Apart from maintaining the laboratory in an organized state and well-supplied with material and reagents, I primarily direct my research efforts to the Arabidopsis Protein Isoaspartyl Methyltransferase (PIMT) project. Our current experiments are designed to determine how many different PIMT isoforms are produced in Arabidopsis. To this end we are using an antibody affinity column to acquire PIMT protein from plant extracts. Following concentration and limited proteolysis, MALDI-TOF is used to identify protein fragments. I collaborate with Krista using 1- and 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis followed by Western blot to achieve the same end.If you're really interested in what life is like on the cutting edge of Science, read on…
Occasionally we do some transformation in the lab, routine stuff, nothing to get excited about-until B. came crashing through the door one day wrestling a corn plant. 'Deeve, help!' he cried.
Now B. is Canadian and Canadians have a funny way of pronouncing long 'a.' It comes out sounding like long 'e' to me. B. is the PI-you know who I'm talking about.
Well, I rushed over and the two of us managed to pin the thing down while Q. gave it an injection. (Q. was a graduate student in the lab at the time.) B. stood up and brushed off his clothes; I got a dustpan and a broom and walked out into the hall. Potting soil was scattered from one end to the other. I swept up and got a bag of fresh media from the greenhouse.
In the lab B. had duct-taped the plant to the wall and was hanging a light fixture overhead. I told him he oughta shut that thing in a closet and see how it likes a couple of days without photosynthesis. I didn't think it was a good idea to bring it into the lab in the first place but J., the greenhouse manager, wouldn't let us keep it in the greenhouse any longer. She said the work-study students were afraid to go into that section to water anymore.
Well, I confronted Q. about just what gene(s) he put in that plant. He swore he didn't do anything B. didn't tell him to do. I don't believe him. People that young will try anything. And nowadays you can get about any designer gene you want from the Becton-Dickenson catalog. I try to keep an eye on orders but we have several online accounts. Anyone with the password can place an order and we all know the password…
As you can imagine, having that thing in the lab makes everyone a little nervous. I've started keeping a bottle of Chlorox on my bench in there. Bleach does things to chlorophyll that would curdle goat's milk. The bottle is empty by the way, but the plant doesn't know that…
