Theg Lab Home Page

Welcome to the Home Page for the
Laboratory for the Investigation of
Systems of Import

a.k.a.
the Theg Lab
at the
Division of Biological Sciences
Section of Plant Biology
University of California at Davis

What we do
Who we are
Where we are
Publications
Who we were
Positions open
Geckomail
SmartSite

Or click the picture to go directly to Steve's useful links

What goes on in the Theg lab?

The current objectives of the research in the Theg lab are to understand the events surrounding the transport of proteins across biological membranes and their assembly into larger multimeric complexes. Most of the laboratory's efforts focus on protein trafficking and assembly in chloroplasts isolated from higher plants (often peas, but also Arabidopsis and the moss Physcomitrella patens).

These organelles represent an excellent model system in which to study cellular protein targeting as they are easily separated from other organelles, and retain a high level of metabolic activity after isolation. In addition, they contain a level of structural complexity that requires additional sorting of proteins within the organelle. In these sorting reactions, chloroplasts utilize different protein targeting paradigms which are individually used by other organelles. Consequently, lessons learned from the study of protein targeting to and within chloroplasts can, in principle, be applied to a number of other polypeptide translocating systems.

Who are we?

The current make-up of the lab is: (Some have their own pages. For those that do, a click on their pictures takes you there.)

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and then in no particular order . . .	Steve Theg Well, he's the PI .
	Lan-Xin Shi Project Scientist
	Shari Lo Graduate Student
	Curtis Tom Graduate Student
	Thang Nguyen Undergraduate Researcher
	Hoang Ha Undergraduate Researcher
	Susan Chow Undergraduate Researcher
	Mark Nakhla Undergraduate Researcher
	Jennifer Pham Undergraduate Researcher
	Maggie Hu Entropy Reduction Specialist
	Rachel McGoldrick Entropy Reduction Specialist

Additional lab photos can be seen here in the lab photo gallery.

Where are we?

The labs are located in rooms 2107 and 2111 in the Life Sciences Addition on the UC-Davis campus.

Recent publications (including abstracts)

Click the picture

Former Postdocs and Graduate Students in the Theg Lab
• William F. Ettinger - Postdoc from 1989 to 1992, worked on the assembly of the photosynthetic oxygen-evolvng complex. He is currently a Professor at Gonzaga University and Chair of the Biology Department.
• Sidney Varian Scott - Graduate Student from 1989 to 1993. Thesis title: The Mechanism of Protein Transport Across the Chloroplast Envelope Membranes.
• Sonya A. Clark - Postdoc from 1993 to 1996, worked on the transport of proteins across the envelope and thylakoid membranes. She is currently a Group Leader at Pacific Biosciences in the San Francisco Bay area.
• Robin A. Roffey - Postdoc from 1993 to 1996, worked on the assembly of the photosynthetic oxygen-evolvng complex. She is currently a Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Sacramento City College.
• Akiko Hashimoto - Visiting Graduate Student from 1993 to 1996. During the three years she spent in the Theg lab, she was a registered student at Okayama University, which remained the degree granting institution. Thesis title: Assembly of the Photosynthetic Oxygen-Evolving Complex Subunits from Higher Plants: Site of Assembly and Mechanism of Binding.
• Ellen A. Leheny - Graduate Student from 1991 to 1996. Thesis title: An Investigation of the Conservation of Protein Transport Pathways in Chloroplasts. She is now an Associate Director at Pfizer in New York City.
• Sarah A. Teter - Graduate Student from 1993 to 1997. Thesis title: Electrophysiological and Mechanistic Characterization of a Post-translational Protein Transport Machinery: The Thylakoid Delta pH-Dependent Pathway. She is currently a Project Director at Novozymes.
• Yuka Tomokawa - Visiting Graduate Student from July 1998 to February 1999. She returned to Japan to finish her Master's degree with Professor Yasusi Yamamoto at Okayama University.
• Siegfried Musser - Postdoc from 1997 to August 1999. Worked on the mechanism of protein transport on the thylakoid deltapH-dependent pathway. He is now an Associate Professor at Texas A&M University.
• Mark Havrilla Ainsworth - Graduate student from 1995-2000.Thesis title: Delta-pH Dependant Thylakoid Protein Translocation. Mark is the Biotechnology Program Coordinator/Instructor at Seattle Central Community College.
• Heather Scott - Graduate student from 1998 to 2000. SAfter a stint as a Peace Corps volunteer in Mauritania, in western Afirca, she taught high school in New York City. She is now living in Ithica, N.Y. Click on her picture to learn more...
• Nancy Pergam Alder- Garduate Student from 1998-2002.
• Nathan Alder - Graduate Student from 1998-2002. Thesis title: Analysis of the Energentics and Kinetics of Protein Transport via the Delta-pH Dependent/cpTAT Pathway in Thylakoids. Nathan is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Connecticut.
• Nancy Hoffman - Graduate Student from 2000-2005. Thesis title: Protein Targeting in Chloroplasts. She is currently a Science Editor at The Plant Cell.
• Nikolai Braun - Graduate Student from 2002-2007. Thesis title: Energetic Studies of the cpTat Protein Transport Pathway. Nikolai is currently a postdoc with June Medford at Colorado State University.