Seminal Presentations from the R.M. Brown, Jr. Laboratory
The University of Texas at Austin
This webpage will direct you to special presentations and publications of note from the Brown
Laboratory over the years. Enjoy!
The Future of Biofuels in Renewable Energy and Reduction of Global Warming
Click on Photo Icon above to download a paper published 10 years ago Algae as tools in studying the biosynthesis of cellulose,nature's most abundant macromolecule. This work describes the use of algae as tools in the study of cellulose. Some very interesting phylogentic predictions on the evolution of cellulose biogenesis from the first cell, to the role of cellulose biosynthesis in understanding the evolution of land plants. Chara and Nitella have solitary rosette TCs which places them squarely in the pathway towards land plant evolution. Coleochaete has a novel octagonal rosette TC making it somewhat different and possibly further related to land plants. In this paper, the single row of TC subunits in Dictyostelium was first revealed. from:
Cell Walls and Surfaces
Reproduction,
Photosynthesis
Edited by
W. Wiessner, D. G. Robinson
and R. C. Starr
With 91 Figures
1990
Springer-Verlag
Berlin Heidelberg New York
London Paris Tokyo
Hong Kong Barcelona
"Biogenesis of Natural Polymer Systems with Special Reference to
Cellulose Assembly and Deposition" A complete Review
by
R. Malcolm Brown, Jr. published in 1978. ( kindly reproduced in its entirety
with permission of Philip Morris)
This work is probably RM Brown's best and most comprehensive review to date on cellulose biosynthesis. Even though it is relatively old, it shows with accuracy what was predicted for the future!
A Position Paper by R. Malcolm Brown, Jr."Microbial Cellulose: A New Resource for Wood, Paper, Textiles, Food and Specialty Products" One of the earliest works to showcase microbial cellulose and possible applications, many of which have come true!
"Cellulose
Biosyntheis in Higher Plants" An earlier review which appeared in 1996 in Trends
in Plant Science
"Multidomain architecture of B-glycosyl transferases: Implications for Mechanism of Action"
which appeared in the journal, Journal of Bacteriology March 1995,
This work opened up the complete molecular biology of cellulose synthase among vascular plants as well as understanding of processive glycosyl synthases among all living organisms.
A talk by Professor Brown
on "Connecting
Science: Critical Ingredients, Impact on our Future" given before the
Science Teachers Association of Texas (STAT) convention in Austin, Texas
on November 1, 1996 (with accompanying slides).
A poster by Inder M. Saxena and R. Malcolm Brown, Jr. Genetic Analysis of Cellulose Biosynthesis in Acetobacter xylinum: Implications for Cellulose Crystallization I