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X-WR-CALNAME;VALUE=TEXT:Frank H. Westheimer Prize Lecture - Professor Squire Booker (Penn State)
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SUMMARY:Frank H. Westheimer Prize Lecture - Professor Squire Booker (Penn State)
DESCRIPTION:<p>	Title: A Radical Solution for C(sp3)–C(sp3) Bond Formation during the Biosynthesis of Macrocyclic Membrane Lipids<!--break--></p><p style="text-align:center">	 </p><p style="text-align:center">	Archaea synthesize isoprenoid-based ether-linked membrane lipids, which enable them to withstand </p><p style="text-align:center">	extreme environmental conditions, such as high temperatures, high salinity, and low or high pH </p><p style="text-align:center">	values. In some archaea, such as Methanocaldococcus jannaschii, these lipids are further modified </p><p style="text-align:center">	by forming carbon–carbon bonds between the termini of two lipid tails within one </p><p style="text-align:center">	glycerophospholipid to generate the macrocyclic archaeol or forming two carbon– carbon bonds </p><p style="text-align:center">	between the termini of two lipid tails from two glycerophospholipids to generate the macrocycle </p><p style="text-align:center">	glycerol dibiphytanyl glycerol tetraether (GDGT). GDGT contains two 40-carbon lipid chains </p><p style="text-align:center">	(biphytanyl chains) that span both leaflets of the membrane, providing enhanced</p><p style="text-align:center">	stability to extreme conditions. How these specialized lipids are formed has puzzled scientists for </p><p style="text-align:center">	decades. The reaction necessitates coupling two completely inert sp3-hybridized carbon centers, </p><p style="text-align:center">	which has not been observed in nature. Here we use X-ray crystallography, high-resolution mass </p><p style="text-align:center">	spectrometry, chemical synthesis, and biochemical analyses to show that the gene product of mj0619 </p><p style="text-align:center">	from M. jannaschii, which encodes a radical S-adenosylmethionine enzyme, is responsible for </p><p style="text-align:center">	biphytanyl chain formation during synthesis of both the macrocyclic archaeol and GDGT membrane</p><p style="text-align:center">	lipids</p>
LOCATION:Pfizer Lecture Hall
STATUS:CONFIRMED
DTSTART:20240506T201500Z
DTEND:20240506T211500Z
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