SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor
Undergraduate Director
BS, University of the Philippines
MSc, University College, London
PhD, University at Buffalo
Office: Science III - 110
Phone: 607-777-2651
Email: annatan@binghamton.edu
Website: http://biology.binghamton.edu/~annatan
Molecular biology, biochemistry and physiology of plants
One of the first enzymes to function in germination of the soybean seed is a serine protease that degrades the stored protein reserves of the seed. We have purified this enzyme and found that it cleaves only at regions bearing several acidic amino acid residues. We have also cloned a cDNA fragment and are using this as a probe to study the gene expression of this enzyme. Current projects also include more precise delineation of its cleavage specificity and characterization of enzymes with similar specificity in other legumes.
Utilization of seed protein reserves depends not only on initiating enzymes but also on others that catalyze less specific but more rapid and extensive proteolysis. Typically, these activities appear later in seedling growth. We have purified a number of other enzymes in the mung bean and have cloned their cDNA (see Genbank Accession Nos. U49741 and U49445). These provide tools with which to study the mechanism by which legume seedlings manage the temporal sequence of expression of these proteolytic enzymes.
These projects are supported by grants from the NSF and the USDA.
