Hattiesburg, MS - Dr. Gordon C. Cannon, biochemistry professor at USM, was recently presented with the 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award. The coveted award was presented by the University Research Council, and Office of the Vice President of Research. The honor was bestowed for a particular discovery involving what Cannon describes as “metabolic organizers”.
Dr. Gordon C. Cannon (right) receives the 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award presented by Dr. Denis Wiesenburg (left), VP of Research at Southern Miss
In his own words, Cannon describes the project as follows:
The main research projects in our laboratory focus on carboxysomes and related bacterial microcompartments. These polyhedral protein nanoparticles are found in a wide variety of bacterial species and are widely believed to function as microbial organelles.
By compartmentalizing metabolically important enzymes within their interior, the catalytic performance of the enzymes is enhanced and/or regulated, and metabolic flow in the cell is directed. Bacterial microcompartments therefore appear to serve as metabolic organizers that represent a novel type of cellular regulation. It is noteworthy that the protein boundaries of all microcompartments are built from the same two types of evolutionarily conserved proteins that self-assemble to yield the polyhedral architecture of these remarkable structures.
We are studying the structure and function of carboxysome proteins from the sulfur bacterium Halothiobaillus neapolitanus, which serves as a model system for investigating the role these microcompartments play in the sequestration of atmospheric CO2 in the global carbon cycle.
Our goals are to determine how interactions between carboxysome proteins lead to self-assembly of the bacterial organelles, and how these structures affect the activity of the CO2 fixing enzyme enzyme that is packaged inside. We employ a wide range of experimental approaches that range from proteomic and classical biochemical techniques to genetic and genomic analysis and, with our collaborators, x-ray crystallography and cryoelectron tomography.
Aside from the obvious goal of understanding the role protein microcompartments like the carboxysome play in bacterial physiology and biology, we are also striving to apply the principles elucidated through our basic studies to the design of nanodevices that can be used as bio-solar cells, support novel synthetic routes and give rise to new materials with a wide range of biomedical applications.
Cannon specializes in the research areas of carboxysomes, bacterial microcompartments, bacterial CO2 fixation, enzyme kinetics, protein complex self-assembly, and antibody-based biosensors.
For more information on the research capabilities of Dr. Gordon Cannon, please contact Noetic Technologies.
About Noetic Technologies: Noetic Technologies, Inc. began as an initiative of The University of Southern Mississippi and is geared toward marketing and commercialization of the university’s technology. Noetic assists Southern Miss in the areas of contract negotiations, managing confidentiality & disclosure agreements, technical marketing, and intellectual property strategies.
Since 2004, Noetic has played a vital role in bringing ideas to the marketplace for several high tech startup companies. Noetic’s management team comprises over fifty years of combined experience in market research, product development, process management, and marketing strategies.
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