Faculty Portrait

Contact Information

Name: Johannes Bauer

Title: Assistant Professor

Office Location: Sequoia Hall 524

Email: j.bauer@csus.edu

Office Phone: 916.278.4635

Mailing Address: 6000 J Street, Sacramento, CA 95819

Office Hours: please contact me

Education

Postdoctoral Research Associate, Brown University, Providence, RI

Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT

Dr. rer. nat. (Ph.D.), Biochemistry, Free University Berlin, Germany

 

 

Courses

Lectures and Lab courses


 

Chem 161: General Biochemistry

Chem 162: General Biochemistry Lab 

Chem 164: Advanced Biochemistry Lab

Chem 251: Biochemistry of Aging

Chem 261: Nucleic Acid Biochemistry

from: XKCD.com
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Research Courses

Chem 189

Chem 198/198H

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Research Projects/Interests

My primary research interest is to understand the molecular basis of the aging process, especially with respect to the biochemistry of metabolism and behavior. We use the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as our preferred animal model. Drosophila has been used for more than 100 years in research and thus represents the oldest animal model of the modern research era. Work in fruit flies was instrumental in elucidating the principles of modern genetics and developmental biology. 
Interestingly, evidence suggests that social behaviors may be able to influence aging and longevity. Therefore, it may be possible to directly intervene in signaling pathways that modulate social behaviors and thus alter animal life span. In Drosophila, parameters for behavioral regulation and social interactions are communicated between flies through cuticular hydrocarbons (CH). These CH also function in other contexts, such as social recognition and group behavior. CH pheromones are produced by specialized cells called oenocytes and displayed on the cuticle of the animal in a sex-specific manner. During courting, fighting, or other encounters, flies exchange CH, thus communicating important social information. 

Our preliminary data shows that manipulation of D. melanogaster social environment is sufficient to change fruit fly longevity. These manipulations may have positive or negative effects on social environment. E.g. flies raised at higher housing densities have more social interactions (positive social environment) and are longer-lived, while flies raised at low housing densities have fewer interactions (negative social environment, or social isolation) and have shortened life span. Our data furthermore suggest that CH are critical players in connecting the effects of the social environment to mechanisms of aging and longevity, and thus provide a testable hypothesis to investigate this connection.

We are currently investigating the molecular mechanisms of this behavior/social environment/life span connection by focusing on the enzymes that mediate behavioral responses. We are using multidisciplinary experimental approaches, from biochemistry and molecular biology to behavioral biology and genetics.

 

 OldFLy001.jpg

 

Research Opportunities

Research Opportunities

If you are interested in working in Drosophila aging research, please email me or stop by the lab. We are always looking for motivated graduate and undergraduate researchers.

 

Current Lab Members

Graduate Students

Samuel Brown
Ryan Bass
Arwa al-Rakabi 
Undergradutae Students
D'Yahna Baker
Trinity Foster
Nang Noi
Pricila Lucal
Rachel Sedillos
Reham Karkour

 

Publications

Peer-reviewed Publications

Journal Articles

Brown, S.G., Brenman-Suttner, D.B., McInnes, A.G. §, Lew, K. , Moehring, A.J., Bauer, J.H., and Simon, A.F. (2021) Inheritance of pheromone profiles from aged D. melanogaster.

micropublication BIOLOGY, micropub.biology.000459

Thompson, J. B., Su, O. O. §, Yang, N. §, and Bauer, J. H. (2020) Sleep-length differences are associated with altered longevity in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster.

Biology Open 9, bio054361

Joseph, N. M,  Elphick,N. Y. , Mohammad, S. and Bauer, J.H. (2018) Altered pheromone biosynthesis is associated with sex-specific changes in life span and behavior in Drosophila melanogaster.

Mech Ageing Dev 176, 1-8 

Cao, J., Lopez, R., Thacker, J., Moon, J., Jiang, C., Morris, S.N.S., Bauer, J.H., Tao, P., Mason, R. and Lippert, A. (2015) Chemiluminescent Probes for Imaging H2S in Living Animals.

Chem. Sci. 6(3): 1997-85. PMID: 25709805

Bruemmer, K. J., Merrikhihaghi, S., Lollar, C. T., Morris, S. N. S., Bauer, J. H. and Lippert, A. R. (2014) 19F Magnetic Resonance Probes for Live-Cell Detection of Peroxynitrite Using an Oxidative Decarbonylation Reaction.

Chem. Commun. 50(82): 12311-4. PMID: 25180249

Chhabra, R. §, Kolli, S., and Bauer, J.H. (2013) Organically grown food provides health benefits to Drosophila melanogaster.

PLoS ONE, 8(1):e52988. PMCID: 3541339.

