Abstract

Learning Molecular Biological and Biochemical Techniques in Investigating Periplasmic Nitrate Reductase

Thornton, Charles; Adams, Andrew; Nassif, Samih; Basu, Partha

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Department of Biological Sciences, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Molybdenum containing enzyme, periplasmic nitrate reductase (Nap), plays an important role in the vitality of pathogenic bacterium, Campylobacter jejuni. The catalytic subunit, NapA, is being cloned and overexpressed in E. coli. There are many techniques such as cell culture, DNA extraction, purification and cloning that are involved in the proper overexpression of this important protein. To this end, I have been learning these techniques, and how they apply to the overall goals of this project. In this presentation, I present my experience with the experiments and results.