SGER: Early Steps in the Sensory Transduction of Blue Light in Guard Cells

叶绿体类胡萝卜素玉米黄质已被鉴定为保卫细胞中的蓝光感受器。 该 SGER 奖项利用最近发现的气孔运动的蓝绿色可逆性作为诊断探针，解决了玉米黄质光激发后感觉转导级联中的早期事件。 具体实验包括使用 UV/VIS、拉曼和 FTIR 光谱表征重建色素-蛋白质系统中的玉米黄质异构化，以及研究叶绿体触角床中玉米黄质结合蛋白可能的构象变化。 其他实验将检查拟南芥叶子中的叶绿体运动是否也是蓝绿色可逆的。 所有实验都需要在该研究计划的核心方面引入新技术。 这项研究的成功将极大地增强我们对保卫细胞中蓝光感觉转导早期事件的理解。 实验固有的高风险以及成功实施后会产生的巨大影响，使其适合作为 SGER。

The chloroplastic carotenoid, zeaxanthin, has been identified as a blue light photoreceptor in guard cells. This SGER award addresses the early events in the sensory transducing cascade that follows the photoexcitation of zeaxanthin, using a recently discovered blue-green reversibility of stomatal movements as a diagnostic probe. Specific experiments include the characterization of zeaxanthin isomerization in a reconstituted pigment-protein system, using UV/VIS, Raman, and FTIR spectroscopy, and the study of possible conformational changes of zeaxanthin binding protein(s) in the antenna bed of the chloroplast. Other experiments will examine whether chloroplast movements in Arabidopsis leaves are also blue-green reversible. All experiments demand the introduction of new techniques to central aspects of this research program. Success in this research would dramatically enhance our understanding of the early events in the sensory transduction of blue light in guard cells. The intrinsic high risk of the experiments and the high impact that would ensue from success in their implementation, make this appropriate as a SGER.