Chamseddin, K. §, Khan, S.Q., Nguyen, M.L.H. §, Antosh, M., Morris, S.N., Kolli, S., Neretti, N., Helfand, S.L. and Bauer, J.H. (2012) takeout-dependent longevity is associated with altered Juvenile Hormone signaling.

Mech Ageing Dev 133(11-12): 637-46. PMCID: 3518612.

Morris, S., Coogan, C. §, Chamseddin, K. §, Fernandez-Kim, S.O., Kolli, S., Keller, J.N., and Bauer, J.H. (2012). Development of diet-induced insulin resistance in adult Drosophila melanogaster.

Biochim Biophys Acta-Molecular Basis of Disease, 1822: 1230-1237.

Antosh M, Whitaker R, Kroll A, Hosier S, Chang C, Bauer J, Cooper L, Neretti N, Helfand SL (2011) Comparative transcriptional pathway bioinformatic analysis of Dietary Restriction, Sir2, p53 and resveratrol life span extension in Drosophila.

Cell Cycle 10(6): 904-11; PMID: 21325893

Bauer JH*, Antosh M*, Chang C, Schorl C, Kolli S, Neretti N, Helfand SL (2010) Comparative transcriptional profiling identifies takeout as a gene that regulates life span.

Aging 2(5): 298-310; PMID: 20519778

Bauer JH, Chang C, Bae G§, Morris SN§, Helfand SL (2010) Dominant-negative Dmp53 extends life span through the dTOR pathway in D. melanogaster.

Mech Ageing Dev 131(3): 193-201; NIHMS 20117129

Bauer JH, Helfand SL (2009) Sir2 and longevity: the p53 connection.

Cell Cycle 8(12): 1821; NIHMS 19471127

Bauer JH, Morris SN§, Chang C, Flatt T, Wood JG, Helfand SL (2009) dSir2 and Dmp53 interact to mediate aspects of CR-dependent life span extension in D. melanogaster.

Aging 1(1): 38-48; NIHMS 19851477

Bauer JH, Chang C, Morris SN§, Hozier S, Andersen S§, Waitzman JS§, Helfand SL (2007) Expression of dominant-negative Dmp53 in the adult fly brain inhibits insulin signaling.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 104(33): 13355-13360; NIHMS 17686972

Bauer JH, Helfand SL (2006a) New tricks of an old molecule: lifespan regulation by p53.

Aging Cell 5(5): 437-440; NIHMS 16968311

Bauer JH, Helfand SL (2006b) The humble fly: what a model system can reveal about the human biology of aging.

Med Health R I 89(9): 314-315; NIHMS 17036696

Bauer JH, Poon PC, Glatt-Deeley H, Abrams JM, Helfand SL (2005) Neuronal expression of p53 dominant-negative proteins in adult Drosophila melanogaster extends life span.

Curr Biol 15(22): 2063-2068; NIHMS 16303568

Bauer JH, Goupil S, Garber GB, Helfand SL (2004) An accelerated assay for the identification of lifespan-extending interventions in Drosophila melanogaster.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 101(35): 12980-12985; NIHMS 15328413

Wang X, Bauer JH, Li Y, Shao Z, Zetoune FS, Cattaneo E, Vincenz C (2001) Characterization of a p75(NTR) apoptotic signaling pathway using a novel cellular model.

J Biol Chem 276(36): 33812-33820.; PMID: 11451944

Rigamonti D*, Bauer JH*, De-Fraja C, Conti L, Sipione S, Sciorati C, Clementi E, Hackam A, Hayden MR, Li Y, Cooper JK, Ross CA, Govoni S, Vincenz C, Cattaneo E (2000) Wild-type huntingtin protects from apoptosis upstream of caspase-3.

J Neurosci 20(10): 3705-3713.; PMID: 10804212

Bauer JH, Liu KD, You Y, Lai SY, Goldsmith MA (1998) Heteromerization of the gammac chain with the interleukin-9 receptor alpha subunit leads to STAT activation and prevention of apoptosis.

Journal of Biol Chem 273(15): 9255-9260; PMID: 9535918 

Pan G, Bauer JH, Haridas V, Wang S, Liu D, Yu G, Vincenz C, Aggarwal BB, Ni J, Dixit VM (1998) Identification and functional characterization of DR6, a novel death domain-containing TNF receptor.

FEBS Lett 431(3): 351-356; PMID: 9714541

 

§ indicates undergraduate student authors

* indicates shared 1st authorship

 

 

Book Chapters

Bauer JH, Helfand SL. The Genetics of Dietary Modulation of Lifespan.

Life History Evolution: The Genetics and Physiology of Life History Traits and Trade-Offs (Oxford University Press). (2011)

Helfand SL, Bauer JH, Wood JG. Calorie Restriction in Lower Organisms.

Molecular Biology of Aging (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press). (2008): 73-94.