| EPSRC Reference: |
EP/L000067/1 |
| Title: |
Collaborative research visit to the California Institute of Technology |
| Principal Investigator: |
Conway, Professor SJ |
| Other Investigators: |
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| Researcher Co-Investigators: |
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| Project Partners: |
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| Department: |
Oxford Chemistry |
| Organisation: |
University of Oxford |
| Scheme: |
Overseas Travel Grants (OTGS) |
| Starts: |
20 March 2013 |
Ends: |
19 September 2013 |
Value (£): |
18,180
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Biological & Medicinal Chem. |
Chemical Synthetic Methodology |
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| EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications: |
| No relevance to Underpinning Sectors |
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| Panel History: |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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Hopanoids are a poorly understood class of steroid-like molecules produced by bacteria. It has long been assumed that hopanes, molecular fossils of hopanoids, reveal a history of the rise of important microbial metabolisms such as oxygen-forming photosynthesis, but recent results from Prof. Dianne Newman's laboratory (California Institute of Technology) have challenged this interpretation. It is now apparent that our ability to interpret what hopanes reflect about geochemical and/or biological evolution is hindered by a poor understanding of their function within cells. Prof. Newman's studies of hopanoid formation and localisation in the hopanoid-producing bacterium Rhodopseudomonas palustris TIE-1, suggest that hopanoids play a crucial role in growth and cell division under certain conditions. To understand their biological roles at the molecular level, we require a chemical toolkit to study hopanoid localisation and to identify the proteins that bind them. Dr Conway and Prof. Newman aim to jointly develop this toolkit of molecules. The proposed research visit will allow Dr Conway to acquire the skills required to produce the starting point for this toolkit, improve some of the processes involved in purification and try some of the chemical reactions required to make the required molecular tools.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
| Summary |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.ox.ac.uk |