个人简介

A.B., Harvard University, 1999 Ph.D., Harvard University, 2005 Postdoctoral Associate, Harvard Medical School, 2005-2009

研究领域

Biochemistry

Natural products, NMR-based structure elucidation, Small molecule-mediated signaling Our group is interested in how organisms use small molecules to communicate information. Caenorhabditis elegans (a small roundworm) is a genetically tractable organism that relies on a fine-tuned sense of smell and taste when interacting with other members of its species and with its environment. Thus, C. elegans represents an ideal system for studying the role of environmental cues, such as pheromones and nutritional signals, in modulating development and other complex processes. Our group will use NMR-based small molecule structure elucidation, chemical synthesis, chemical genetics, and biochemical/biological assays to identify the chemical nature of these cues and their mechanism of action. This work will provide fundamental new insights into how environmental signals influence development, metabolism, behavior, and aging in C. elegans and in higher organisms.

近期论文

查看导师新发文章 （温馨提示：请注意重名现象，建议点开原文通过作者单位确认）

Zhang, X., Feng, L., Chinta, S., Singh, P., Wang, Y., Nunnery, J.K., Butcher, R.A., Acyl-CoA oxidase complexes control the chemical message produced by C. elegans, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U S A, accepted. Zhao, L., Mota, M., Vieira, P., Butcher, R.A., Sun, J., Interspecific communication between pinewood nematode, its insect vector, and associated microbes, Trends Parasitol. (2014) 30:299-308. Zhao, L., Zhang, S., Wei, W., Hao, H., Zhang, B., Butcher, R.A., Sun, J., Chemical signals synchronize the life cycles of a plant-parasitic nematode and its vector beetle. Curr. Biol. (2013) 23:2038-43. Zhang, X., Noguez, J., Zhou, Y., Butcher, R.A. Analysis of ascarosides from Caenorhabditis elegans using mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy, in Pheromone Signaling: Methods and Protocols, (Methods in Molecular Biology series), K. Touhara (ed.), New York: Springer, (2013) 1068:71-92. Hollister, K., Conner, E.S., Zhang, X., Butcher, R.A., Ragains, J.R., Ascaroside activity in Caenorhabditis elegans is highly dependent on chemical structure. Bioorg. Med. Chem. (2013) 21:5754-69. Jang, H., Kim, K., Neal, S.J., Macosko, E., Kim, D., Butcher, R.A., Zeiger, D.M., Bargmann, C.I., Sengupta, P., Neuromodulatory state and sex specific alternative behaviors through antagonistic synaptic pathways in C. elegans. Neuron (2012) 75:585-92. Noguez, J.H., Conner, E.S., Zhou, Y., Ciche, T.A., Ragains, J.R., Butcher, R.A., A novel ascaroside controls the parasitic life cycle of the entomopathogenic nematode Heterorhabditis bacteriophora, ACS Chem. Biol. (2012) 7:961-6. McGrath, P.T., Xu, Y., Ailion, M., Garrison, J.L., Butcher, R.A., Bargmann, C.I. Parallel evolution of domesticated Caenorhabditis species targets pheromone receptor genes. Nature (2011) 477:321-5. Postdoctoral and Graduate work: Sakai, N., Iwata, R., Yokoi, S., Butcher, R.A., Clardy, J., Tomioka, M., Iino, Y. A sexually conditioned switch of chemosensory behavior in C. elegans. Plos One (2013) 8:e68676. Yamada K., Hirotsu T., Matsuki M., Butcher R.A., Tomioka M., Ishihara T., Clardy J., Kunitomo H., Iino Y. "Olfactory plasticity is regulated by pheromonal signaling in Caenorhabditis elegans," Science (2010) 329:1647-50. Sato, K., Shibuya, M., Zeiger, D.M., Butcher, R.A., Ragains, J.R., Clardy, J., Touhara, K., Sengupta, P. "Two chemoreceptors mediate developmental effects of dauer pheromone in C. elegans," Science (2009) 13:994-8. Butcher, R.A., Ragains, J.R., Clardy, J., "An indole-containing dauer pheromone component with unusual dauer inhibitory activity at higher concentrations," Org. Lett. (2009) 11:3100-3. Butcher, R.A., Ragains, J.R., Li, W., Ruvkun, G., Clardy, J., Mak, H.Y., "Biosynthesis of the C. elegans dauer pheromone," Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U S A (2009) 106: 1875-9. Macosko, E.Z., Pokala, N., Feinberg, E.H., Chalasani, S.H., Butcher, R.A., Clardy, J., Bargmann, C.I., "A hub-and-spoke circuit drives pheromone attraction and social behavior in C. elegans," Nature (2009) 458: 1171-5. Butcher, R.A., Ragains, J.R., Kim, E., Clardy, J., "A potent dauer pheromone component in C. elegans that acts synergistically with other components," Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U S A (2008) 105: 14288-92. Kontnik, R.*, Bosak, T.*, Butcher, R.A., Brocks, J.J., Losick, R., Clardy, J., Pearson, A., "Sporulenes, heptaprenyl metabolites from Bacillus subtilis spores," Org Lett. (2008) 10:3551-4. *equal contributions Butcher, R.A.*, Fujita, M.*, Schroeder, F.C., Clardy, J., "Small-molecule pheromones that control dauer development in Caenorhabditis elegans," Nat. Chem. Biol. (2007) 3:420-2. *equal contributions Butcher, R.A., Schroeder, F.C., Fischbach, M.A., Straight, P.D., Kolter, R., Walsh, C.T., Clardy, J., "The identification of bacillaene, the product of the PksX megacomplex in Bacillus subtilis," Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U S A (2007) 104:1506-9. Butcher, R.A., Schreiber, S.L., "A microarray-based protocol for monitoring the growth of yeast overexpression strains," Nat. Protocols (2006) 1:569-76. Butcher, R.A., Bhullar, B.S., Perlstein, E.O., Marsischky, G., LaBaer, J., Schreiber, S.L., "Microarray-based method for monitoring yeast overexpression strains reveals small-molecule targets in TOR pathway," Nat. Chem. Biol. (2006) 2:103-9. Butcher, R.A., Schreiber, S.L., "Using genome-wide transcriptional profiling to elucidate small-molecule mechanism," Curr. Opin. Chem. Biol. (2005) 9:25-30. Butcher, R.A., Schreiber, S.L., "Identification of Ald6p as the target of a class of small-molecule suppressors of FK506 and their use in network dissection," Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U S A (2004) 101:7868-73. Butcher, R.A., Schreiber, S.L., "A small molecule suppressor of FK506 that targets the mitochondria and modulates ionic balance in Saccharomyces cerevisiae," Chem. & Biol. (2003) 10:521-31. Haggarty, S.J., Koeller, K.M., Wong, J.C., Butcher, R.A., Schreiber S.L., "Multidimensional chemical genetic analysis of diversity-oriented synthesis-derived deacetylase inhibitors using cell-based assays," Chem. & Biol. (2003) 10:383-96. Butcher, R.A., Schreiber, S.L., "A microarray-based protocol for monitoring the growth of yeast overexpression strains," Nat. Protocols (2006) 1:569-76.