US-France planning visit: Understanding the molecular regulation of photosynthetic-related processes in unicellular marine eukaryotes

拟议的研究将生理学、基因组学、生物物理学和生物化学的概念与海洋生态学和海洋学相结合。硅藻基因组学的进展和过去5年基因组工具的开发，结合经典的生理和生物物理技术，首次提供了理解硅藻如何感知和识别光信号并将其转化为生长和生产力的化学能量的能力。这将提供有关硅藻生理学的基本信息，这些信息是了解硅藻通过碳封存减缓全球气候变化的潜力所必需的。该项目将提供罗格斯大学的实践培训？来自服务不足和代表性不足的社区的本科生将积极参与工作。拟议的研究还将促进美国和法国之间的新的国际合作，并通过促进和培养两个早期职业的参与，扩大妇女的参与，上升女性研究人员。作为光合自养生物，光是光合作用和生长所需的能量来源的关键环境信号，但过量也可能是诱变和细胞死亡的来源。因此，光捕获必须与细胞内光化学转化为能量的能力和/或过量光子的安全耗散相平衡。硅藻拥有一套复杂的机制，使它们能够最大限度地提高生长和光合作用，同时最大限度地减少损害和细胞死亡。然而，这些机制的分子基础仍然在很大程度上未被表征。该项目的目标是回答关于这些生态重要生物光合作用过程的分子调节的基本问题。尽管硅藻的生态优势及其与碳和硅地球化学的紧密联系，但对调节其光合能力和生长的分子机制知之甚少。作为红色质体谱系的次级内共生体，硅藻叶绿体以及因此光合作用过程从根本上不同于绿色质体谱系（例如高等植物和绿藻）。因此，从高等植物和绿藻中直接推断光合作用过程的调节并不总是适用或相关的。这种多管齐下的方法将汇集具有跨学科专业知识的研究人员，并将合并生理学，生物物理学，分子生物学，分子生态学和海洋学。该项目的具体目标是：1）表征最近鉴定的光合作用质体定位调节剂的分子机制，2）通过使用生理和生物药理学方法筛选遗传突变体库来鉴定新的光合作用分子调节剂。硅藻的生态重要性及其通过固碳在减缓全球气候变化方面发挥作用的潜力要求详细了解用于调节其光合作用过程的分子机制。这项研究有望提供有关这些过程的调控的重要信息，并提高我们对现代海洋中控制海洋硅藻分布和生产力的因素的认识。

a non-technical description Proposed research blends concepts in physiology, genomics, biophysics, and biochemistry with marine ecology and oceanography. Advances in diatom genomics and the development of genome-enabled tools over the past 5 years, combined with classical physiological and biophysical techniques provides, for the first time, the ability to understand how diatoms sense and transduce light signals and convert them into chemical energy for growth and productivity. This will provide the fundamental information on diatom physiology that is required for understanding the potential diatoms have in mitigating global climate change through carbon sequestration. This project will provide hands-on training of Rutgers? undergraduates from underserved and underrepresented communities who will actively participate in the work. Proposed research will also catalyze a new international collaboration between the U.S. and France and broaden the participation of women by promoting and fostering the participation of two early career, rising female researchers.a technical description Diatoms, unicellular, eukaryotic photoautotrophs, are one of the most ecologically successful and functionally diverse organisms in the ocean. As photoautotrophs, light is a key environmental signal that is required as a source of energy for photosynthesis and growth, but, in excess, can also be a source of mutagenesis and cell death. Light capture must therefore be balanced with the intracellular capacity for photochemical conversion of that light into energy and/or the safe dissipation of excess photons. Diatoms possess a suite of sophisticated mechanisms that allow them to maximize growth and photosynthesis while minimizing damage and cell death. However, the molecular basis underlying these mechanisms has remained largely uncharacterized. The goal of this project is to answer fundamental questions regarding the molecular regulation of photosynthetic processes in these ecologically important organisms. Despite the ecological dominance of diatoms and their tight connection to both carbon and silicon biogeochemistry, little is known about the molecular mechanism regulating their photosynthetic capacity and growth. As secondary endosymbionts of the red plastid-lineage, diatom chloroplasts and, therefore photosynthetic processes, are fundamentally distinct from green plastid-lineages (e.g. higher plants and chlorophytes). Therefore, direct extrapolation on the regulation of photosynthetic processes from higher plants and chlorophytes is not always applicable or relevant. This proposed multi-pronged approach will bring together researchers with interdisciplinary expertise and will merge physiology, biophysics, molecular biology, molecular ecology, and oceanography. The specific goals of this project are to: 1) Characterize the molecular mechanism of a recently identified plastid-localized regulator of photosynthesis and 2) Identify novel molecular regulators of photosynthesis by screening libraries of genetic mutants using physiological and biophysical-based methods. The ecological importance of diatoms and their potential to play a role in mitigating global climate change through carbon sequestration calls for a detailed understanding of the molecular mechanisms used to modulate their photosynthetic processes. This research is expected to provide significant information about the regulation of these processes and improve our knowledge on the factors controlling the distribution and productivity of marine diatoms in the modern ocean.