Stefan Franzen North Carolina State University
This U.S.-Polish project is a summer undergraduate student program based at Adam Mickiewicz University (AMU) and the Institute for Bioorganic Chemistry (IBCh) of the Polish National Academy of Sciences (PAN) in Poznan, Poland. The principal investigators are Dr. Stefan Franzen at North Carolina State University, Bohdan Skalski from Adam Mickiewicz University and Ryszard Adamiak from IBCh
The program involves research and education on problems of general interest for RNA structure and function. The theme of the research is the study of structures of oligonucleotides that are involved in viral coat protein assembly using methods that include modified fluorescent oligonucleotides. The PI and co-PIs have recently embarked on program of research that involves the development of novel plant viral nanotechnology.
The structure of RNA is crucial for understanding viral assembly, which has application in diagnosis and prevention of virally transmitted disease as well as the new and growing area of plant viral nanotechnology. Plant viral nanotechnology involves the use of harmless plant viruses as tools for drug delivery and materials synthesis.
US students will benefit from the expertise that currently exists in Poland in the area of nucleic acids chemistry.
" under International Research Experiences for Students (IRES) funding mechanism support the research projects of 13 undergraduate and 2 graduate students with collaborators in Poznan, Poland. There were 3 repeat visits by undergraduates and 2 repeat visits by graduate students to build continuity. The work was carried out in the Faculty of Chemistry at Adam Mickiewicz University and in the Polish Academy of Science, both in Poznan. U.S. students received instruction and training in the preparation and analysis of ribonucleic acid (RNA) samples using modern techniques by experts who have developed new technology in their respective fields. The largest project involved study of a reaction that crosslinks RNA and creates a fluororphore (a compound that can emit light). This type of reaction is useful developing tools for the study of genes and gene expression. The students made new sequences and studied the reactions using separation techniques and physical characterization of the products. They successfully showed that crosslinking can occur in deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) as well as in RNA. The students also studied the dynamics of short sequences using time-resolved methods. These studies showed that crosslinks bind two strands of DNA or RNA so that they behave as a unit. The students worked with senior researchers in the Faculty of Chemistry. Specifically, the students interacted with Professor Skalski, an expert in synthesis and physical methods, who is the leader of the effort on the Polish side, Prof. Milecki, who is an expert in synthesis of molecules, RNA and DNA, Dr. Pedzinski, who is an expert in laser applications and spectroscopy, and Prof. Adamiak who is an expert in RNA structure. The students had a great deal of personal attention and instruction from these senior personnel as well as a number of post-doctoral researchers, staff and graduate students. They purified the DNA and RNA using high performance liquid chromatography. They used lasers to illuminate the samples and create the crosslinks. They used lasers also to measure the rotational of the crosslinked molecules. These studies led to one publication in the Journal of Organic Chemistry, and a second publication that is in progress. In addition to the project and results obtained at the Faculty of Chemistry, the work conducted at Polish Academy of Science contributed to a range of RNA structures including HIV-2 structures, RNA used in plant virus assembly (Red clover necrotic mosaic virus) and other related projects in three different laboratories. The HIV-2 work led to a conference proceeding. The work was reported also in symposia held in Krakow and Gdansk where students presented their results for Polish and U.S. collaborators from North Carolina State University, Lodz, and Poznan. The broader impact of this work involves the contribution to collaborative science between the U.S. and Poland. Polish science is evovling quickly since the fall of the iron curtain, but there is still a need to establish closer ties to bring Poland into the research community in that includes partners Germany, France, the U.K. as well as the U.S.. We have seen that our project has received attention in a number of U.S. universities where the Principal Investigator has given seminars as well in other countries. The collaboration continues to strengthen between the Principal Investigator and the participants in Poland. The development of new tools to study RNA has impact on the development of RNA plant viruses as drug delivery systems in biomedical research, and other applications that are currently pursued at North Carolina State University.
