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

拟议的研究融合了生理学、基因组学、生物物理学和生物化学与海洋生态学和海洋学的概念。在过去的5年中，硅藻基因组学的进步和基因组工具的发展，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转导光信号并将其转化为化学能以促进生长和生产力的能力。这将提供硅藻生理学的基本信息，这是了解硅藻通过碳封存在减缓全球气候变化方面的潜在作用所必需的。这个项目将为罗格斯大学的学生提供实践培训。来自服务不足和代表性不足的社区的大学生将积极参与这项工作。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位早期职业女性研究人员的参与，扩大女性的参与。硅藻，单细胞，真核光自养生物，是海洋中生态最成功和功能最多样化的生物之一。作为光自养生物，光是一个关键的环境信号，是光合作用和生长所需的能量来源，但过量的光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将光转化为能量的光化学能力和/或多余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伤和细胞死亡。然而，这些机制背后的分子基础在很大程度上仍未被描述。该项目的目标是回答有关这些生态重要生物光合过程的分子调控的基本问题。尽管硅藻具有生态优势，且与碳和硅的生物地球化学密切相关，但调控其光合能力和生长的分子机制尚不清楚。作为红色质体系的次生内共生体，硅藻叶绿体及其光合作用过程与绿色质体系（如高等植物和绿藻）有着根本的区别。因此，从高等植物和绿藻直接推断光合过程的调节并不总是适用或相关的。这个提议的多管齐下的方法将汇集跨学科专业知识的研究人员，并将融合生理学、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)表征最近发现的叶绿体定位光合作用调节因子的分子机制；2)利用基于生理和生物物理的方法筛选基因突变文库，鉴定新的光合作用调节因子。硅藻的生态重要性及其通过碳固存在减缓全球气候变化中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.