Shiladitya DasSarma

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Shiladitya DasSarma
Shiladitya DasSarma.jpg
DasSarma in 2016
Born (1957-11-11) November 11, 1957 (age 67)
Kolkata, India
Education Indiana University (BS)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (PhD)
OccupationProfessor
Employer University of Maryland Baltimore
Known for Haloarchaea, Climate Action
Awards Margaret MacVicar Award

Shiladitya DasSarma (born November 11, 1957) is an Indian-American molecular biologist well-known for contributions to the biology of halophilic and extremophilic microorganisms. [1] [2] He is a Professor in the University of Maryland Baltimore. He earned a PhD degree in biochemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a BS degree in chemistry from Indiana University Bloomington. Prior to taking a faculty position, he conducted research at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and Pasteur Institute, Paris.

Contents

DasSarma has served on the faculty of the University of Massachusetts Amherst (1986-2001), University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute (2001-2010), and University of Maryland School of Medicine, Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology (2010–present). He is a researcher and teacher of molecular genetics, genomics, and bioinformatics and mentor of undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral students, and junior faculty. He is widely known to have been instrumental in the foundation of the fields of halophile [3] and extremophile research.

Research

Halophiles

In early work (1980's), he discovered mobile genetic elements in halophilic Archaea, [4] [5] while a graduate student with H. Gobind Khorana (Nobel laureate) and Uttam L. RajBhandary at MIT. He also showed that transcriptional promoters in Archaea [6] were different from those in common Bacteria, which contributed to the acceptance of the three Domain view of evolution proposed by Carl Woese.

In the 1990s, he organized and led the team that deciphered the first genome sequence and genetic code for a halophilic microbe, Halobacterium sp. NRC-1. [7] [8] [9] This work showed that its proteins are highly acidic, providing an understanding of how proteins may function in high salinity and low water activity conditions. [10] [11] [12] The genome sequence helped to further establish the validity of the Archaea [13] through the finding of similarities to higher eukaryotic organisms and differences from Bacteria.

Later in the 2000s, his work also suggested that certain genes are acquired through horizontal gene transfers, such as the genes for aerobic respiration. Post-genomic research in his laboratory established the core and signature proteins in halophilic Archaea, [14] and the function of many genes and genetic elements, including multiple replication origins, [15] general transcription factors, [16] and DNA repair systems. [17] [18]

Astrobiology

DasSarma's recent research (2010's) on an Antarctic halophilic microorganism, Halorubrum lacusprofundi , resulted in further refinement in understanding of protein function in a combination of high salinity and cold conditions. [19] Such studies may explain how life could adapt to new environments, including extraterrestrial environments. [20]

DasSarma proposed that retinal pigments originally discovered in halophilic Archaea may have predated chlorophyll pigments in the early earth, named the "Purple Earth" hypothesis. [2] [21] The proposal provides a potential new biosignature for remote detection of life.

Biotechnology

DasSarma's laboratory has been instrumental in the study of buoyant gas vesicle nanoparticles (GVNPs) in Halobacterium sp. NRC-1, and developed an expression system to bioengineer GVNPs for biotechnology applications. [22] These nanoparticles may represent a valuable platform for antigen delivery, vaccine development, and other biomedical and environmental applications. [23] [24]

