B. Tracy Nixon
Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
-
332 Frear South
University Park, PA - btn1@psu.edu
- 814-865-3679
Research Summary
Structural and functional basis of cellulose synthesis. Using Physcomitrella patens and other organisms as model systems, we are learning how plants make cellulose for building new cell wall. The studies use methods of molecular biology and cryoEM to characterize the enzyme as a monomer, and when it assembles into its larger 'Cellulose Synthase Complex '(CSC for short). The aim is to understand cellulose synthesis to explain fundamentals of cell wall biology in plants, and to enable manipulation of its synthesis for applications in fields of bioenergy and materials.
Huck Affiliations
- Plant Biology
- Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Biosciences
- Center for Structural Biology
- Plant Institute
- Center for Biorenewables
Links
Publication Tags
Cellulose Cellulose Synthase Microfibrils Synthesis Proteins Arabidopsis In Vitro Techniques Cell Walls Glucose Cell Wall Polysaccharides Membranes Bioethanol Cellulose Microfibrils Crystalline Cellulose Transmission Electron Microscopy Bacteria Active Sites Gluconacetobacter Gluconacetobacter Hansenii Catalytic Domain Membrane Proteins Protein Isoforms Glucans HydrolysisMost Recent Papers
Structure of In Vitro-Synthesized Cellulose Fibrils Viewed by Cryo-Electron Tomography and <sup>13</sup>C Natural-Abundance Dynamic Nuclear Polarization Solid-State NMR
Fabien Deligey, Mark A. Frank, Sung Hyun Cho, Alex Kirui, Frederic Mentink-Vigier, Matthew T. Swulius, B. Tracy Nixon, Tuo Wang, 2021, Biomacromolecules
Synthesis and self-assembly of cellulose microfibrils from reconstituted cellulose synthase
Sung Hyun Cho, Pallinti Purushotham, Chao Fang, Cassandra Maranas, Sara M. Díaz-Moreno, Vincent Bulone, Jochen Zimmer, Manish Kumar, B. Tracy Nixon, 2017, Plant Physiology on p. 146-156
Cellulose microfibril formation in vitro by a single heterologously expressed plant cellulose synthase isoform
Purushotham Pallinti, S Cho, Sara Diaz-Moreno, M Kumar, B. Tracy Nixon, Vincent Bulone, Jochen Zimmer, 2017, ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
Progress toward structural understanding of cellulose synthesis by plants
B. Tracy Nixon, M Kumar, J Du, S Cho, Venu Vandavasi, Hugh ONeill, Pallinti Purushotham, Jochen Zimmer, 2017, ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
Organization of domains in CESA proteins of the plant cellulose synthesis complex
Hugh O'Neill, Venu Vandavasi, J Du, Qui Zhang, Abhishek Singh, B. Tracy Nixon, Yaroslava Yingling, Loukas Petridis, Paul Langan, Candace Haigler, 2017, ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
A single heterologously expressed plant cellulose synthase isoform is sufficient for cellulose microfibril formation in vitro
Pallinti Purushotham, Sung Hyun Cho, Sara M. Díaz-Moreno, Manish Kumar, B. Tracy Nixon, Vincent Bulone, Jochen Zimmer, 2016, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America on p. 11360-11365
Comparative Structural and Computational Analysis Supports Eighteen Cellulose Synthases in the Plant Cellulose Synthesis Complex
B. Tracy Nixon, Katayoun Mansouri, Abhishek Singh, Juan Du, Jonathan K. Davis, Jung Goo Lee, Erin Slabaugh, Venu Gopal Vandavasi, Hugh O'Neill, Eric M. Roberts, Alison W. Roberts, Yaroslava G. Yingling, Candace H. Haigler, 2016, Scientific Reports
Structure of the cellulose synthase complex of Gluconacetobacter hansenii at 23.4 Å resolution
Juan Du, Venkata Vepachedu, Sung Hyun Cho, Manish Kumar, B. Tracy Nixon, 2016, PLoS One
