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
Rauschenbach, I., E. Bini, M. Häggblom, and N. Yee. Physiological response of Desulfurispirillum indicum strain S5 to arsenate and nitrate as terminal electron acceptors. (Submitted)
Honarbakhsh, M., A. Villafane, I. Ruhl, D. Sannino, and E. Bini. 2012. Development of a thermostable b-glucuronidase-based reporter system for monitoring gene expression in hyperthermophiles. Biotechnology and Bioengineering. First published online January 4, 2012. DOI: 10.1002/bit.24432
Bini, E., I. Rauschenbach, Narasingarao P., Starovoytov V., Land M., Hauser L., Jeffries C.D., Held B., Bruce D., Detter C., Tapia R., Han S., Goodwin L., Mikhailova N., Ivanova N., Pati A., Copeland C., Pitluck S., Pennacchio L., Nolan M., Woyke T. and Häggblom M. 2011. Complete genome sequence of Desulfurispirillum indicum strain S5T. Standards in Genomic Sciences. First published online December 22, 2011. DOI:10.4056/sigs.2425302
Giovannelli, D., S. Ferriera, J. Johnson, S. Kravitz, I. Pérez-Rodríguez, J. Ricci, C. O’Brien, J. W Voordeckers, E. Bini, and C. Vetriani. 2011. Draft genome sequence of Caminibacter mediatlanticus strain TB-2T, an epsilonproteobacterium isolated from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent. Standards in Genomic Sciences. 5:135-143. [pdf]
Villafane, A., Y. Voskoboynik, D. Sannino, Y. Maezato, P. Blum, and E. Bini. 2011. CopR of Sulfolobus solfataricus represents a novel class of archael-specific copper-responsive activators of transcription. Microbiology. 157:2808-2817. PubMed
Cuebas, M., A. Villafane, M. McBride, N. Yee, and E. Bini. 2011. Arsenate reduction and expression of multiple chromosomal ars operons in Geobacillus kaustophilus A1. Microbiology. 157:2004-2011. PubMed
Rauschenbach, I., N. Yee, M. Häggblom, and E. Bini. 2011. Energy metabolism and multiple respiratory pathways revealed by genome sequencing of the selenate and arsenate-respiring bacterium Desulfurispirillum indicum strain S5. Environmental Microbiology. 13:1611-1621. PubMed
Cuebas, M., D. Sannino, and E. Bini. 2011. Isolation and characterization of arsenic resistant Geobacillus kaustophilus strain from geothermal soils. 51(4):364-371. Journal of Basic Microbiology. PubMed [**Selected as cover picture of the same issue**]
Bini, E. 2010. Archaeal transformation of metals in the environment. FEMS Microbiology Ecology. 73:1-16. PubMed
Villafane, A., Y. Voskoboynik, M. Cuebas, I. Ruhl, and E. Bini. 2009. Response to excess copper in the hyperthermophile Sulfolobus solfataricus strain 98/2. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. 385:67-71. PubMed
Bini E. 2008. Archaea-metal interactions: metabolism and strategies of resistance. In Archaea: New models for prokaryotic biology, P. Blum, ed. (Caister Academic Press), Norfolk, UK, pp.27-43.
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. PubMed
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. PubMed
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. Full text
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. Full text
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. PubMed
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. PubMed
