Sarah Bondos
Assistant Professor
Department of Molecular and Cellular Medicine
Room 258 Reynolds Medical Building
College Station,
Texas 77843
Phone: 979-845-5399
Fax: 979-847-9481
Email: sebondos@medicine.tamhsc.edu
Education and Post-Graduate Training
Research Interests
Hox transcription factors as master regulators and biomaterials
Hox transcription factors drive key aspects of development, evolution, wound repair, stem cell differentiation, and carcinogenesis. Animal survival requires individual Hox proteins to sense the cellular context and implement the corresponding gene regulatory cascades. However, the Hox DNA binding homeodomains lack the requisite interaction specificity. Our lab is discovering regions outside Hox homeodomains that enhance DNA binding specificity and respond to conformational changes,tissue-specific alternative splicing, protein interactions, and cell signaling cascades. We explore these mechanisms in vitro and in vivo using a combination of biophysical, cell biological, and genetic approaches.
We have also developed methods to control aggregation of the Drosophila Hox protein Ultrabithorax to generate novel biomaterials. These materials self-associate into fibers 50 nm in diameter, which further assemble into remarkablely strong and elastic materials: films, thick sheets, ropes, bundles, lattices, and baskets. We are characterizing the structure and mechanical properties of these biomaterials, and integrating novel functions via nanoparticles and
Selected Publications
Majithia, R, Patterson, J, Bondos, SE, and Meissner, KE "On the design of composite protein-quantum dot composite biomaterials via self-assembly" (2011) Biomacromolecules 12, 3627-3637.
Liu, Y, Merchant, Z, Hsiao, HC, Gonzalez, KL, Matthews, KS, and Bondos, SE “Media source profoundly influences the outcome of yeast one- and two-hybrid experiments” (2011) Biol. Proced. Online 13, 6.
Fuxreiter, M., Istvan, S., and Bondos, SE "Dynamic protein-DNA recognition: beyond what can be seen" (2011) Trends Biochem. Sci., 36, 415-423.
Huang, Z, Salim, T, Brawley, A, Patterson, J, Matthews, KS, Bondos, SE "Functionalization and patterning of protein-based materials using active Ultrabithorax (2011) Adv. Funct. Mater., 21, 2633-2640.
Huang, Z, Lu, Y, Majitha, R, Shah, J, Meissner, K, Matthews, KS, Bondos, SE, and Lou, J "Size dictates mechanical properties for fibers self-assembled by the Drosophila Hox transcription factor Ultrabithorax" (2010) Biomacromolecules, 11, 3644-3651.
Liu, Y., Matthews, K.S., and Bondos, S.E. "Internal regulatory interactions determine DNA binding specificity by a Hox transcription factor." (2009) Journal of Molecular Biology, 390, 760-774.
Greer, AM, Huang, A, Oriakhi, A., Lu, Y, Lou, J, Matthews, KS, and Bondos, SE "The Drosophila Transcription Factor Ultrabithorax Self-Assembles into Protein-Based Biomaterials with Multiple Morphologies" (2009) Biomacromolecules, 10, 829-837.
Liu, Y, Matthews, KS, and Bondos, SE "Multiple Intriniscally Disordered Sequences Alter DNA Binding by the Homeodomain of the Drosophila Hox protein Ultrabithorax" (2008) J. Biol. Chem. 283, 20874-20887.
Bondos, SE, Tan, XX, and Matthews, KS. "Physical and Genetic Interactions Link Hox Function With Diverse Transcription Factors." (2006) Molecular and Cellular Proteomics. 5, 824-834.
Bondos, SE, Catanese, DJ Jr., Tan, XX, Ware, AA, Li, L, and Matthews, KS. "Hox Protein Ultrabithorax Interacts with a dsRNA-Binding Protein, UbxBP1" (2004) Journal of Biological Chemistry. 279, 26433-26444.
Bondos, SE, and Bicknell, AA. "Detection and Prevention of Protein Aggregation Before, During, And After Purification" (2003)Analytical Biochemistry. 316, 223-231.
