B. Tracy Nixon

Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

332 Frear South
University Park, PA
btn1@psu.edu
814-865-3679

Bio & Links
Publications

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

Center for Structural Biology

Plant Institute

Center for Biorenewables

Most Recent Publications

A general mechanism for transcription bubble nucleation in bacteria

Andreas U. Mueller, James Chen, Mengyu Wu, Courtney Chiu, B. Tracy Nixon, Elizabeth A. Campbell, Seth A. Darst, 2023, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

Evidence for Plant-Conserved Region Mediated Trimeric CESAs in Plant Cellulose Synthase Complexes

Juan Du, Venu Gopal Vandavasi, Kelly R. Molloy, Hui Yang, Lynnicia N. Massenburg, Abhishek Singh, Albert L. Kwansa, Yaroslava G. Yingling, Hugh O'Neill, Brian T. Chait, Manish Kumar, B. Tracy Nixon, 2022, Biomacromolecules on p. 3663-3677

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 Frank, Sung Hyun Cho, Alex Kirui, Frederic Mentink-Vigier, Matthew T. Swulius, B. Tracy Nixon, Tuo Wang, 2022, Biomacromolecules on p. 2290–2301

SPARC: Structural properties associated with residue constraints

Andrew F. Neuwald, Hui Yang, B. Tracy Nixon, 2022, Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal on p. 1702-1715

Resolution Revolution

Gail McCormick, B. Nixon, Susan Hafenstein, K Murakami, Nicole Hackenbrack, 2018,

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

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

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

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

Most-Cited Papers

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: Evidence for CESA trimers

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

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

A single heterologously expressed plant cellulose synthase isoform is sufficient for cellulose microfibril formation in vitro

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 on p. e0155886