Created: 28th February 1999, last updated: 7th April 1999, © 1999 ABRF
Continuing with the tradition of presenting emerging technologies for modern life sciences research to the biochemistry and molecular biology research community, the ABRF has joined with the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) in sponsoring a symposium. In 1999, ASBMB is meeting with several scientific societies, including the Pan-American Association for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Canadian Society of Biochemistry and Molecular and Cellular Biology, and the Division of Biological Chemistry of the American Chemical Society in the triennial meeting. The meeting program for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology '99 is entitled "New World Science for the Next Millennium" and takes place in San Francisco, May 16-20, 1999.
ABRF members worked diligently to recruit colleagues from South America to bring their views on research resources and present accomplishments resulting from the activities of those laboratories in what we feel will be an enlightening program. The result of the program planning is a series of five presentations from Brazil called "Core Facilities in the Southern Cone," highlighting resources and research covering familiar and modern technologies, as well as presenting intriguing research ideas. Topics include genome sequencing, rational drug design, macromolecular folding and interactions, and macromolecular crystallography.
The joint ABRF and ASBMB Symposium was organized by Drs. Raghuvir K. Arni and Ronald L. Niece and is scheduled for Tuesday, May 18, from 10:15 am to 12:30 pm. The program opens with a description of shared resources for modern medical and life science research.
PROGRAM
ABRF and ASBMB Symposium: Core Facilities in the Southern Cone
Chairs: Raghuvir K. Arni, IBILCE/UNESP, Brazil and Ronald L. Niece, University of California, Irvine
Role of Shared Resources in Multilaboratory Research
Ronald L. Niece, University of California, Irvine
Dr. Niece will draw on the results from ABRF Survey Committee data collected over the past decade on the composition and capabilities of share resource facilities.
Sequencing the Genome of Xylella fastidiosa
Fernando C. Reinach, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Dr. Reinach will present results for the sequencing effort and the organization of the network involved in determining the complete sequence of X. fastidiosa, which infects the xylem of orange trees, causing the disease called citrus variegated chlorosis. Thirty-three laboratories are collaborating in the sequencing effort, with each sequencing a few cosmids from an ordered library.
Macromolecular Crystallography in South America and the National Syncrotron Source for X-ray Diffraction
Raghuvir K. Arni, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Brazil
The co-organizer, Dr. Arni, will focus on the resources for macromolecular crystallography and the allocation of beam time. A core, multi-user facility has seven beamlines with an injection energy of 120 MeV and final energy of 1.37 GeV for vacuum UV spectroscopy, x-ray absorption spectroscopy, extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS), x-ray diffraction, small-angle x-ray scattering, and protein crystallography, which are open to all users.
Protein Folding Intermediates as Studied by Hydrostatic Pressure
Jerson L. Silva, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Dr. Silva describes the use of pressure to trap intermediates that occur during folding or in the assembly of protein-DNA complexes and viruses. The dynamics and structure of the intermediates can be characterized by fluorescence, light scattering, nuclear magnetic resonance, and hydrodynamic methods.
Rational Design and Biodiversity in the Search for New Antichagasic Drugs
Glaucius Oliva, University of Sao Paulo-Sao Carlos, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Dr. Oliva will discuss the interinstitutional team studying a glycosomal enzyme from Trypanosoma cruzi. A multidisciplinary approach focuses on potential antichagasic activity of compounds based on drug design and identified by screening natural products from the Brazilian biodiversity.
Characterization, Possible Origins, and Biological Significance of Deterministic Behavior in Protein Folding and Subunit Interactions
Sergio T. Ferreira, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Dr. Ferreira will describe a protein association that appears to lack concentration dependence, an apparent violation of the law of mass action that results from negligible subunit exchange between dimers during biologically relevant time scales. Several spectroscopic techniques, including absorption, fluorescence, circular dichroism, and nuclear magnetic resonance, are used in combination with the thermodynamic tools of hydrostatic pressure and temperature and chaotropic agents.