Department of Biochemistry
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
N222 Beadle Center
Lincoln, NE 68588-0664
402-472-7413
nbuan2@unl.edu
Education
Postdoctoral Training, Microbiology - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Ph.D, Microbiology - University of Wisconsin-Madison
B.S., Biochemistry, Microbiology - University of Arizona
Research Overview
Led by Dr. Nicole Buan, this project's goal is to identify molecular metabolic signals of microbial syntrophy in the human gut, with the long-term goal of developing a predictive model relating host diet to healthy gut microbiota resiliency. In collaboration with Massimiliano Pierobon (Computer Science and Engineering), Myra Cohen (Computer Science and Engineering), and Christine Kelley (Mathematics), wet-lab physiological and biochemical data will be used to evaluate and refine theory-driven computational models of microbial community metabolism.
Selected Publications
- Catlett, J.L., Ortiz, A.M., and N. R. Buan. Rerouting cellular electron flux to increase the rate of biological methane production. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. In press.
- Lieber, D. J., Catlett, J., Madayiputhiya, N., Nandukumar, R., Lopez, M.M., Metcalf, W.M., and N. R. Buan. 2014. A multienzyme complex channels substrates and electrons through acetyl-CoA and methane biosynthesis pathways in Methanosarcina. PLOS ONE. 9(9): e107563.
- Buan, N.R., Kulkarni, G., and W.W. Metcalf. 2011. Genetic methods for Methanosarcina species. In: Rosenzweig, A. and S. Ragsdale, eds. Methods in Methane Metabolism (Methods in Enzymology). 494:23-42.
- Buan, N.R. and W.W. Metcalf. 2010. Methanogenesis by Methanosarcina acetivorans involves two structurally and functionally distinct classes of heterodisulfide reductase. Mol. Microbiol. 75:843-53.