Presidential Young Investigator Award

关于生物膜中蛋白质复合物的合成和功能，一个尚未解决的主要问题是这些复合物如何组装成功能活跃的实体。为了解决关于光系统II （PS II）的这个问题，利用蓝细菌Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803的便捷转化系统来创建一些含有位点定向突变的PS II突变体。这些突变体提供了一个很好的实验系统来确定辅助因子（特别是醌和叶绿素）在PS II组装和稳定性中的作用。从其他系统中我们知道，叶绿素的存在是叶绿素结合蛋白稳定的必要条件，而在高等植物中，PS II中一种叶绿素结合蛋白的合成似乎取决于叶绿素的可用性。因此，现在引入了假定的叶绿素结合残基的突变来研究对叶绿素结合蛋白以及整个PS II复合物的合成和稳定性的影响。随着总统青年研究者奖的获得，对光合机构光系统II （PS II）的合成和功能的研究正在显著加强，从而有助于全面了解其参与光合作用。

One of the major as yet unanswered questions with respect to synthesis and function of protein complexes in biological membranes is how these complexes assemble into functionally active entities. To address this question with respect to photosystem II (PS II), the convenient transformation system of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 is being utilized to create a number of PS II mutants containing site-directed mutations. Such mutants offer an excellent experimental system to determine the role cofactors (particularly quinones and chlorophylls) play in PS II assembly and stability. It is known from other systems that the presence of chlorophyll is a requirement for stability of chlorophyll-binding proteins, whereas in higher plants synthesis of one of the chlorophyll- binding in PS II appears to depend on the availability of chlorophyll. For this reason, mutations in presumed chlorophyll- binding residues are now introduced to investigate the effects on the synthesis and stability of the chlorophyll-binding proteins as well as of the entire PS II complex. With the Presidential Young Investigator Award, the study of the synthesis and function of photosystem II (PS II) of the photosynthetic apparatus is being significantly enhanced, thus contributing to a comprehensive insight into its involvement in photosynthesis.