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> ABRC Home > People List > Mark A. Young
FACULTY >Mark A. Young
Research Interests
Astrobiology efforts in the Young lab are focused on two issues (i) viruses from extreme environments and how an understanding of their structure and function informs us about the evolution of life and (ii) virus-directed biomineralization reactions for controlled synthesis of metal oxides. Our research focuses on the isolation and detailed characterization of archaeal viruses from high temperature (>80C) acidic (ph<4.0) environments found in Yellowstone National Park and other thermal areas worldwide. These viruses have turned out to be quite unusual both in structure and in function. Structural and genetic analysis of these viruses has suggested to us that there are multiple, independent viral evolutionary lineages some of which are quite ancient.
 Viruses, devoid of their nucleic acids, can serve as molecular containers for directed synthesis of nanomaterials. In partnership with the Douglas lab, we have been interested in creating materials that are in between the bulk iron sulfide minerals and the Fe(x)S(y) centers seen in enzymes. By examining Fe(x)S(y) clusters in the 3-30nm size range, we hope to better understand the transition that that life made in co-opting metals from the abiotic to biotic world transition.
Selected Publications
Ortmann, A.C., Brumfield, S., Walther, J., McInnerney, K.,. Brouns, S. J., Harmen, Jvan de Werken, J. G., Bothner, B., Douglas, T., Van de Oost, J., and M . Young. Transcriptome analysis of infection of the archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus with STIV. J. Virology 82, 4874-4883, 2008.
Kang, S., Lucon, J., Varpness, Z., Liepold, L., Uchida, M., Willits, D.,Young, M. and T. Douglas. Monitoring biomimetic platinum nanocluster formation using massspectrometry and cluster-dependent H2 production. Angewandte Chemie 47 7845-78948, 2008.
Lars O. Liepold, Luke M. Oltrogge, Peter Suci, Trevor Douglas, Mark J. Young ” Accurate Mass Assignment of Noncovalent Complexes by Electrospray Mass Spectrometry” J. Amer. Society for Mass Spec. (2008) accepted – in press.
Snyder, J.C., Wiedenheft, B., Lavin, M., Roberto, F., Spuhler, J., Ortmann, A.C., Douglas, T. and M. Young. Virus movement maintains local virus population diversity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104, 19102-19107, 2007.
Ortmann, A. C., Wiedenheft, B., Douglas, T., and Young, M. Hot crenarchaeal viruses reveal deep evolutionary connections. Nat Rev Microbiol., 4(7): 520-528, 2006.
Khayat, R., Tang, L., Larson, E.T., Lawrence, C.M., Young, M., Johnson, J.E. Structure of an archaeal virus capsid protein reveals a common ancestry to eukaryotic and bacterial viruses. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 102:18944-18949, 2005.
M. Parker, B. Ramsay, M. Allen, M. Klem, M. Young, T. Douglas "Expanding the Temperature Range of Biomimetic Synthesis Using a Ferritin from the Hyperthermophile Pyrococcus furiosus" Chem. Mater. (2008) 20, 1541-1547.
M. Klem, J. Mosolf, M. Young, T. Douglas “Synthesis of Protein Encapsulated Nanomaterials by Photoreduction” Inorg Chem (2008) 47, 2237-2239.
M. Klem, M. Young, T. Douglas “Biomimetic Synthesis of b-TiO2 Inside a Viral Capsid” J. Materials Chem (2008) 18, 3821-3823.
B. Wiedenheft, M. Flenniken, M.A.Allen, M. Young, T. Douglas “Bioprospecting in high temperature environments; application of thermostable protein cages“ Soft Matter (2007)3, 1019-1098.
B. Ramsey, B. Wiedenheft, M. Allen, G. H. Gauss, C. M. Lawrence, M. Young, T. Douglas “Dps-like protein from the hyperthermophilic archaeaon Pyrococcus furiosis” J. Inorganic Biochemistry (2006) 100, 1061-1068.
T. Douglas, M. Young “Viruses: Making Friends With Old Foes” Science (2006) 312, 873-875. [Cover]
B. Wiedenheft, D. Willits, J. Mosolf, M.Yeager, K. Dryden, M. Young and T. Douglas “An archaeal antioxidant: Characterization of a Dps-like protein from Sulfolobus solfataricus” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2005) 102, 10551-10556. [Cover]
Lab Personnel
Jamie Snyder
Post-doctoral Associate
jamie.snyder@montana.edu
Peter Suci
Research Assistant Professor
peter_s@erc.montana.edu
Jennifer Fulton
Graduate Student
jsfulton@montana.edu
Josh Spuhler
Graduate Student
spuhler@montana.edu
Naomi Tanaka, Naomi
Undergraduate Student
naomi85_22@hotmail.com
Danielle Bouchard
Undergraduate Student
ddbug901@charter.net
Collaborators
Jack Johnson (Virus structure)
The Scripps Research Institute
John van der Oost (Virus evolution)
Wageningen University, The Netherlands
Francisco Roberto (Virus evolution)
Dept. of Energy-INL
Matt Lavin (Virus evolution and dynamics)
Montana State University
Yves Idzerda (Magnetic characterization of Fe-oxide nanoparticles)
Montana State University
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