Tonoplast Protein Trafficking in Arabidopsis

拟南芥中的液泡膜蛋白运输

• 批准号: 0951616
• 负责人: Marcela Pierce
• 金额: $ 10万
• 依托单位: North Carolina State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-02-15 至 2012-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0951616&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Tonoplast; Protein; Trafficking; Arabidopsis

The vacuole is an essential organelle in plants and has major implications for human health. In fact, an important portion of our diet, including the essential amino acids found in beans and corn, comes from molecules stored in the vacuole. The integrity of the vacuolar membrane is important for the storage of metabolites and hormones, the sequestration of ions and the maintenance of cellular turgor. To improve plant stress tolerance and ultimately increase the nutritional value of plants for human consumption, it is essential that we understand how to regulate vacuolar membrane biogenesis. The long-term goal of this research is to identify and characterize the trafficking machinery for vacuolar membrane proteins. An integrated strategy of genetic, biochemical and cell biological approaches will be utilized to identify and characterize mutations and chemical inhibitors that disrupt the trafficking of membrane proteins to the vacuole. The specific aims are to: 1) Identify mutants impaired in the targeting of membrane proteins. 2) Identify small inhibitors that induce mis-localization of vacuolar membrane proteins. Both mutants and inhibitors will uncouple the distinct targeting pathways of membrane proteins to the vacuole. This research will have a major impact in the understanding of vacuole biogenesis and the ability to improve plants with enhanced vacuolar content.The broader impacts of this project include the training of minority undergraduate and graduate students in state-of-the-art techniques in molecular biology and microscopy. In addition, a teacher and minority high-school students from the Wake County public schools system will be engaged as part of this research program.

液泡是植物的重要细胞器，对人体健康具有重要意义。事实上，我们饮食中很重要的一部分，包括在豆类和玉米中发现的必需氨基酸，都来自液泡中储存的分子。液泡膜的完整性对于代谢物和激素的储存，离子的隔离和细胞膨胀的维持是重要的。为了提高植物的抗逆性，最终增加植物供人类食用的营养价值，我们必须了解如何调节液泡膜的生物发生。本研究的长期目标是确定和表征空泡膜蛋白的运输机制。将利用遗传、生化和细胞生物学方法的综合策略来识别和表征破坏膜蛋白向液泡运输的突变和化学抑制剂。具体目的是：1)鉴定膜蛋白靶向受损的突变体。2)鉴定诱导液泡膜蛋白错误定位的小抑制剂。突变体和抑制剂都将解除膜蛋白对液泡的不同靶向途径。这项研究将对了解液泡生物发生和提高液泡含量的植物的能力产生重大影响。该项目的广泛影响包括培养少数民族本科生和研究生掌握分子生物学和显微镜技术。此外，一名教师和来自威克县公立学校系统的少数族裔高中生将参与这项研究计划。