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Biomolecular Materials, Biomineralization and New Materials
Conducting research at the intersection of biotechnology and nanotechnology in an exciting new interdisciplinary collaboration that combines the approaches of molecular biology and biotechnology with the skills of colleagues in Materials Engineering, Physics, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, we are discovering the molecular mechanisms governing biomineralization, and using these mechanisms to develop new strategies for the synthesis of high-performance, nanostructured composite materials for tomorrow's advanced optoelectronics, microelectronics, catalysts, sensors and energy transducers. Living organisms synthesize remarkably strong and architecturally controlled mineralized composite materials with a precision of nanoscale fabrication that in many cases exceeds the capabilities of present-day engineering. Our team is fortunate to be at the forefront of research revealing the molecular mechanisms controlling the formation of these materials. We use gene cloning, recombinant DNA and protein analyses, gene- and protein-engineering, site-directed and combinatorial mutagenesis and biomimetic peptide synthesis in conjunction with advanced imaging technologies (including the latest developments in atomic force microscopy, X-ray diffraction, solid-state NMR and laser-confocal immunohistochemistry) to reveal the mechanisms controlling the biosynthesis and supramolecular self-assembly of the high-performance mineralized composites of molluscan shells and pearls, the skeletons of corals, and the silica structures made by marine sponges and diatoms. Discoveries by our students already have revealed previously unanticipated mechanisms responsible for this control (in both calcium-based and silicon-based systems), and have demonstrated that the unique mechanisms that evolved in biological systems for the control of biomineralization can be harnessed for the development of environmentally benign new routes to synthesis of high-performance materials. Financial support and excellent career opportunities are available for talented students and postdoctorals in this area.
Control of Larval Metamorphosis, Recruitment and Gene Expression
We also are pursuing the mechanisms by which signal molecules from the environment regulate larval metamorphosis, recruitment, gene activation and development in the larvae of corals, abalones and other marine animals. We found that the exogenous signal molecules that induce larval settlement from the plankton and substratum-specific metamorphosis often are homologous with endogenous regulatory molecules in mammalian systems. The larval chemosensory receptors, signal transduction pathways and mechanisms controlling gene activation leading to metamorphosis and subsequent development also correspond closely to mammalian counterparts. These discoveries facilitate both the analysis and control of larval metamorphosis in the marine species, and analysis of the basic mechanisms that can be more readily analyzed using the larvae as model systems. In addition to their significance for basic molecular, developmental and sensory biology, the results of these studies are providing new insights into the molecular evolution of regulatory signal molecules, chemical sensing mechanisms and their roles in the evolution of multicellular differentiation, symbiosis and ecological adaptation. This research also is yielding practical applications in the cultivation and conservation of resource species, other areas of marine biotechnology and medicine.
Collaborative Research Meetings
Informal weekly meeting of our interdisciplinary team, in which students, postdocs and faculty from Molecular Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Materials, Chemical Engineering and Marine Biology share the excitement of their collaborative results and plans. We work together closely and continually, benefiting from a uniquely interdisciplinary approach and training that unites molecular biology and biotechnology with physics, chemistry and modern materials science and engineering. Combining the insights and approaches of these different disciplines makes it possible to unlock the mechanisms that nature uses to build high-performance nanocomposites, and to adapt these mechanisms to make new materials. Students and postdocs in this project are equally at home in the labs of all of the participating groups, and (as a result of this unusually interdisciplinary training) are finding excellent opportunities for employment, advanced education and research. Lab Facilities Our labs are located in the modern Marine Biotechnology building on the University of California Santa Barbara campus. We're just a few minutes' walk from all of the major departments, the library, and the University Center. (The view -and the dolphins- might sometimes be distracting, but someone's got to work here!) UCSB offers students and scholars an opportunity to live and learn in a beautiful setting on the shores of the Pacific.
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