Structural investigation by tandem mass spectrometry of bacterial lipid As and otolith proteins

Trevena Youssef
PhD Student 
Department of Biochemistry

Date: April 10, 2023
Time: 1:00pm – 2:00pm.
Room: CSF 1302

A wealth of undiscovered scientific information is held within our oceans. Elucidation of this information will play a major role in understanding the aqueous environment.

This work is divided into two main goals, which will help to unravel some of these mysteries, which will be accomplished by using state-of-the-art tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) techniques.

The first aim is to identify the mass spectrometric fingerprint and structural elucidation of the marine bacterial lipid As. These lipid A fractions are isolated from different lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) extracted from the Gram-negative marine bacteria belonging to the Vibrionaceae family.  This family infects various fish species, such as; Atlantic salmon and cod, that are cultivated in aquaculture ventures. This study, consequently, will provide new lipid A biomolecules, which can be new potential candidates for improving vaccines for fish health.

The second aim is to investigate the unknown protein composition of the Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) otoliths, which provide insight into aspects of fish life history. The otoliths are biomineralized crystals located in the inner ear of fish which are contribute to both hearing and vestibular function in fish.  The number and diverse roles of the proteins discovered in the otoliths may suggest the relationships between the otolith proteome and the physiological/biochemical functions of growth.