Lab on optical communications and Mars surface transient classification using machine learning. He hopes to continue his education into Astrophysics and use his software background to study the universe.
Mage and RasMol, free visualization software used to view and manipulate three-dimensional images of proteins and nucleic acids, have been incorporated extensively in the undergraduate biochemistry courses at several institutions in the University System of Georgia. Some teaching and learning activities using RasMol and Mage, and new educational resources, including the GLACTONE Web site and a CD-ROM, are described. The results of a survey of students enrolled in undergraduate biochemistry courses at five institutions in the University System of Georgia indicate that an overwhelming majority of students felt strongly that using Mage and RasMol increased their understanding of biochemistry. The survey also indicates that the majority of students used RasMol or Mage outside of the classroom either on campus or at home. The majority of the students surveyed recommend that RasMol or Mage be used in freshman chemistry and high school. We have trained high school teachers and faculty at two-year colleges throughout Georgia to use RasMol and have demonstrated its possible applications in lower-level chemistry and biology courses.
Can. J. Chem. 72, 118 (1994). Pentalenene synthase catalyzes the cyclization of farnesyl diphosphate (1) to the sesquiterpene hydrocarbon pentalenene (4). Separate incubations of ( 4~, 8~) - [ 4 , 8 -~~~, 4,8-14~2]farnesyl diphosphate (la) and ( 4~, 8~) - [ 4 , 8 -~~~, 4,814~2]farnesyl diphosphate (lb) with pentalenene synthase isolated from Streptotnyces UC53 19 and analysis of the derived labeled pentalenenes, 4a and 4b, respectively, by chemical degradation established that H-8si of FPP was lost upon cyclization to pentalenene. Consideration of the plausible conformations of the enzymatic cyclization intermediates indicates that the electrophilic allylic additionelimination (SF,) reaction in which the C-4,5 bond of pentalenene is formed involves an orthogonal relationship between the C-C bond being formed and the C-H bond that is ultimately broken. (SE,). au cours de laquelle se forme la liaison C-4.5 du pentalknkne, implique une relation orthogonale entre la liaison C-C qui se forme et la liaison C-H qui sera finalement briste.[Traduit par la rCdaction]The formation of c a r b o n~a r b o n bonds by the electrophilic attack of carbenium ions on double bonds is one of the most important reactions in the biosynthesis of hundreds of isoprenoid metabolites, including linear polyprenols (dolichols, ubiquinones), cyclic terpenes (mono-, sesqui-, and diterpenes), and steroids and other triterpenes (cholesterol, a-amyrin) (I). Although this process has considerable precedent in solution phase chemistry and much is known about the physical organic chemistry of carbenium ions themselves, the enzymatic reactions remain poorly understood, both with respect to the means by which such reactive species are manipulated and stabilized by protein catalysts and the manner in which enzymes exercise regiochemical and stereochemical control over such reactions (2).One particularly important subclass of these electrophilic reactions involves the quenching of positive charge resulting from the initial addition to the double bond by the removal of one of the original allylic protons. This allylic addition%limi-nation formally corresponds to an SE process. Cornforth and Popjak have shown that the key chain elongation step of polyprenol biosynthesis, typified by the farnesyl diphosphate (FPP, 1) synthase reaction, involves a pair of net syn allylic additionelimination reactions (3). (Scheme I). By contrast, the closely analogous prototropic rearrangement of isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP, 2) to dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP, 3) has been shown to occur with net anti stereochemistry (4). In more recent studies of the cyclization of farnesyl diphosphate (I) to the sesquiterpene hydrocarbon pentalenene (4), we have shown that theinitial SEl reaction takes place with net anti stereochemistry (5) (Scheme 2). Overton has described model experiments 'Dedicated with great affection and warm admiration to Professor Ian D. Spenser.2~u t h o r to whom correspondence may be addressed.in which an intramolecular SF reaction was shown to proceed...
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