Collaborative Research: Regulation of CpNifS/CpSufE1-Mediated Iron-Sulfur Cluster Synthesis in Plant Plastids. Implications for Sulfur and Iron Metabolism and Selenium Tolerance

智力优势：光合作用，从水和二氧化碳中产生糖，发生在植物叶绿体中，驱动着我们星球上的所有生命。叶绿体还需要生产我们呼吸的氧气，此外，还需要制造植物生长和健康的植物性饮食所必需的氮和硫化合物。缺铁限制了植物的生长，因为土壤中的铁含量很低，而铁是光合作用所必需的。光合作用需要许多蛋白质，其中许多蛋白质依赖于铁硫簇来实现适当的蛋白质功能。本项目旨在研究在叶绿体中组装铁硫簇的机制是如何被调节的。(1)硫和铁的代谢及其调控的整合和(2)铁-硫簇的组装将在本项目中得到特别关注。植物特异性蛋白在铁硫簇组装中的调节作用将被描述。这项合作研究还旨在探索与硫相似但有毒的硒如何干扰叶绿体中必需的硫代谢。此外，还将分析特定铁硫簇相关蛋白在硒代谢中的作用。一个跨学科的方法涉及生物化学，遗传学和植物生理学在模式植物拟南芥的组合将被采用。将开发新的铁硫团簇在体内组装的分析方法。这些合作研究将为了解植物光合机制的组装机制和调控提供急需的见解。更广泛的影响：这项研究涉及沿海卡罗来纳大学（一个主要的本科院校，少数民族入学率为18%）和科罗拉多州立大学之间的合作。该项目将培养几名本科生、一名研究生和一名博士后。CCU的本科生将参与并接受尖端研究方法的培训。该项目直接让学生在更大的本科课程中参与到假设驱动研究的兴奋中，这是项目独特和创新的部分，将课堂教学与研究相结合，从而增加了一大群学生的科学理解。在许多环境中，铁限制了作物的生长；硒污染问题日益严重。因此，合作项目的成果也将对农业、生物质生产、强化食品生产和环境产生直接影响。

Intellectual Merit:Photosynthesis, the production of sugars from water and carbon dioxide, takes place in plant chloroplasts and drives all life on our planet. The chloroplasts are also needed for the production of the oxygen that we breathe and, additionally, make nitrogen and sulfur compounds necessary for plant growth and a healthy plant-based diet. Iron deficiency limits plant growth because iron is available only at very low levels in soils and iron is essential for photosynthesis. Photosynthesis requires numerous proteins, many of which are dependent upon iron-sulfur clusters for proper protein function. This project aims to study how the machinery that assembles iron-sulfur clusters in chloroplasts is regulated. The integration of (1) sulfur and iron metabolism and their regulation and (2) iron-sulfur cluster assembly will get special attention in this project. The regulatory roles of plant-specific proteins that function in iron-sulfur cluster assembly will be delineated. This collaborative research additionally seeks to explore how selenium, which is similar to sulfur yet toxic, interferes with essential sulfur metabolism in chloroplasts. Moreover, the role of specific iron-sulfur cluster-related proteins in selenium metabolism will be analyzed. An interdisciplinary approach involving a combination of biochemistry, genetics and plant physiology in the model plant Arabidopsis will be employed. New analysis methods for the assembly of iron-sulfur clusters in vivo will be developed. These collaborative studies will provide much-needed insights into the mechanisms and regulation of assembly of the photosynthetic machinery in plants. Broader impacts:This research involves collaboration between Coastal Carolina University, a primarily undergraduate institution with 18% minority enrollment, and Colorado State University. The project will train several undergraduate students, a graduate student, and a post-doctoral fellow. Undergraduate students at CCU will be engaged and trained in cutting edge research methods. The project directly involves students in a larger undergraduate course in the excitement of hypothesis-driven research in a unique and innovative part of the project, which integrates classroom teaching and research, thereby increasing scientific understanding of a large group of students. Iron is limiting to crop growth in many environments; selenium contamination is increasingly problematic. Therefore, the results of the collaborative project will also have direct implications for agriculture, biomass production, the production of fortified foods, and the environment.