Structural Studies of Plant CESA Support Eighteen CESAs in the Plant CSC
Venu Vandavasi, Daniel Putnam, Qiu Zhang, Loukas Petridis, William Heller, B. Tracy Nixon, Candace Haigler, Udaya Kalluri, Leighton Coates, Paul Langan, Jeremy Smith, Jens Meiler, Hugh O'Neill, 2016, BIOPHYSICAL JOURNAL on p. 27A-27A
A structural study of CESA1 catalytic domain of arabidopsis cellulose synthesis complex
Venu Gopal Vandavasi, Daniel K. Putnam, Qiu Zhang, Loukas Petridis, William T. Heller, B. Tracy Nixon, Candace H. Haigler, Udaya Kalluri, Leighton Coates, Paul Langan, Jeremy C. Smith, Jens Meiler, Hugh O’Neill, 2016, Plant Physiology on p. 123-135
Most-Cited Papers
Phase transitions in the assembly of multivalent signalling proteins
Pilong Li, Sudeep Banjade, Hui Chun Cheng, Soyeon Kim, Baoyu Chen, Liang Guo, Marc Llaguno, Javoris V. Hollingsworth, David S. King, Salman F. Banani, Paul S. Russo, Qiu Xing Jiang, B. Tracy Nixon, Michael K. Rosen, 2012, Nature on p. 336-340
Opening and closing of the bacterial RNA polymerase clamp
Anirban Chakraborty, Dongye Wang, Yon W. Ebright, You Korlann, Ekaterine Kortkhonjia, Taiho Kim, Saikat Chowdhury, Sivaramesh Wigneshweraraj, Herbert Irschik, Rolf Jansen, B. Tracy Nixon, Jennifer Knight, Shimon Weiss, Richard H. Ebright, 2012, Science on p. 591-595
Comparative Structural and Computational Analysis Supports Eighteen Cellulose Synthases in the Plant Cellulose Synthesis Complex
B. Tracy Nixon, Katayoun Mansouri, Abhishek Singh, Juan Du, Jonathan K. Davis, Jung Goo Lee, Erin Slabaugh, Venu Gopal Vandavasi, Hugh O'Neill, Eric M. Roberts, Alison W. Roberts, Yaroslava G. Yingling, Candace H. Haigler, 2016, Scientific Reports
A structural study of CESA1 catalytic domain of arabidopsis cellulose synthesis complex
Venu Gopal Vandavasi, Daniel K. Putnam, Qiu Zhang, Loukas Petridis, William T. Heller, B. Tracy Nixon, Candace H. Haigler, Udaya Kalluri, Leighton Coates, Paul Langan, Jeremy C. Smith, Jens Meiler, Hugh O’Neill, 2016, Plant Physiology on p. 123-135
A single heterologously expressed plant cellulose synthase isoform is sufficient for cellulose microfibril formation in vitro
Pallinti Purushotham, Sung Hyun Cho, Sara M. Díaz-Moreno, Manish Kumar, B. Tracy Nixon, Vincent Bulone, Jochen Zimmer, 2016, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America on p. 11360-11365
The enzymatic conversion of major algal and cyanobacterial carbohydrates to bioethanol
Qusai Al Abdallah, B. Tracy Nixon, Jarrod R. Fortwendel, 2016, Frontiers in Energy Research
Nucleotide-induced asymmetry within ATPase activator ring drives Σ54-RNAP interaction and ATP hydrolysis
Tatyana A. Sysoeva, Saikat Chowdhury, Liang Guo, B. Tracy Nixon, 2013, Genes and Development on p. 2500-2511
Synthesis and self-assembly of cellulose microfibrils from reconstituted cellulose synthase
Sung Hyun Cho, Pallinti Purushotham, Chao Fang, Cassandra Maranas, Sara M. Díaz-Moreno, Vincent Bulone, Jochen Zimmer, Manish Kumar, B. Tracy Nixon, 2017, Plant Physiology on p. 146-156
Structure of the cellulose synthase complex of Gluconacetobacter hansenii at 23.4 Å resolution
Juan Du, Venkata Vepachedu, Sung Hyun Cho, Manish Kumar, B. Tracy Nixon, 2016, PLoS One
In vitro synthesis of cellulose microfibrils by a membrane protein from protoplasts of the non-vascular plant Physcomitrella patens
Sung Hyun Cho, Juan Du, Ian Sines, Venkata Giridhar Poosarla, Venkata Vepachedu, Kabindra Kafle, Yong Bum Park, Seong H. Kim, Manish Kumar, B. Tracy Nixon, 2015, Biochemical Journal on p. 195-205