Crosslinking the Protein Malate Dehydrogenase

Presenter: Olivia Rose Narkevicius

Faculty Sponsor: Billy Samulak

School: Fitchburg State University

Research Area: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Session: Poster Session 3, 1:15 PM - 2:00 PM, Auditorium, A81

ABSTRACT

Protein crosslinking is a biochemical technique that is used to investigate protein structure, stability, and interactions with other proteins.  This is done by reacting proteins that are close to each other with a chemical crosslinker that contain two or more reactive groups, thus forming stable bonds between proteins.  Crosslinkers vary in the distance that they can span and the specific parts of the protein they react with. One example crosslinker used in this study is Bis(sulfosuccinimidyl) suberate, or BS3. BS3 links together nearby protein regions by reacting with the amino acid lysine, and can link these together between proteins as long as the distance between them is no longer than 11.4  angstroms. 

In this project, the protein Malate Dehydrogenase was expressed and purified prior to the crosslinking analysis. Multiple crosslinkers of varying spacer lengths were applied to evaluate how its subunits are arranged. To determine if crosslinking occurred, a technique called SDS-Page was used, which separates proteins on a gel based on size. Successful crosslinking was indicated by larger protein bands representing two or more MDH units linked together. Crosslinking products were further confirmed by Western blot analysis, a technique that uses antibodies that specifically react with MDH to verify protein identity. Overall, these experiments helped to evaluate how efficiently MDH forms complexes and provided insight into its structure and interactions.