Protein-Protein Interactions in Photosystem II

9982395 Bricker筛选膜蛋白复合体的功能性质和结构组织是当前生化研究的中心目标之一。生物膜几乎涉及细胞组织和活动的方方面面。膜功能最令人感兴趣的方面之一是它在光合作用生物体中调节能量传递的作用。光能是最剧烈的物理过程--聚变的产物，它被转化为生物能量当量，供光合作用细胞利用。光合作用过程提供碳水化合物，碳水化合物位于几乎所有食物链的底部，并作为副产品提供高等生物利用的所有大气氧气。这个项目研究了参与放氧的蛋白质之间的结构相互作用。了解放氧复合体的结构将为这一重要的膜蛋白复合体的功能提供新的见解。将使用生物化学和分子工具相结合的方法来研究光系统各组成部分之间的蛋白质相互作用。光系统II复合体是光合作用中的放氧部位，将从高等植物叶绿体和蓝藻(蓝藻)中分离出来。这些将通过各种技术进行研究，包括定点突变、抑制子分析、化学修饰、荧光和时间分辨氧闪光产额测量。

9982395BrickerElucidation of the functional properties and structural organization of membrane protein complexes is one of the central objectives of current biochemical investigation. Biological membranes are involved in virtually every aspect of cellular organization and activity. One of the most intriguing aspects of membrane function is its role in the mediation of energy transduction in photosynthetic organisms. Light energy, which is the product of a most violent physical process, fusion, is transformed into biological energy equivalents utilized by the photosynthetic cell. The photosynthetic process provides both the carbohydrate which lies at the base of virtually all food chains and, as a byproduct, all of the atmospheric oxygen utilized by higher organisms. This project investigates the structural interactions between the proteins involved in oxygen evolution. An understanding of the structure of the oxygen-evolving complex will yield new insights into how this important membrane protein complex functions. Protein-protein interactions among the components of the photosystem will be studied using a combination of biochemical and molecular tools. Photosystem II complexes, which are the oxygen-evolving site in photosynthesis will be isolated from both higher plant chloroplasts and blue-green algae (cyanobacteria). These will be studied by a variety of techniques including site-directed mutagenesis, suppressor analysis, chemical modification, fluorescence, and time-resolved oxygen flash yield measurements.