Syam P Anand

Syam P Anand, Ph.D.

  • Position:
    Research Instructor

    Microbiology and Molecular Genetics

    University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA)

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  • Advisors:

    Sanford H. Leuba, Saleem A Khan

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  • Degrees:
     
    Ph.D., Microbiology and biochemistry, Indian Institute of Science (Bangalore, India)
     
    M.Sc., Microbiology, Mahatma Gandhi University (Kottayam, India)
     
    B.Sc., Botany, Zoology and Chemistry, University of Calicut (Malappuram, India)
  •  
  • Past Advisors:
     
    Sanford H. Leuba (as Research Associate)
     
    Saleem A Khan (as Research Associate)
     
    Saleem A Khan (as Post Doctoral Fellow)
     
    Ajitkumar Parthasarathy (as Graduate Student - Ph.D.)
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  • Research:
    Bacterial molecular motors in DNA transactions and cell division

    My major area of interest is motor proteins. For my Ph D., I worked on FtsZ from the slow-growing pathogen, Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Recently, I have characterized a novel tubulin/FtsZ homolog encoded by a plasmid, which is also the only characterized tubulin homolog that has acquired the ability to directly bind DNA. I also work on PcrA, an essential helicase from Gram-positive pathogenic bacteria, which includes S. aureus, S. pneumoniae, and B. anthracis. The helicase is essential for cell survival and for the replication of rolling-circle plasmids. My attempt is to address the biochemical properties of the helicase with special emphasis on biological relevance. I have shown that PcrA is a bidirectional structure-specific helicase and DNA structure determines helicase polarity. I have also shown that PcrA displaces the recombination protein RecA from the DNA by a novel non-translocational mechanism. Currently I am employing several novel assays employing single-molecule approaches to address biochemical processes involving helicases and motor proteins in more detail. In future, I would like to direct my research towards understanding helicases and their influence on accessibility of DNA for basic processes such as replication, repair and recombination, their regulation and interaction with other proteins such as DNA polymerases and DNA repair proteins. By using a combination of genetics, biochemistry, single-molecule biophysical and computational approaches, I hope to increase our understanding of the role of helicases in genome instability and diseases. Since mutations in helicases are known to result in premature aging syndromes and cancer, such studies would help understand these processes better as well as design procedures or agents capable of interfering with or modifying the outcome of these processes.

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  • Other Experience:

    2008-present Blogging (www.fundscience.org, www.scienceforlaymen.blogspot.com)

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  • Honors:

    2006 Molecular Virology and Microbiology Post-doctoral fellow

    1994-1999 Indian Institute of Science Fellowship for graduate study

    1992 Silver medal in M.Sc. Microbiology examination

    1990 Gold medal in college for B.Sc examination

Life Sciences
Communities:

Syam Anand's Genealogy

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Syam Anand's Publications (14)



Syam Anand's Posters and Presentations (28)

  • Following the motions of a DNA helicase in real time. (poster)

    Leuba SH, Anand SP, Fagerburg M, Schauer G, Thickman K and Khan SA

    Biophysical Society meeting, San Fransisco; 02/2010
  • A plasmid-encoded tubulin homolog- more questions than answers (presentation)

    Syam P. Anand

    Chromatin Mini Symposium, Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh; 05/2009
  • The tubulin-like RepX protein encoded by the pXO1 plasmid forms polymers in vivo in Bacillus anthracis and E. coli (presentation)

    Syam P Anand

    Pittsburgh Bacterial Meeting, Dusquene University, Pittsburgh; 03/2009
  • Biochemical activities and possible roles of the RepX replication protein of plasmid pXO1 of Bacillus anthracis in plasmid replication and partition (poster)

    Akhtar P, Anand SP, Tinsley E, Watkins SC and Khan SA.

    International Plasmid Biology Symposium held at Gdansk, Poland; 08/2008
  • A spFRET based assay for following RecA binding to dsDNA and its displacement by PcrA helicase (poster)

    Anand SP, Zheng H, Bianco PR, Leuba H and Khan SA

    FASEB conference on Helicases and NTP Driven Nucleic Acid Machines- Structure, Function and Roles in Human Disease, held at Indian Wells, California. ; 06/2007
  • DNA helicase activity of PcrA is not required for the displacement of RecA protein from DNA and inhibition of RecA-mediated strand exchange. (poster)

    Anand SP, Bianco PR and Khan SA.

    FASEB conference on Helicases and NTP Driven Nucleic Acid Machines- Structure, Function and Roles in Human Disease, held at Indian Wells, California. ; 06/2007
  • GTP-dependent polymerization and DNA binding of the plasmid replication initiation protein RepX from Bacillus anthracis pXO1 plasmid: A minimalist spindle based on tubulin? (poster)

    *Anand SP, *Akthar P, Tinsley E, Watkins S and Khan SA. (*equal contribution)

    FASEB conference on Helicases and NTP Driven Nucleic Acid Machines- Structure, Function and Roles in Human Disease, held at Indian Wells, California.; 06/2007
  • The RepX replication protein encoded by plasmid pXO1 of B. anthracis binds to DNA, has GTPase activity and forms FtsZ-like polymers (poster)

    Akthar P, Anand SP and Khan SA

    Bacillus ACT 2007. International conference on B. anthracis, B. cereus and B. thuringiensis held at Oslo, Norway; 06/2007
  • Mixing RecA, PcrA, and DNA using aqueous droplets to monitor biochemistry with single molecule fluorescence. (poster)

    Greene ME, Lowman GM, Anand SP, Zheng H, Khan SA, Leuba SH, and Goldner LS.

