CAREER: The Role of Vesicular Transport on the Function and Biogenesis of the Contractile Vacuole in Dictyostelium Discoideum

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9734093 Bush Abstract The contractile vacuole has long been studied as a subcellular model for the mammalian kidney. In Protozoans and other primitive animals where it is found, it is an essential organelle that maintains water and ion homeostasis within the organism. Presumably, study of its structure and function will provide insights into how more complex systems have evolved to perform these same functions in higher animals. This proposal exploits the genetics of Dictyostelium discoideum to study the role of a particular GTPase (Rab11) in the biogenesis of the contractile vacuole. Previous studies have shown that this protein is localized to the contractile vacuole and, arguing from studies of Rab function in other systems, is probably important in the regulation of vesicle traffic to and from this compartment. The studies will utilize a number of genetic approaches to study how normal and mutant versions of Rab11 influence the biogenesis of the vacuole. Additional studies will evaluate the possibility that other Rab-associated proteins are important in Rab control of vacuole biogenesis and function. ***