Shiladitya DasSarma

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Shiladitya DasSarma
BornNovember 11, 1957
Kolkata, India
NationalityAmerican (Naturalized)
Alma materIndiana University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Known forLife in Extreme Environments, Halophiles, Archaea, Astrobiology

Shiladitya DasSarma (1957- ) is an Indian born American microbial molecular biologist well-known for his contributions to the biology of salt-loving halophilic microorganisms.[1][2]. He immigrated with his family at age 8 to the USA and received his early education in Charleston, West Virginia. He obtained a BS degree in Chemistry from Indiana University and a PhD degree in Biochemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He did postdoctoral training at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and Pasteur Institute, Paris.

DasSarma 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 an active researcher and teacher (molecular genetics, genomics, and bioinformatics) and mentor of undergraduate, graduate, postdoctoral students and junior Faculty. He is widely known to have been instrumental in the foundation of the fields of halophile and extremophile research.

Research

In early work (1980's), he discovered mobile genetic elements in halophilic microorganisms[3][4] in the third Domain of Life, the Archaea, while a graduate student with H. Gobind Khorana (Nobel Laureate) and Uttam L. RajBhandary. He also showed that transcriptional promoters in Archaea[5] were different from those in other Bacteria, which contributed to the acceptance of the three Domain view of evolution proposed by Carl Woese.

In the 1990's, he organized and led the team that deciphered the first genome sequence and genetic code for a salt-loving microbe, Halobacterium sp. NRC-1[6] [7][8]. This work showed that certain proteins are highly acidic, providing an understanding of how proteins function in high salinity and low water activity conditions [9][10][11]. The genome sequence helped to further establish the validity of the Archaea and the three Domain view of life through the finding of similarities to higher organisms and differences from Bacteria. The work also suggested that certain genes are acquired through lateral gene transfers, such as the genes for aerobic respiration. Later in the 2000's, post-genomic research in his laboratory established the function of many genes and genetic elements[12], including the use of multiple replication origins[13], general transcription factors [14], and radiation repair systems[15] [16].

Astrobiology

DasSarma’s recent research (2010's) on an Antarctic halophilic microorganism, Halorubrum lacusprofundi, resulted in further refinement in understanding of protein function in high salinity and cold conditions[17]. Such studies may explain how life could adapt to new environments, including extra-terrestrial environments[18].

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][19].

Biotechnology

One of the interesting features of Halobacterium sp. NRC-1 is the presence of buoyant gas vesicle nanoparticles (GVNPs). DasSarma’s laboratory has been instrumental in their study, and developed an expression system to bioengineer GVNPs[20]. These may represent a valuable platform for antigen delivery, vaccine development, and other biomedical and environmental applications[21][22]

External links

References

  1. ^ http://www.asm.org/ccLibraryFiles/FILENAME/000000002127/znw00306000120.pdf. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. ^ a b "Extreme Microbes » American Scientist". www.americanscientist.org. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
  3. ^ 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. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 347320. PMID 6296826.
  4. ^ 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. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 393786. PMID 6300900.
  5. ^ 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. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 344623. PMID 16593404.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ "NSF - OLPA - PR 00-69: International Research Group Sequences Genome of Ubiquitous Microbe". www.nsf.gov. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ Karan, Ram; Capes, Melinda D.; DasSarma, Shiladitya (2012-01-01). "Function and biotechnology of extremophilic enzymes in low water activity". Aquatic Biosystems. 8: 4. doi:10.1186/2046-9063-8-4. ISSN 2046-9063. PMC 3310334. PMID 22480329.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ 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.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ 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.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  15. ^ http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00253-013-5368-x/fulltext.html. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. ^ Weiss, Rick (2007-09-25). "'Superbugs' Could Benefit Humans". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
  17. ^ 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. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0058587. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 3594186. PMID 23536799.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  18. ^ "BioTechniques - Antarctic Microbe's Survival Tricks Revealed". www.biotechniques.com. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
  19. ^ https://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/Extremophiles_and_Extraterrestrial_Life. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  20. ^ 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.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  21. ^ Palatnik de Sousa, Clarisa B.; 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.
  22. ^ DasSarma, Shiladitya; DasSarma, Priya (2015-09-07). "Gas Vesicle Nanoparticles for Antigen Display". Vaccines. 3 (3): 686–702. doi:10.3390/vaccines3030686. PMC 4586473. PMID 26350601.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
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