Alice Barkan Explained

Alice Barkan
Fields:Molecular biology
Known For:genetic machineries in the chloroplast
Awards:Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2017)
Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences (2020)
Workplaces:University of Oregon
Alma Mater:Massachusetts Institute of Technology (B.S.)
University of Wisconsin (Ph.D.)
Doctoral Advisor:Janet E. Mertz[1]

Alice Barkan is an American molecular biologist and a professor of biology at the University of Oregon. She is known for her work on chloroplast gene regulation and protein synthesis.

Education

Alice Barkan received her B.S. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In 1983 she completed her Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin under the supervision of Janet E. Mertz, with the thesis "Characterization of Simian Virus 40 Late Leader Region Mutants".[2] [3] [1]

Career and awards

Barkan joined the University of Oregon in 1991, where she is currently a professor in the Institute of Molecular Biology.[4]

Barkan was named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2017.[5]

In 2018, Barkan received the Lawrence Bogorad Award for Excellence in Plant Biology Research from the American Society of Plant Biologists.

Barkan was the recipient of a Faculty Excellence Award from the University of Oregon for 2018–19.[6]

Barkan was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2020.[7] Election to the National Academy is one of the highest honors in the scientific field.

The University of Oregon (UO) awarded Barkan an Outstanding Career Award in 2020 to acknowledge not only her scientific accomplishments but also her career contributions in teaching, mentorship and leadership at the UO.[8]

Research

Barkan's research is focused on how nucleus-encoded proteins affect chloroplast gene expression.[9] [10] [11] Experiments from her lab use mutants, primarily in maize (Zea mays) but also Arabidopsis thaliana, to investigate chloroplast mRNA translation and stability, as well as many aspects of RNA maturation, including splicing and editing.[12] [13] [14] Barkan and her colleagues have discovered and studied dozens of plant nuclear genes that encode chloroplast RNA binding proteins that directly affect multiple aspects of RNA metabolism (processing, splicing, translation, stability).[15] The majority of the nucleus-encoded proteins that Barkan has characterized contain pentatricopeptide repeats (PPR).[9] Barkan has also discovered and named the CRM (chloroplast RNA splicing and ribosome maturation) domain, which is found in nucleus-encoded proteins required for chloroplast RNA splicing.[16] [17] In 2019, Barkan and colleagues successfully constructed PPR proteins that bound specific RNA sequences in vivo, thus establishing a system for creating targeted protein-RNA interactions.[18] [19]

Personal life

Barkan is a founding member of the musical group Byrdsong Renaissance Consort, with whom she plays the viol and recorder.[20]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Janet Mertz's curriculum vitae, 1984 . 24 May 2019 . 1984 . CSHL Archives Repository.
  2. Web site: Alice Barkan . 24 May 2019 . University of Oregon - Institute of Molecular Biology.
  3. Book: Alice Barkan Dissertation . 17 July 2019 . University of Wisconsin Libraries. 1983 .
  4. Web site: Alice Barkan. 2020-06-14. molbio.uoregon.edu.
  5. Web site: Six UO faculty members are named as fellows in the AAAS. 20 November 2017 . 24 May 2019. University of Oregon.
  6. Web site: Provost announces recipients of Faculty Excellence Awards. University of Oregon. Around the O. 19 June 2018 . 29 December 2020.
  7. Web site: 2020 NAS Election. 2020-05-02. nasonline.org.
  8. Web site: Five faculty members receive Outstanding Research Awards. University of Oregon. Around the O. 8 June 2020 . 29 December 2020.
  9. Barkan. Alice. Small. Ian. 2014-04-29. Pentatricopeptide Repeat Proteins in Plants. Annual Review of Plant Biology. 65. 1. 415–442. 10.1146/annurev-arplant-050213-040159. 24471833. 1543-5008. free.
  10. Watkins. Kenneth P.. Williams-Carrier. Rosalind. Chotewutmontri. Prakitchai. Friso. Giulia. Teubner. Marlene. Belcher. Susan. Ruwe. Hannes. Schmitz-Linneweber. Christian. Wijk. Klaas J. van. Barkan. Alice. 2020. Exploring the proteome associated with the mRNA encoding the D1 reaction center protein of Photosystem II in plant chloroplasts. The Plant Journal. 102. 2. 369–382. 10.1111/tpj.14629. 31793101. 1365-313X. free.
  11. Chotewutmontri. Prakitchai. Barkan. Alice. 2016-07-14. Wollman. Francis-André. Dynamics of Chloroplast Translation during Chloroplast Differentiation in Maize. PLOS Genetics. 12. 7. e1006106. 10.1371/journal.pgen.1006106. 1553-7404. 4945096. 27414025 . free .
  12. Barkan. A.. 1988-09-01. Proteins encoded by a complex chloroplast transcription unit are each translated from both monocistronic and polycistronic mRNAs.. The EMBO Journal. 7. 9. 2637–2644. 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1988.tb03116.x. 2460341. 0261-4189. 457051.
  13. Barkan. A.. 1993-04-01. Nuclear Mutants of Maize with Defects in Chloroplast Polysome Assembly Have Altered Chloroplast RNA Metabolism.. The Plant Cell. 5. 4. 389–402. 10.1105/tpc.5.4.389. 1040-4651. 160279. 12271069.
  14. Jenkins. B. D.. Kulhanek. D. J.. Barkan. A.. 1997-03-01. Nuclear mutations that block group II RNA splicing in maize chloroplasts reveal several intron classes with distinct requirements for splicing factors.. The Plant Cell. 9. 3. 283–296. 10.1105/tpc.9.3.283. 1040-4651. 156918. 9090875.
  15. Barkan. Alice. Goldschmidt-Clermont. Michel. 2000-06-07. Participation of nuclear genes in chloroplast gene expression. Biochimie. 82. 6. 559–572. 10.1016/S0300-9084(00)00602-7. 10946107. 0300-9084.
  16. Ostheimer. G. J.. 2003-08-01. Group II intron splicing factors derived by diversification of an ancient RNA-binding domain. The EMBO Journal. 22. 15. 3919–3929. 10.1093/emboj/cdg372. 1460-2075. 169045. 12881426.
  17. de Longevialle. Andéol Falcon. Small. Ian D.. Lurin. Claire. 2010. Nuclearly Encoded Splicing Factors Implicated in RNA Splicing in Higher Plant Organelles. Molecular Plant. 3. 4. 691–705. 10.1093/mp/ssq025. 20603383. free.
  18. McDermott. James J.. Watkins. Kenneth P.. Williams-Carrier. Rosalind. Barkan. Alice. 2019-08-01. Ribonucleoprotein Capture by in Vivo Expression of a Designer Pentatricopeptide Repeat Protein in Arabidopsis. The Plant Cell. 31. 8. 1723–1733. 10.1105/tpc.19.00177. 1040-4651. 6713294. 31123048.
  19. Rojas. Margarita. Yu. Qiguo. Williams-Carrier. Rosalind. Maliga. Pal. Barkan. Alice. 2019. Engineered PPR proteins as inducible switches to activate the expression of chloroplast transgenes. Nature Plants. 5. 5. 505–511. 10.1038/s41477-019-0412-1. 31036912. 139103684. 2055-0278.
  20. Web site: Byrdsong Renaissance Consort. 2020-06-14. byrdsongconsort.com.

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