Lipman Hall, Room 122
New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8525
(732) 932-9763 x122
Fax: (732) 932-8965
bini@aesop.rutgers.edu
Assistant Professor
Education:
Ph.D. in Biology: 2001-University of Nebraska School of Biological Sciences- Lincoln, NE
Doctorate in Protistolgy: 1994-University of Pisa-Dept. of Environmental and Territorial Sciences Italy
Regulation of gene expression in response to heavy metals exposure by hyperthermophilic archaeal organisms is a major area of interest. The outcomes of our research are expected to answer important questions: What are the molecular mechanisms of metal metabolism, the determinants of metal resistance and the targets of metal toxicity in hot environment? What are and how are the pathways of metal metabolism regulated at the genetic level? To answer these questions we employ biochemical and molecular biology tools in addition to microarray technology to predict functional roles of unknown genes, characterize proteins and regulatory networks involved in heavy metals metabolism. Sulfolobus solfataricus, an hyperthermophilic archaeon that lives in acidic hotsprings (pH3, 80°C), with its completely sequenced genome, is our model system. Another area of interest is the functional genomics analysis of Sulfolobus to discover and characterize genes with roles in the biodegradation of chemical contaminants.
Recent publications
1. Chae, J.-C., E. Kim, E. Bini, and G.J. Zylstra. 2007. Comparative analysis of the catechol 2,3-dioxygenase gene locus in thermoacidophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus strain 98/2. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. 357:815-819.
2. Bini, E., C. Wong Po Foo, J. Huang, V. Karageorgiou, B. Kitchel, and D.L. Kaplan. 2006. RGD-functionalized bioengineered spider dragline silk biomaterial. Biomacromolecules. 7:3139-3145.
3. Wong Po Foo, C., E. Bini, J. Hensman, D.P. Knight, R.V. Lewis, and D.L. Kaplan. 2006. Role of pH and charge on silk protein assembly in insects and spiders. Appl. Phys. A 82:223-233.
4. Wong Po Foo, C., E. Bini, J. Huang, S.Y. Lee, and D.L. Kaplan. 2006. Solution behavior of synthetic silk peptides and modified recombinant silk proteins. Appl. Phys. A 82:193-203.
5. Dixit, V., E. Bini, M. Drozda, and P. Blum. 2004. Mercury inactivates transcription and the general transcription factor, TFB in the archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus. Antimicrobial Agents & Chemotherapy 48:1993-1999.
6. Hoang, V., E. Bini, V. Dixit, M. Drozda, and P. Blum. 2004. The role of cis-acting sequences governing catabolite repression control of lacS expression in the archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus. Genetics 167:1563-1572.
7. Bini, E., D.P. Knight, and Kaplan. 2004. Mapping domain structures in silks from insects and spiders related to protein assembly. J. Mol. Biol. 335:27-40.
