9308049 Rasche This applicant will study the pathway of methyl transfer in the conversion of acetate to methane. The enzyme catalyzing one of the specific methyl group transfer steps will be purified and characterized. Antibodies will be generated to the enzyme and immunogold labeling will be used to localize the enzyme in the cell. There are plans to clone and sequence the gene(s) for the enzyme, and to analyze the deduced amino acid sequence by searching appropriate databases for similar structures. This work will be conducted in the laboratory of Dr. James D. Ferry at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. ***
