Chromosome Condensation in Yeast

酵母中的染色体缩合

• 批准号: 0842157
• 负责人: Duncan Clarke
• 金额: $ 54万
• 依托单位: University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-03-01 至 2012-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0842157&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Chromosome; Condensation; Yeast

Cell division produces two new cells and it can only occur after the DNA in the cell has been duplicated. The two identical duplicate sets of genetic information have to be packaged into highly compact bodies called mitotic chromosomes in order for them to be accurately divided between the two new cells. This packaging of the DNA is termed chromosome condensation and without this process mitotic chromosomes fail to be distributed evenly to the new cells, resulting in cell death or abnormal cell function. Although it is a fundamental and essential biological process, the activities that perform chromosome condensation are not well understood. This project employs new methods applied to the study of chromosome condensation in a model organism, budding yeast. Budding yeast chromosomes are too small to be visualized, thus condensation cannot be examined directly. To overcome this problem, the project uses fluorescent-tagged chromosomes to visualize condensation inside living cells. The long-term goal of the project is to understand the mechanism of chromosome condensation. There are two known factors, called topoisomerase II and condensin, which contribute to chromosome condensation, but neither of these is sufficient for the process. The project will identify new factors that drive condensation and will also determine how topoisomerase II and condensin are regulated as this is not currently understood. The Specific Objectives of the project are to: (A) Identify and characterize novel chromosome condensation factors, (B) Determine the mechanisms that drive chromosome condensation, (C) Orchestrate multi-disciplinary research and training and disseminate the findings.Broader Impact:The use of yeast as a model system lends itself well to the education and training of undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral students because it allows multi-disciplinary research that combines genetics, cell biology and biochemistry. Moreover, yeast methods and yeast genetic screens in particular are well suited to undergraduate research because of the ease of manipulation and forgiving growth properties. This project will involve a team of undergraduate students who will be trained in many aspects of yeast genetics and cell biology. A graduate student and a post-doctoral student will gain further expertise in yeast research and will gain skills in the mentoring of undergraduate students. The scientific outcomes of the project will have broad impact on the scientific community, beyond the primary goal of identifying the condensation mechanism, because the project will identify new proteins involved in several aspects of chromosome dynamics, structure and segregation.

细胞分裂产生两个新的细胞，只有在细胞中的DNA复制后才能发生。这两组相同的、重复的遗传信息必须被包装成称为有丝分裂染色体的高度紧凑的主体，以便在两个新细胞之间准确地划分。这种DNA的包装被称为染色体凝聚，如果没有这个过程，有丝分裂的染色体就不能均匀地分布到新的细胞中，导致细胞死亡或细胞功能异常。尽管这是一个基本和必要的生物学过程，但人们对染色体凝聚的活动还没有很好的了解。这个项目使用了新的方法来研究模式生物--发芽酵母中的染色体凝聚。发芽酵母的染色体太小，无法观察到，因此不能直接检查凝集。为了克服这个问题，该项目使用带有荧光标记的染色体来显示活细胞内的凝聚。该项目的长期目标是了解染色体凝聚的机制。有两个已知的因素，称为拓扑异构酶II和凝集素，有助于染色体凝聚，但这两个因素都不足以完成这一过程。该项目将确定驱动缩合的新因素，还将确定拓扑异构酶II和凝集素是如何调节的，因为目前还不了解这一点。该项目的具体目标是：(A)识别和表征新的染色体凝聚因素，(B)确定驱动染色体凝聚的机制，(C)协调多学科研究和培训，并传播发现。广泛影响：使用酵母作为模型系统，很好地适合本科生、研究生和博士后的教育和培训，因为它允许结合遗传学、细胞生物学和生物化学的多学科研究。此外，酵母方法和酵母遗传筛选特别适合于本科生的研究，因为它易于操作和宽容的生长特性。这个项目将包括一个本科生团队，他们将接受酵母遗传学和细胞生物学的许多方面的培训。一名研究生和一名博士后将获得酵母研究的进一步专业知识，并将获得指导本科生的技能。该项目的科学成果将对科学界产生广泛的影响，而不仅仅是确定凝结机制的主要目标，因为该项目将确定涉及染色体动力学、结构和分离的几个方面的新蛋白质。