The Kelley Lab

We contributed to two papers published this week investigating the molecular mechanisms of adaptation to hydrogen sulfide (H2S) rich environments. In our paper published in Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A, we show heritable differences in gene expression patterns between sulfide adapted and non-adapted populations. Depending on the organ, sulfide-quinone oxidoreductase (SQR), an enzyme critical to sulfide detoxification, is either constitutively or plastically higher expressed in sulfidic populations. The other paper, published in Nature Communications, also indicated that at least some sulfidic P. mexicana populations exhibit an H2S-resistant cytochrome oxidase (COX), one of the primary targets of H2S toxicity.

 

Congratulations to Julian for receiving the J. Herman and Jean Kaye Swartz Memorial Scholarship from the College of Arts and Sciences at WSU. J. Herman Swartz earned his B.S. (1938) and M.S. (1939) in bacteriology from then–WSC. Swartz received a scholarship that changed his life. He believed that any student who wants an education should get that chance—and that the rest of us should help. His wife, Jean Swartz, established this fund in 1997 in his memory. The scholarship is for students in biotechnology who intend to apply their knowledge of biological techniques to develop new products that meet the needs of humans.