NSF Young Investigator

类似的分子策略用于刺激/反应耦合 在所有的细胞。 该过程通常涉及跨膜 受体位于细胞表面和一组细胞内 信号转导蛋白携带来自 靶蛋白的受体，介导特异性 应答 细菌的趋化性是一个理想的模型系统， 研究受体介导信号的分子机制 转导 该系统由少量的 一个跨膜受体蛋白家族，两个 受体修饰酶，鞭毛马达装置，和四个 处理信息的细胞质信号转导蛋白 将受体信号传导与运动反应联系起来。 中央 趋化性信号转导机制包括 从组氨酸蛋白激酶CheA磷酸转移到 磷酸化激活调节蛋白，其控制 鞭毛旋转方向，CheY。 自磷酸化 激酶CheA受受体的调节， 需要辅助蛋白，咀嚼，并依赖于这两个 受体配体占有程度，以及修饰状态 的受体。 该系统提供了一个机会， 阐明蛋白质修饰的基本原理 蛋白质/蛋白质相互作用的调节 生物化学 %%% 模型系统中信号转导的分子描述 细菌的趋化性对于理解 复杂调控现象的基本化学策略 例如信号放大和适配。 斯托克医生 实验室正在使用分子遗传学， 生物化学和生物物理方法来关联结构和 几种信号转导蛋白的功能。

Similar molecular strategies are used in stimulus/response coupling in all cells. The process generally involves transmembrane receptors located at the cell surface and a set of intracellular signal transduction proteins that carry information from the receptors to the target proteins that mediate the specific responses. Bacterial chemotaxis is an ideal model system for investigating the molecular mechanism of receptor-mediated signal transduction. The system is composed of a small number of components; a family of transmembrane receptor proteins, two receptor modifying enzymes, the flagellar motor apparatus, and four cytoplasmic signal transduction proteins that process information linking receptor signaling to the motor response. The central signal transduction mechanism in chemotaxis involves phosphotransfer from a histidine protein kinase, CheA, to a phosphorylation-activated regulator protein that controls the direction of flagellar rotation, CheY. Autophosphorylation of the kinase, CheA, is regulated by the receptors in a mechanism that requires the auxiliary protein, CheW, and is dependent on both the degree of receptor ligand occupancy, and on the modification state of the receptor. The system provides an opportunity for elucidating the fundamental principles of protein modification reactions and protein/protein interactions in regulatory biochemistry. %%% A molecular description of signal transduction in the model system of bacterial chemotaxis is critical to understanding the fundamental chemical strategies for complex regulatory phenomena such as signal amplification and adaptation. Dr. Stock's laboratory is using a combination of molecular genetic, biochemical, and biophysical methods to correlate structure and function of several signal transduction proteins.