to the left of each question for the answer.
How is it that Desert Research Institute scientists are working in the ocean in Antarctica? Why do you need to travel all the way to Antarctica to study Archaeal gene expression? How do you get from Reno to Palmer Station? What are the best genetic tools to measure changes in gene expression? What can gene expression in archaea and bacteria teach us that can lead to great new discoveries? What is the Tree of Life? We welcome suggestions for questions to add to the FAQ list.
Send your queries to genmail@dri.edu.
What can gene expression in archaea and bacteria teach us that can
lead to great new discoveries?
We can learn:
- How these microorganisms might respond to changes like increases in seawater temperature. The Antarctic Peninsula has experienced regional climate change over the past 50 years, (Vaughan et al. 2001. Science 293:1777-1779).
- Whether these organisms have special mechanisms for dealing with the cold (i.e. high levels of cold shock gene expression, polyunsaturated fatty acid synthesis etc.).
- If certain enzymes are highly induced at subzero temperatures (suggesting potential candidates for biotechnological applications).
- If these organisms produce new kinds of biologically active compounds such as antibiotics that could help fight bacterial infection.
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