The IGBB logo features a stylized "pinwheel" to the left of the letters IGBB in caps in a modified Bank Gothic Pro font.
The six-part "pinwheel" in the IGBB logo is:
- A symbol of lab unity as it shows "parts" coming together to make a "whole."
- A flower or three-leaf clover representing (a) plants, important subjects of our research, (b) life in general, and (c) the life sciences (biology).
- A set of chromosomes being moved towards the center of a cell.
- The Sun - another symbol of life.
- A protein composed of six subunits (e.g., a protein pore).
- Three foxes putting their heads together. The fox is a symbol of cleverness in Western folklore. Since the IGBB is organized into three service groups (Genomics, Proteomics/Metabolomics, and Biocomputing/Computational Biology), the foxes could represent the three disciplines working together.
- A scientist jumping for joy after making an important discovery.
- A windmill, the primary symbol associated with Cervantes' famous character Don Quixote - Like Don Quixote, scientists must be willing to attack 'wicked giants' (e.g., ignorance, racism, sexism, intolerance, use of the term 'science' in the promotion of non-scientific causes), champion worthy causes (e.g., education, intellectual freedom, human rights, environmental responsibility), and remain optimistic in the face of defeat (e.g., most days in the lab). Hopefully, however, the average scientist can accomplish these tasks without becoming delusional (a problem that squashed Quixote's dreams of becoming a plant molecular biologist).
- A DNA double-helix or protein in cross section.
- Antibodies binding to a protein.
- Whatever you want it to be.

Dr. Nina AboughanemAssociate Research Professor
FACULTY
email(662) 325-7480
Clay Lyle 156

Characterization of the last subunit of the arabidopsis COP9 signalosome: Implications for the overall structure and origin of the complex
IGBB Authors:
Zhaohua PengPUBLICATION YEAR:
2003IMPACT FACTOR:
9.901CITATION COUNT:
55Serino G, Su H, Peng Z, Tsuge T, Wei N, Deng XW (2003) Characterization of the last subunit of the arabidopsis COP9 signalosome: Implications for the overall structure and origin of the complex.
Plant Cell 15(3): 719-731.
DOI:
10.1105/tpc.009092EID:
2-s2.0-0242515762PMID: 12615944
DOWNLOAD PDFABSTRACTThe COP9 signalosome (CSN) is an evolutionarily conserved protein complex that resembles the lid subcomplex of proteasomes. Through its ability to regulate specific proteasome-mediated protein degradation events, CSN controls multiple aspects of development. Here, we report the cloning and characterization of AtCSN2, the last uncharacterized CSN subunit from Arabidopsis. We show that the AtCSN2 gene corresponds to the previously identified FUS12 locus and that AtCSN2 copurifies with CSN, confirming that AtCSN2 is an integral component of CSN. AtCSN2 is not only able to interact with the SCF(TIR1) subunit AtCUL1, which is partially responsible for the regulatory interaction between CSN and SCF(TIR1), but also interacts with AtCUL3, suggesting that CSN is able to regulate the activity of other cullin-based E3 ligases through conserved interactions. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the duplication and subsequent divergence events that led to the genes that encode CSN and lid subunits occurred before the divergence of unicellular and multicellular eukaryotic organisms and that the CSN subunits were more conserved than the lid subunits during evolution. Comparative analyses of the subunit interaction of CSN revealed a set of conserved subunit contacts and resulted in a model of CSN subunit topology, some aspects of which were substantiated by in vivo cross-link tests.
The IGBB is supported, in part, by the following units:
The IGBB is an HPC² member center.