Syam Prasad Anand, Ph.D.


Syam Anand Research Instructor
W1216 BSTWR
200 Lothrop Street
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261

Phone: (412) 648-9019
Fax: (412) 624-1401
E-mail: spa2@pitt.edu

Biography


      Dr. Anand received his Ph.D from the Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (India) in 2001. He completed his post-doctoral training with Prof. Saleem Khan at University of Pittsburgh and joined the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics in 2008 as a Research Instructor.

Research


      Dr. Anand’s main focus is on motor proteins that participate in DNA transactions in pathogenic Gram-positive bacteria. Motor proteins accelerate cellular processes by overcoming the limits and barriers imposed by diffusion and Brownian motion. They accomplish this by converting chemical energy into mechanical energy in a variety of scenarios. Of particular interest are helicases, polymerases, recombinases and tubulin homologs as they cover several aspects of DNA transactions that are required for replication, repair, recombination and partitioning of DNA during cell division. In collaboration with Prof. Saleem Khan, Dr. Anand works on two motor proteins of relevance to plasmid biology namely, PcrA and RepX. PcrA is a conserved helicase present in Gram-positive bacteria and involved in plasmid-rolling circle replication, UV DNA repair and regulation of RecA-mediated DNA recombination. RepX is an unusual replication protein encoded by anthrax toxin-encoding plasmid pXO1 and having similarities to the bacterial tubulin homolog, FtsZ. The current focus of Dr. Anand’s research is on addressing unusual properties of PcrA helicase that have potential evolutionary and functional implications. Thus, the ATPase/helicase independent displacement of RecA from the DNA by PcrA helicase is being investigated further using biochemical and single-molecule approaches to understand the contributions of translocational and non-translocational components to the displacement process. The single-molecule studies are done in collaboration with Prof. Sanford Leuba at the Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of Pittsburgh, employing both spFRET and magnetic tweezers approaches. The second focus is on understanding the molecular basis of structure-specificity, bidirectionality and processivity of PcrA helicase using genetic, biochemical, computational and single-molecule approaches. A third area of research is the dynamics of localization of RepX and pXO1 in vivo in B. anthracis during vegetative growth and sporulation and its coordination with cell division. Dr. Anand is also interested in finding commercial applications for hitherto underexploited biochemical properties of motor proteins.

Selected Publications


  • Akhtar P, Anand SP, Watkins SC, Khan SA. 2009. "The tubulin-like RepX protein encoded by the pXO1 plasmid forms polymers in vivo in Bacillus anthracis" J Bacteriol. 191:2493-500. | Abstract


  • Leuba SH, Anand SP, Harp JM, Khan SA. 2008. "Expedient placement of two fluorescent dyes for investigating dynamic DNA protein interactions in real time"Chromosome Res. 16:451-67. | Abstract


  • Anand SP, Akhtar P, Tinsley E, Watkins SC, Khan SA. 2008. "GTP-dependent polymerization of the tubulin-like RepX replication protein encoded by the pXO1 plasmid of Bacillus anthracis" Mol Microbiol. 67:881-90. | Abstract


  • Anand SP, Zheng H, Bianco PR, Leuba SH, Khan SA. 2007. "DNA helicase activity of PcrA is not required for the displacement of RecA protein from DNA or inhibition of RecA-mediated strand exchange"J Bacteriol. 189:4502-9. | Abstract


  • Ruiz-Maso JA, Anand SP, Espinosa M, Khan SA, del Solar G. 2006. "Genetic and biochemical characterization of the Streptococcus pneumoniae PcrA helicase and its role in plasmid rolling circle replication" J Bacteriol. 188:7416-25. | Abstract


  • Anand SP, Chattopadhyay A, Khan SA. 2005. "The PcrA3 mutant binds DNA and interacts with the RepC initiator protein of plasmid pT181 but is defective in its DNA helicase and unwinding activities" Plasmid 54:104-13. | Abstract


  • Anand SP, Khan SA. 2004. "Structure-specific DNA binding and bipolar helicase activities of PcrA" Nucleic Acids Res. 32:3190-3197. | Abstract

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