U.S.-Australian Cooperative Research on the Analysis and Manipulation of the Algal Carbon Dioxide Concentrating Mechanism

该奖项将支持为期两年的合作项目， Martin H.斯伯丁，爱荷华州植物系 Murray R. Badger，澳大利亚国立大学， 堪培拉，在美国-澳大利亚合作科学计划。 的 科学家们将研究光合作用过程的各个方面， 单细胞衣藻 这个和其他 单细胞藻类非常有效地利用外部 用于光合作用无机碳，并显示出额外的 光合作用也很有趣 协作 研究人员认为，这些效应是细胞内 藻类中的二氧化碳浓度水平， 比大多数高等植物都要大。 A“碳 二氧化物浓缩机制”已经提出了由 研究人员，其中涉及需要能量的运输无机 碳（如二氧化碳或碳酸氢根离子）进入和内 藻类细胞，然后通过酶催化转化积累 碳酸氢根离子以产生增强水平的二氧化碳。 是 该合作项目的目的是更好地了解 运输机制，并确定酶的位置 （碳酸酐酶）在细胞内。 美国和澳大利亚的组织都在这一领域非常活跃， 研究，使用互补的方法和技术。 教授 斯波尔丁和他的同事强调了分子遗传学 研究的CO2浓缩机制的微藻，而博士。 巴杰和他在澳大利亚的小组已经把他们的相关努力集中在 对蓝藻，并已开发出特殊的质谱和 离心技术，以帮助分析。 合作社 项目将建立在两个群体的优势，并将 包括主要研究者的交流以及 他们的博士后同事

This award will support a two-year collaborative project between Professor Martin H. Spalding, Department of Botany, Iowa State University, and Dr. Murray R. Badger, Australian National University, Canberra, under the U.S.-Australia Cooperative Science Program. The scientists will study aspects of the photosynthetic process in the unicellular alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. This and other unicellular algae are very efficient in their use of external inorganic carbon for photosynthesis, and exhibit additional interesting photosynthetic characteristics as well. The cooperating researchers believe these effects are the result of intracellular carbon dioxide concentration levels in the algae which are significantly greater than in most higher plants. A "carbon dioxide-concentrating mechanism" has been proposed by the investigators which involves energy-requiring transport of inorganic carbon (as carbon dioxide or bicarbonate ion) into and within the algal cells, followed by enzyme-catalyzed conversion of accumulated bicarbonate ion to yield enhanced levels of carbon dioxide. It is the aim of this cooperative project to understand better the transport mechanism and to determine the location of the enzyme (carbonic anhydrase) within the cell. Both the U.S. and Australian groups have been active in this area of research, using complementary approaches and techniques. Professor Spalding and his colleagues have emphasized molecular genetic studies of the CO2-concentrating mechanism in microalgae, while Dr. Badger and his group in Australia have focused their related efforts on cyanobacteria, and have developed special mass spectrometric and centrifugation techniques to aid in the analyses. The cooperative project will build upon the strengths of both groups, and will involve exchanges by the principal investigators as well as by their postdoctoral associates.