Exploring eukaryotic protein structure and post-translational modifications.
Erica Jacobs, St. John's University-New York
This CURE will provide opportunity for students to think and act as researchers by using computational, biochemical, and bioanalytical techniques to examine tick antigen proteins. The CURE is designed as a lab for upper-level students who are taking or have taken a one-semester introductory biochemistry course, but two semesters would be even better. It could also be adapted for cell/molecular biology or (bio) analytical chemistry instrumentational analysis labs. It has been taught for classes ranging from 12-24 students. Ticks are notorious vectors of viral, protozoan, and bacterial diseases, including Lyme disease. While an anti-vector vaccine capable of protecting people from diseases transmitted by a particular tick species is an alluring goal, only one such anti-tick vaccine is currently available. This vaccine targets Bm86, a protein from the midgut of Rhipicephalus microplus, a cattle tick. Not only does the vaccine limit parasitism of the cattle by ticks, data suggests that it can also prevent transmission of tick-borne diseases including bovine anaplasmosis and babesiosis. However, similar vaccination approaches have not succeeded thus far against ticks that transmit diseases to humans, and little is known about the antibody response to the antigen, or about the protein itself. Since the protein's structure and function are unknown, the research goal of this CURE is to purify Bm86 using an insect cell/baculovirus expression system and characterize it, including domain structure and post-translational modifications (glycosylation sites). There are homologs to Bm86 in every sequenced tick species examined, and future CUREs will characterize some of the homologs including those in Ixodes scapularis, the tick that is mainly responsible for transmitting Lyme in the eastern US, and Haemaphysalis longicornis, the Asian longhorned tick, a newly-discovered invasive species in the area that also has significant disease-transmitting potential. By understanding the structure and post-translational modifications of this protein, we hope to gain a better understanding of how to make effective anti-tick vaccines, including those for humans, that may prevent transmission of Lyme disease. Importantly, the basic parameters of this CURE can be used to examine other proteins besides tick antigens. For example, during the pandemic, the CURE pivoted from the tick antigen to the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein, which was also expressed in an insect cell system. Instead of characterizing glycosylation sites, we characterized phosphorylation sites. It's therefore possible to use this same framework for many different eukaryotic proteins that may be of research interest.

Testing the reliability of various miRNA-scanning tools to predict and establish novel miRNAs and their function in Musa sp.
Supriyo Ray, Bowie State University
Bananas (Musa sp.) are one if the world's most important fruit and forms a staple food especially for tropical and subtropical countries. It provides food security to millions of people and an important contributor to their economy. miRNAs are non-coding small RNAs that help regulate many biological processes by degrading mRNAs and stopping their expression to proteins. miRNA libraries have been well characterized in animal cells while, there is much work left to be done for plants especially bananas. Few miRNAs have been identified for bananas and their regulation have been associated with external stimuli such as infection, stress, resistance etc. yet, lot of work needs to be done to develop a comprehensive library for banana cultivars. In this CURE program the students would participate and do research to predict and establish novel miRNAs in banana cultivars.

I4: Incorporating Immunology in Introductory Biology to STEM majors
Devyn Gillette, Bowie State University
This CURE will utilize common techniques found in immunology to instruct first-year introductory biology students on how to conduct and answer biological research questions.

CRISPR-Cas9, Pancreatic Cancer, and Science Identity
Latanya Hammonds-Odie, Georgia Gwinnett College
At GGC, we have a history of providing all biology majors with meaningful laboratory experiences. For example, in our Cell Biology course that all majors are required to take, students learn to culture mammalian cells and design their own experiments using these cells. We plan to extend the in silico research of students into "wet bench" investigations for another course. Each student group would develop a rationale for their selection of gene(s) based on differential expression and on the current human pancreatic cancer research literature. They would design and implement a CRISPR-Cas9 deletion strategy to reduce specific gene expression that would be confirmed using immunoblotting and/or immunocytochemistry. Students would measure the proliferation, migration, and apoptosis of the control and the modified pancreatic cancer cells to assess the impact of their genetic manipulation. Harnessing the power of next-generation sequencing analysis with the ability to target specific genes for a reduction in expression will add to the knowledge base in the field; while allowing students to perform techniques that they have only explored in a lecture setting. For the students, the degree of ownership in the project, the stated confidence in the ability to "think like a scientist" and the ability to perform specific techniques should increase to a level comparable to a one-on-one mentored research experience.

Identifying dubious ORFs in species (Bioinformatics and Data Analysis)
Gaurav Arora, Gallaudet University
There are many open reading frames in genomes that are classified as dubious since they lack orthologs or are not asscoaited with function. With the advent of sequencing and other technologies we would like to identify ORFs in new genomes and check whether the criteria used to classify these ORFs as dubious still holds. Knowledge in this field will help understand how genes evolve and gain function.

Using gene editing tool CRISPR/Cas9 to study activating and deactivating mutations and their role in pancreatic cancer.
irfana muqbil, University of Detroit Mercy
This lab project will allow undergraduate students to conduct actual bench research to understand gain-of-function and loss-of-function mutation in relation to cancer. The project will be a team driven effort in which each student will be involved and responsible for the completion of the project. students will be trained in basic lab skills, safety and techniques with the hope that students will be able to apply these in gene editing projects.

Genetic Diversity and phylogenetic studies of Mushrooms in the Bowie State University Campus
George Ude, Bowie State University
The goal of my CURE is to have students be able to study biodiversity and genetic relationships among species. Students will utilize DNA barcoding techniques and other DNA fingerprinting techniques to study mushroom collections from Bowie State University ecosystem.

Determining the Antioxidant Properties of Fruit
JACQUELINE SMITH, Bowie State University

Isolation and Identification of chloroplast lipid mutant from Arabidopsis
Jinjie Liu, Michigan State University
This CURE lab project is based on the research data published in 2018 from Dr. Christoph Benning's lab at Michigan State University. Overexpression of a plastid lipase gene PLIP3 in Arabidopsis resulted in severely reduced plant growth, accumulation of anthocyanin in plant tissues, and active jasmonate production, which is a fatty acid-based defense hormone protecting plants against pathogen attack. Several organelles participate in the biosynthesis of the hormone and we would like to understand how its biochemical precursors cross the membranes, especially the chloroplast membranes. The research question is: "What transporters are involved in moving jasmonate precursors across membranes during jasmonate biosynthesis?" Towards this end, we propose to conduct a suppressor screen that identifies genes that disrupt enzymes or transport proteins required for the biosynthesis of the hormone. In addition, receptors or signaling components mediating the hormone responses can be identified. The goal of this CURE project is to isolate and characterize such suppressor mutant(s) and identify those that disrupt the respective transporter genes.

Substrate specificity investigations using bioinformatics, site-directed mutagenesis, and in vitro enzyme assays
Carol Price, University of Virginia-Main Campus
Can the function (substrate specificity) of an enzyme be changed via site specific mutagenesis? For this question, students are provided with a plasmid encoding an enzyme with a demonstrated function (in vitro). They are then charged with choosing a mutation in the active site that they believe will change substrate specificity, introducing the mutation, purifying the mutant protein, and studying the enzyme activity of that mutant relative to the wild-type.