Identification of new metalloproteases
Start Date
April 2026
Location
2nd floor - Library
Abstract
A large number of proteins have known structures but unassigned functions. The BASIL curriculum is a course-based undergraduate research experience that uses various bioinformatics programs to assign functions to proteins with known structures but unassigned functions. The goal of this project is to identify previously unidentified metalloproteases using the BASIL tools. Metalloproteases are a class of proteases that use metal ions to hydrolyze peptide bonds. We used the ASSAM algorithm to search the Protein Data Bank for candidate metalloproteases. This initial search resulted in a large list of candidate proteins, which were filtered for proteins labelled as “putative”, “uncharacterized”, or “hypothetical”. This shorter list was screened manually for proteins that had not been previously published, had a metal in structure, and could be reasonably obtained. Genes for the proteins on this final list were obtained and the proteins expressed and purified. Characterization of the individual enzymes included kinetic analysis, molecular weight determination, and quaternary structure analysis.
Identification of new metalloproteases
2nd floor - Library
A large number of proteins have known structures but unassigned functions. The BASIL curriculum is a course-based undergraduate research experience that uses various bioinformatics programs to assign functions to proteins with known structures but unassigned functions. The goal of this project is to identify previously unidentified metalloproteases using the BASIL tools. Metalloproteases are a class of proteases that use metal ions to hydrolyze peptide bonds. We used the ASSAM algorithm to search the Protein Data Bank for candidate metalloproteases. This initial search resulted in a large list of candidate proteins, which were filtered for proteins labelled as “putative”, “uncharacterized”, or “hypothetical”. This shorter list was screened manually for proteins that had not been previously published, had a metal in structure, and could be reasonably obtained. Genes for the proteins on this final list were obtained and the proteins expressed and purified. Characterization of the individual enzymes included kinetic analysis, molecular weight determination, and quaternary structure analysis.
