Finding novel intragenic suppressors of a constitutively active allele of Gs alpha

Abstract

McCune‐Albright Syndrome (MAS) is a genetic disorder caused by mutations that inhibit GTP hydrolysis in Gsα, permanently activating the protein. We have developed a yeast model system for MAS in which mutations in the yeast Gα subunit homologous to those seen in MAS (R297H) prevent colony formation when the mutant allele is the only Gα gene present in the cells. We then constructed of a library of 32,000 secondary mutations in the constitutively active yeast Gα gene with the goal of identifying intragenic suppressors of the MAS mutation. Nine novel suppressor alleles have been identified and have been mapped to the crystal structure of the Gsαƒnprotein. Suppressor mutations have been identified in the GTP‐binding site of the protein, near the βγ‐interaction surface, on a potential effector interaction surface, in switch III, and also on regions of the α subunit with no currently characterized function. The construction of a detailed map of sites on the surface of Gα which can inactivate the MAS allele can drive rational drug discovery of better treatments for MAS patients.Funded by NIH grant 1R15ED020190‐01

Removal of azo dyes from water by sol–gel immobilized Pseudomonas sp.

“…During the last 15 years several works reported the encapsulation of living cells in sol-gel silica matrices [19][20][21][22][23]. Indeed, since Carturan et al, [24] pioneered the encapsulation of living microorganisms in sol-gel silica matrices several works were reported extending the process to other cell types [25,26] such us bacteria, yeast, algae and mammalian cells which were successfully immobilized in silica matrices [27][28][29][30][31][32]. In most cases it was demonstrated that the employment of biocompatible molecules such as glycerol, polyethylene glycol or glycine betaine further improve the biocompatibility of the immobilization process [33][34][35][36][37].…”