References

  1. ↑ "Extreme Halophiles Are Models for Astrobiology" (PDF). Microbe. 2006.
  2. 1 2 "Extreme Microbes » American Scientist". www.americanscientist.org. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
  3. ↑ DasSarma, Shiladitya; DasSarma, Priya (2001-01-01). Halophiles. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. doi:10.1002/9780470015902.a0000394.pub3. ISBN   9780470015902.
  4. ↑ Simsek, M.; DasSarma, S.; RajBhandary, U. L.; Khorana, H. G. (1982-12-01). "A transposable element from Halobacterium halobium which inactivates the bacteriorhodopsin gene". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 79 (23): 7268–7272. Bibcode:1982PNAS...79.7268S. doi: 10.1073/pnas.79.23.7268 . ISSN   0027-8424. PMC   347320 . PMID   6296826.
  5. ↑ DasSarma, S.; RajBhandary, U. L.; Khorana, H. G. (1983-04-01). "High-frequency spontaneous mutation in the bacterio-opsin gene in Halobacterium halobium is mediated by transposable elements". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 80 (8): 2201–2205. Bibcode:1983PNAS...80.2201D. doi: 10.1073/pnas.80.8.2201 . ISSN   0027-8424. PMC   393786 . PMID   6300900.
  6. ↑ DasSarma, Shiladitya; RajBhandary, Uttam L.; Khorana, H. Gobind (1984-01-01). "Bacterio-opsin mRNA in wild-type and bacterio-opsin-deficient Halobacterium halobium strains". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 81 (1): 125–129. Bibcode:1984PNAS...81..125D. doi: 10.1073/pnas.81.1.125 . ISSN   0027-8424. PMC   344623 . PMID   16593404.
  7. ↑ Ng, WaiLap V.; Ciufo, Stacy A.; Smith, Todd M.; Bumgarner, Roger E.; Baskin, Dale; Faust, Janet; Hall, Barbara; Loretz, Carol; Seto, Jason (1998-11-01). "Snapshot of a Large Dynamic Replicon in a Halophilic Archaeon: Megaplasmid or Minichromosome?". Genome Research. 8 (11): 1131–1141. doi: 10.1101/gr.8.11.1131 . ISSN   1088-9051. PMID   9847077.
  8. ↑ Ng, Wailap Victor; Kennedy, Sean P.; Mahairas, Gregory G.; Berquist, Brian; Pan, Min; Shukla, Hem Dutt; Lasky, Stephen R.; Baliga, Nitin S.; Thorsson, Vesteinn (2000-10-24). "Genome sequence of Halobacterium species NRC-1". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 97 (22): 12176–12181. doi: 10.1073/pnas.190337797 . ISSN   0027-8424. PMC   17314 . PMID   11016950.
  9. ↑ "NSF - OLPA - PR 00-69: International Research Group Sequences Genome of Ubiquitous Microbe". www.nsf.gov. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
  10. ↑ Kennedy, Sean P.; Ng, Wailap Victor; Salzberg, Steven L.; Hood, Leroy; DasSarma, Shiladitya (2001-10-01). "Understanding the Adaptation of Halobacterium Species NRC-1 to Its Extreme Environment through Computational Analysis of Its Genome Sequence". Genome Research. 11 (10): 1641–1650. doi:10.1101/gr.190201. ISSN   1088-9051. PMC   311145 . PMID   11591641.
  11. ↑ Karan, Ram; Capes, Melinda D.; DasSarma, Shiladitya (2012-01-01). "Function and biotechnology of extremophilic enzymes in low water activity". Aquatic Biosystems. 8 (1): 4. Bibcode:2012AqBio...8....4K. doi: 10.1186/2046-9063-8-4 . ISSN   2046-9063. PMC   3310334 . PMID   22480329.
  12. ↑ DasSarma, Shiladitya; DasSarma, Priya (2015-06-01). "Halophiles and their enzymes: negativity put to good use". Current Opinion in Microbiology. Environmental microbiology • Extremophiles. 25: 120–126. doi:10.1016/j.mib.2015.05.009. PMC   4729366 . PMID   26066288.
  13. ↑ DasSarma, S., J.A. Coker, and P. DasSarma. 2010. Archaea - Overview. In Encyclopedia of Microbiology, 3rd edition, Academic Press, M. Schaechter (ed.), p. 118-139.
  14. ↑ Capes, Melinda D.; DasSarma, Priya; DasSarma, Shiladitya (2012-01-01). "The core and unique proteins of haloarchaea". BMC Genomics. 13: 39. doi: 10.1186/1471-2164-13-39 . ISSN   1471-2164. PMC   3287961 . PMID   22272718.
  15. ↑ Berquist, Brian R.; DasSarma, Shiladitya (2003-10-15). "An Archaeal Chromosomal Autonomously Replicating Sequence Element from an Extreme Halophile, Halobacterium sp. Strain NRC-1". Journal of Bacteriology. 185 (20): 5959–5966. doi:10.1128/JB.185.20.5959-5966.2003. ISSN   0021-9193. PMC   225043 . PMID   14526006.
  16. ↑ Coker, James A.; DasSarma, Shiladitya (2007-01-01). "Genetic and transcriptomic analysis of transcription factor genes in the model halophilic Archaeon: coordinate action of TbpD and TfbA". BMC Genetics. 8: 61. doi: 10.1186/1471-2156-8-61 . ISSN   1471-2156. PMC   2121645 . PMID   17892563.
  17. ↑ Karan, R; DasSarma, P; Balcer-Kubiczek, E; Weng, RR; Liao, CC; Goodlett, DR; Ng, WV; Dassarma, S (2014). "Bioengineering radioresistance by overproduction of RPA, a mammalian-type single-stranded DNA-binding protein, in a halophilic archaeon". Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology. 98 (4): 1737–1747. doi:10.1007/s00253-013-5368-x. PMC   4096848 . PMID   24292079.
  18. ↑ Weiss, Rick (2007-09-25). "'Superbugs' Could Benefit Humans". The Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2016-07-11.
  19. ↑ DasSarma, Shiladitya; Capes, Melinda D.; Karan, Ram; DasSarma, Priya (2013-03-11). "Amino Acid Substitutions in Cold-Adapted Proteins from Halorubrum lacusprofundi , an Extremely Halophilic Microbe from Antarctica". PLOS ONE. 8 (3): e58587. Bibcode:2013PLoSO...858587D. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0058587 . ISSN   1932-6203. PMC   3594186 . PMID   23536799.
  20. ↑ "BioTechniques - Antarctic Microbe's Survival Tricks Revealed". www.biotechniques.com. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
  21. ↑ "Extremophiles and Extraterrestrial Life".
  22. ↑ DasSarma, Shiladitya; Karan, Ram; DasSarma, Priya; Barnes, Susan; Ekulona, Folasade; Smith, Barbara (2013-01-01). "An improved genetic system for bioengineering buoyant gas vesicle nanoparticles from Haloarchaea". BMC Biotechnology. 13: 112. doi: 10.1186/1472-6750-13-112 . ISSN   1472-6750. PMC   3878110 . PMID   24359319.
  23. ↑ DasSarma, P.; Negi, V. D.; Balakrishnan, A.; Kim, J. -M.; Karan, R.; Chakravortty, D.; DasSarma, S. (2015-01-01). "Procedia of the 8th Vaccine & ISV Congress, Philadelphia, USA, 2015Haloarchaeal Gas Vesicle Nanoparticles Displaying Salmonella Antigens as a Novel Approach to Vaccine Development". Procedia in Vaccinology. 9: 16–23. doi:10.1016/j.provac.2015.05.003. PMC   4758358 . PMID   26900411.
  24. ↑ DasSarma, Shiladitya; DasSarma, Priya (2015-09-07). "Gas Vesicle Nanoparticles for Antigen Display". Vaccines. 3 (3): 686–702. Bibcode:2015Vacns...3..686D. doi: 10.3390/vaccines3030686 . PMC   4586473 . PMID   26350601.
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