Lopez, Isabel: Coevolution of the Biosphere and Geosphere: Times, Metabolism, and Rocks

 

Title:  Coevolution of the Biosphere and Geosphere: Times, Metabolism, and Rocks

Name: Isabel Lopez

Home Institute: William Paterson University

Programs: RISE program

Other contributors: Falade Aderibigbe, Nolan Fehon, Jenna Bingham, Justin Nam, Kenneth McGuinness and Vikas Nanda

Abstract: Many proteins have been identified to be essential to life but where these proteins originated from is still unknown. By understanding the origins and structure of these proteins, scientists will be able to understand in greater depth the coevolution between the biosphere and geosphere. It is believed that the metal cofactor regions are the most conserved regions of a protein due to them being essential for such proteins to function. We hypothesize that the distance between disjoint metal-binding regions within oxidoreductase sequences have incrementally increased to ensure protein stability as metabolic needs became more diverse as species evolved to adapt to an increasingly oxidizing planet. We plan to build phylogenetic trees that will help the length between metal binding regions to be quantified through gene alignment and estimate what role each protein plays in the metabolic pathway. Furthermore, leading to more information on how the length of metal binding regions increases proportionally to its importance on the metabolic pathway. Importance of genes in a pathway will be based on the number of pathways that lead to a metabolite and if other proteins can fulfill the same function. Results from these procedures will give more knowledge on how life on our planets start.

Biography: I was born and raised in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Now, I live in New Jersey and attend William Paterson University. After seeing how flawed the healthcare system was in my country, it inspired me to study and pursue a career in science.