|
| Select Framework:
|
|
| Select Grade: | |
 |
| Loading...This may take few minutes. |
|
|
Title
|
Enzymes Are Key
|
|
Type
|
Primary: Field Assignment
|
|
Operation
|
Infinite Potential
|
|
Mission:
|
Mission 4: Energy Independence
|
|
Print Page
|
86,87
|
|
Subjects
|
Life science | Bacteria | Personal and social issues | Humans and the environment | Environmental change | Science as inquiry | Science process skills | Analyzing data | Science
|
|
Grades
|
5 | 6 | 7 | 8
|
|
Keywords
|
generate, generating, energy, Dr. Keller, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, transform, renewable, biomass, fermentation, simple sugar, plant, poplar tree, cellulose, microbes, enzyme, breakdown, Yellowstone National park, natural hot spring, teem, adapt, extreme temperature, genome, sequence, DNA, amino acid, identify, protein blast search, renewable, inexhaustible, energy option, sunlight, geothermal activity, wind, tidal flow, tide, source, assess, benefit, limitation, alternative, form
|
|
Duration
|
02:45:00 (HH:MM:SS)
|
|
Audience
|
Teachers | Elementary Grades | Junior High
|
|
|
Created On
|
4/28/2009
|
|
Copyright
|
Hot spring photo: Mila Zinkova/Wikimedia Commons; Team photo: Peter Haydock, The JASON Project
|
 |
From: Infinite Potential Mission 4: Energy Independence (pp: 86,87) |
 |
|
|
Enzymes Are Key In this field assignment, you will use the protein information to help Dr. Keller identify the microbe found in Yellowstone National Park and assess whether it is suitable for further study in the breakdown of cellulose. |
|
|
 Recall that your mission is to evaluate the future role of alternative energy resources. Now that you have been fully briefed, it is time to survey your natural surroundings to see if the key for energy generation is sitting right there in your backyard. Dr. Keller and the researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) are exploring ways to transform energy from renewable biomass into ethanol, a fuel gaining widespread popularity in transportation. In fermentation, simple sugars can be readily broken down to make ethanol. However, cellulose takes a long time to break down into simple sugars. Unfortunately, productive biomass plants in North America, like the poplar tree, generally store their sugars in the form of cellulose. Dr. Keller and his team are searching for microbes that possess the enzyme ideal for the rapid breakdown of cellulose into simple sugars. Their search has brought them to the hot springs of Yellowstone National Park. Natural hot springs are often teeming with microbes that are unique in their ability to survive. Adapting to these extreme temperatures, they may have enzymes with the ability to break down cellulose into usable simple sugars faster, which is key for Dr. Keller’s work. The expedition team collected and isolated microbes from a decomposing poplar tree that had fallen into a hot spring. Back at the laboratory, the mystery microbe’s genome was sequenced. As a result of the DNA sequencing process, Dr. Keller and his team found a very interesting enzyme that may provide information on the microbe’s name as well as its function. In this field assignment, you will use the protein information to help Dr. Keller identify the microbe found in Yellowstone National Park and assess whether it is suitable for further study in the breakdown of cellulose.
 | Mission 4 Argonaut Field Assignment Video
Join the National Argonauts as they explore the research facilities at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee and meet Jaguar, the world’s most powerful supercomputer dedicated to open scientific research, which can perform mind-boggling computations related to Dr. Keller’s enzyme work. |
|
|
| Field Preparation |
Amino Acid Code
Enzymes are a type of protein comprised of a
long chain of amino acids. Scientists have
created a code which uses letters to symbolize
specific amino acids. There are 20 different
types of amino acids. This is the enzyme that
was found in the microbe Dr. Keller and his team
of researchers brought back from Yellowstone
National Park.
|
|
L N K L P R Y K G F N L L G L F V P N M S Y G F
F E D D F W M E E W G F N F A R I P M N Y R N W
Y V E E R P E I K E E V L E I I D K V V V W G Q K Y
G I H I C L N I H G A P G Y C V N E K T K E G Y N L
W K D K E P L E L F V S Y W Q T F A K R Y K G I S
S K H L S F N L I N E P R Q Y S K E E M T K E D F I
R V M T Y T I E K I R E I D K E R L I I I D G V N Y G
N E P V F E L T S L G V A Q S C R A Y L P F E L T H
Y K A E W V E G S D K F S E P S W P L V R D N G E
V I D R E Y L R R H Y E K W T K L F D Y G V G V I
C G E G G A Y K Y T S H E V V L R W L S D V L D
V L K E L N I G I A L W N L R G P F G I I D S G R E
D V E Y E D F Y G H K L D R K L L E L L M R F
|
- Using the enzyme that Dr. Keller sequenced, identify the total number of amino acids
that make up this enzyme.
- In order to identify the organism that this enzyme belongs to, scientists use a
protein blast search, which compares amino acid sequences with a database of sequenced
proteins.
- Go to the BLAST website. A link can be found in the JMC.
- Scroll down and click on the link that reads: "protein blast."
- Open a new tab and go to the JMC. There you will be able to copy the enzyme sequence.
- Paste the amino acid sequence into the field that reads: “Enter accession number,
gi, or FASTA sequence.”
- Click on: “BLAST” and wait a few moments while it searches for matches in the database.
- Identify the top five organisms with the highest match. Click on each bar to find
the organism's name.
|
|
| Mission Challenge |
Now that you have seen how Dr. Keller is looking to broaden the energy portfolio, you will use mapping software to look for more energy options. - Using Google Earth™, identify three to five regions in your country that have potential for renewable and/or inexhaustible sources of energy (search Google Earth™ for regions of high sunlight, geothermal activity, high winds, strong tidal flow, and consistent waves). Include justifications for your reasoning.
- Investigate and describe how those three to five regions generate their energy today.
- Propose an alternative source of energy for a chosen region assessing both benefits and limitations of using these alternative sources of energy.
|
|
| Mission Debrief |
Using all the information you have collected, create a presentation that recommends the development and use of alternative forms of energy in a region of your choice.  | Journal Question
What is the potential for renewable and/or inexhaustible forms of energy in your local area? | |
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|