Biochemistry

Jan A. Miernyk

Adjunct Professor of Biochemistry

Educational background

Degree	School	Location	Major
AB	West Virginia University	Morgantown, W.V	Biology
MS	West Virginia University	Morgantown, W.V	Plant Physiology
PhD	Arizona State University	Tempe, Ariz.	Plant Cell Biology

Notable honors and service

• Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science

Research description

Systems biology is a relatively recent term, and can be considered as an amalgam of "functional-omics" data and computational biology. While primarily descriptive as the system is developed, it then evolves to predictive as the system is increasingly defined. The ultimate goal is an integrative model that approaches the in silico organism.

A major focus of systems research in the Miernyk lab is soybean seed development. A descriptive platform has been developed that encompasses eight stages, and defines the periods of cell division/tissue differentiation, cellular specialization, lipid accumulation, protein accumulation, and preparation for quiescence. Total proteins were isolated from each stage and compared by Difference Gel Electrophoresis (DIGE). The patterns of change in protein abundance were analyzed by a combination of model-building, cluster analysis, and multidimensional scaling. Systems cartography is being used to describe the relationships among protein function, expression, localization, and biological interaction. The cartograph is constantly evolving, in all dimensions, as additional data are included.

Selected publications

Mooney BP, Miernyk JA, Greenlief MC, Thelen JJ (2006) Using quantitative proteomics to predict metabolic activity. Physiologia Plantarum 128: 237-250

Antoine W, Miernyk JA (2007) Shape-to-string mapping: A novel approach to clustering time-index biomics data. Online Journal of Bioinformatics 8: 139-153

Miernyk JA, Thelen JJ (2008) Biochemical approaches for discovering protein:protein interactions. Plant Journal 53:597-609.

Antoine W, Miernyk JA (2009) A multidimensional scaling-based model for analysis of time-index biomics data. Advanced Studies in Biology 1: 43-59

Hajduch, M., Hearne, L.B., Miernyk, J.A., Casteel, J.E., Joshi, T., Agrawal, G.K., Song, Z., Zhou, M., Xu, D., Thelen, J.J. (2010) Systems analysis of seed filling in Arabidopsis: Using general linear modeling to assess concordance of transcript and protein expression. Plant Physiology 152: 2078-2087.

Miernyk JA, Preťová A, Olmedilla A, Klubicova K, Obert B, Hajduch M (2011) Using proteomics to study sexual reproduction in angiosperms.  Sexual Plant Reproduction 24, 9-22

Lewandowska-Gnatowska E, Johnston ML, Szczegielniak J, Muszyńska G, Miernyk JA (2011) Using multiplex-staining to study changes in the maize leaf phosphoproteome in response to mechanical wounding.  Phytochemistry 72: 1285-1292

Miernyk JA, Hajduch M (2011) Seed proteomics.  Journal of Proteomics 74: 389-400