    Annual Biophysical Society meeting, held at Bethesda, Maryland. ; 03/2007
  • PcrA DNA helicase can displace RecA from DNA without translocation. (poster)

    Anand SP, Zheng H, Bianco PR, Leuba SH and Khan SA.

    Annual Biophysical Society meeting, held at Bethesda, Maryland. ; 03/2007
  • The RepX replication protein of the anthrax-toxin encoding pXO1 plasmid of Bacillus anthracis binds DNA, is a GTPase and can polymerize into filaments. (poster)

    *Anand SP, *Akthar P, Tinsley E, Watkins S and Khan SA (*equal contribution).

    Pittsburgh Bacterial Meeting, held at Dusquene University, Pittsburgh.; 03/2007
  • The RepX replication protein of the anthrax-toxin encoding pXO1 plasmid of Bacillus anthracis binds DNA, is a GTPase and can polymerize into filaments (presentation)

    Syam P Anand

    Pittsburgh Bacterial Meeting, Dusquene University, Pittsburgh; 03/2007
  • Helicase independent role of PcrA in regulation of RecA function (presentation)

    Syam P Anand

    Chromatin Mini Symposium, Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh; 12/2006
  • PcrA helicase displaces RecA from DNA by a novel mechanism. (poster)

    Anand SP, Zheng H, Leuba SH and Khan SA.

    International Plasmid Biology Symposium, held at Stanford Sierra Camp in Lake Tahoe, California. ; 09/2006
  • Demonstration of RecA displacement by PcrA helicase using a novel DNA substrate employing spFRET analysis. (poster)

    Anand SP, Zheng H, Leuba SH and Khan SA.

    Gordon Research Conference on Single Molecule approaches to Biology held at New London, New Hampshire. ; 06/2006
  • Dynamics of MeCP2 binding to Holliday junction DNA. (poster)

    Zheng H, Rodriguez-Collazo P, Anand SP, Khan SA and Leuba SH.

    Gordon Research Conference on Single Molecule approaches to Biology held at New London, New Hampshire. ; 06/2006
  • Demonstration of Displacement of RecA from DNA by PcrA Helicase Using a Novel DNA Substrate Employing spFRET Analysis (presentation)

    Syam P Anand

    2006 MVM post-doctoral fellow speaker, Second Annual Retreat of the Molecular Virology and Microbiology Graduate Program, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; 05/2006
  • PcrA helicase: at the crossroads of replication, repair and recombination (presentation)

    Syam P Anand

    Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore; 12/2005
  • Structure-specific DNA binding and helicase activities of PcrA. (poster)

    Anand SP and Khan SA.

    FASEB conference on Helicases and NTP Driven nucleic acid machines- Structure, function and roles in human disease held at Arolla, Switzerland. ; 08/2005
  • Biochemical Properties of PcrA helicase: Role in Rolling Circle Replication of pT181. (poster)

    Anand SP and Khan SA.

    International Plasmid Biology Symposium held at Corfu, Greece; 09/2004
  • Biochemical Properties of PcrA helicase: Role in Rolling Circle Replication of pT181 (presentation)

    Syam P Anand

    Plasmid Biology, an international symposium. Held at Corfu, Greece; 09/2004
  • Cloning and characterization of the PcrA helicase of Streptococcus penumoniae. (poster)

    Ruiz-Maso JA, Anand SP, Buron P, Khan SA, Espinosa M and del Solar G

    International Plasmid Biology Symposium, held at Corfu, Greece.; 09/2004
  • Identification of a 15kDa protein that binds FtsZ in hydroxyurea-treated Mycobacterium smegmatis cells. (poster)

    Srinivasan R, Anand SP, Mir M and Ajitkumar P.

    10th Congress of Federation of Asian and Oceanian Biochemists and Molecular Biologists held at Bangalore ; 12/2003
  • PcrA helicase inhibits RecA-mediated strand exchange reaction. (poster)

    Anand SP and Khan SA.

    Gordon Research Conference on Plasmid and Chromosome Dynamics held at Tilton, New Hampshire.; 08/2003
  • RepC-PcrA Interactions During the Rolling Circle Replication of Plasmid pT181. (poster)

    Anand SP, Chang TL, Naqvi A and Khan SA.

    International Plasmid Biology Symposium held at Pittsburgh, USA; 06/2002
  • In vitro Polymerisation Property of the Dimeric Form of the Cell Division Protein FtsZ of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv- Its Importance for Screening FtsZ Polymerisation Inhibitors. (poster)

    Anand SP, Srinivasan R and Ajitkumar P.

    International Symposium on Current Developments In Drug Discovery for Tuberculosis held at Bangalore; 01/2002
  • Biochemical and biological characterization of the FtsH protease of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv and Mycobacterium smegmatis SN2. (poster)

    Srinivasan R, Anilkumar G, Anand SP and Ajitkumar P.

    Annual Meeting of the Society of Biological Chemists (India) held at Hyderabad, India; 12/2001
  • The AAA family protease FtsH degrades bacterial cell division initiation protein FtsZ. (poster)

    Anilkumar G, Srinivasan R, Anand SP and Ajitkumar P.

    The Fourth International Meeting on AAA Proteins: Cellular Functions of AAA Proteins in Search of Common Molecular Basis, held at Kyoto, Japan ; 03/2001

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