Arabidopsis 2010: Collaborative Research: The Synthesis and Function of Arabidopsis Thaliana Sphingolipids

鞘脂已被证明在动物和真菌中作为膜组分和参与调节细胞过程的信号分子发挥重要作用。 虽然鞘脂是特定植物膜的重要组成部分，最近的证据表明，鞘脂作为信号分子在植物中，令人惊讶的是鲜为人知的植物鞘脂功能。这个2010年项目的重点是预测参与鞘脂代谢的基因网络。 关于该项目的进一步信息，包括待研究的特定基因的列表，可在http://bio.usuhs.mil/2010.html上获得。 这些基因将被鉴定，并且编码的蛋白质的功能（例如，由基因产物催化的特异性反应、其底物特异性、亚细胞定位、组织中的表达和活性）。不同鞘脂在植物中的特定作用将通过表征特定鞘脂代谢基因缺陷的突变植物的性质和行为来确定，因此不能合成给定的鞘脂。这项研究将有助于了解鞘脂在植物生长和发育中的作用以及植物对生物和非生物胁迫的反应。 该项目不仅将导致我们对植物鞘脂本身的代谢和功能的理解的深刻增加，而且预计这些努力也将与2010年专注于信号传导，抗病性和糖基转移酶的其他项目交叉。 虽然工作的主要成果将在科学期刊上发表并在会议上介绍，但定期更新的进展情况和已发表工作的摘要以及会议介绍将张贴在上述网址上，以促进信息共享。这项合作涉及五名来自不同机构的研究人员，他们具有互补的专业知识，能够成功完成这项工作。这一努力的各个方面将涉及博士后助理，研究生，本科生和高中生，预计这些人将发展合作研究的好处的赞赏。

Sphingolipids have been demonstrated to play important roles as both membrane components and as signaling molecules involved in regulating cellular processes in animals and fungi. While sphingolipids are quantitatively important components of specific plant membranes and recent evidence indicates that sphingolipids serve as signaling molecules in plants, surprisingly little is known about plant sphingolipid function. This 2010 project focuses on the network of genes predicted to be involved in sphingolipid metabolism. Further information about the project including a list of the specific genes to be investigated is available at http://bio.usuhs.mil/2010.html. These genes will be identified and the functions of the encoded proteins (e.g., the specific reaction catalyzed by the gene product, its substrate specificity, subcellular location, expression and activity in tissues) will be determined. The specific roles of different sphingolipids in plants will be determined by characterizing the properties and behavior of mutant plants defective in specific sphingolipid metabolic genes and so incapable of synthesizing a given sphingolipid. This research will lead to an understanding of the role of sphingolipids in plant growth and development as well as the response of plants to biotic and abiotic stresses. This project will not only result in a profound increase in our understanding of the metabolism and function of plant sphingolipids per se, but it is anticipated that these efforts will also intersect with other 2010 projects focusing on signaling, disease resistance and glycosyltransferases. While the major results of the work will be published in scientific journals and presented at meetings, regular updates of progress and abstracts of published work and meetings presentations will be posted at the web address given above to facilitate information sharing. This collaborative effort involves five investigators at distinctly different institutions with the complementary expertise to successfully accomplish this work. All facets of this effort will involve post-doctoral associates, graduate students, undergraduates and high school students and it is expected that these individuals will develop an appreciation for the benefits of collaborative research.