RUI: Investigating the synthesis and unique activities of bactofilins with multiple isoforms

RUI：研究具有多种亚型的 bactofilins 的合成和独特活性

• 批准号: 1949762
• 负责人: David Zuckerman
• 金额: $ 37.21万
• 依托单位: IONA UNIVERSITY
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-04-01 至 2025-03-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1949762&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RUI; Investigating; synthesis; unique; activities

The cytoskeleton of a cell plays an important role in the organization of the cell, its motility, and the movement of macromolecules within the cell. In this project, the researcher will investigate the regulation of expression and polymerization of the bacterial cytoskeletal protein, bactofilin. This project will engage undergraduate students with training and experience in molecular microbiology, studying the cell biology of bacteria, while increasing the overall research capacity of Iona College. Undergraduates will be trained in techniques that will allow them to engineer specific mutations into the genomes of non-pathogenic bacteria and evaluate the influence on the overall activity of the cells, and provide them with experiences that will enhance their readiness to engage in STEM careers. The goal of this project is to further our understanding of the contributions of the uniquely bacterial cytoskeleton family, bactofilins, to the cell biology of Myxococcus xanthus. Two isoforms of the bactofilin, BacM, are expressed by M. xanthus. The cellular mechanisms that produce the two isoforms, the potential unique contributions of each isoform to M. xanthus cell biology, and how widespread is the phenomenon of multiple isoforms of bactofilins are all currently unknown. In addition, the polarity of the filament as it is formed in vivo has not been established. To address these research challenges, the PI will work with undergraduates using PCR-directed mutagenesis, mutant protein expression in M. xanthus, immunoblotting, immunofluorescence microscopy, and protein-protein interaction studies, to generate multiple isoforms of the bactofilin BacM and study how each isoform contributes to M. xanthus cell biology.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

细胞骨架在细胞的组织、运动和大分子在细胞内的运动中起着重要作用。 在这个项目中，研究人员将研究细菌细胞骨架蛋白bactofilin的表达和聚合的调节。该项目将使本科生接受分子微生物学方面的培训和经验，研究细菌的细胞生物学，同时提高艾奥纳学院的整体研究能力。本科生将接受技术培训，使他们能够将特定突变设计到非致病性细菌的基因组中，并评估对细胞整体活性的影响，并为他们提供经验，以提高他们从事STEM职业的准备程度。本项目的目的是进一步了解细菌细胞骨架家族bactofilins对粘球菌细胞生物学的贡献。丝杆菌素的两种同种型BacM由M. xanthus产生这两种异构体的细胞机制、每种异构体对M. Xanthus细胞生物学以及细菌素的多种同种型的现象有多普遍目前都是未知的。此外，在体内形成的细丝的极性尚未确定。为了解决这些研究挑战，PI将与本科生一起使用PCR定向诱变，突变蛋白在M。xanthus，免疫印迹，免疫荧光显微镜和蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用的研究，以产生多种亚型的bactofilin BacM和研究如何每个亚型有助于M。xanthus细胞生物学。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并且通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。