B. Tracy Nixon

Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

B. Tracy Nixon

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

Links

Most Recent Publications

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

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

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

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,

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

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

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

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

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

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

Qusai Al Abdallah, B. Tracy Nixon, Jarrod R. Fortwendel, 2016, Frontiers in Energy Research

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

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

Juan Du, Venkata Vepachedu, Sung Hyun Cho, Manish Kumar, B. Tracy Nixon, 2016, PLoS One

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

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

Mustafa Erbakan, Brandon S. Curtis, B. Tracy Nixon, Manish Kumar, Wayne R. Curtis, 2015, Protein Expression and Purification on p. 109-117

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