Structural Characterisation of the Type IX Secretion System

存在于兽医、农业、环境和工业重要的各种细菌中的IX型分泌系统使效应蛋白能够分泌并附着在细胞表面，在那里它们有助于疾病发病或降解具有商业价值的生物聚合物。本项目旨在利用最先进的显微镜技术确定这种由15种不同蛋白质组成的复杂分泌纳米机器的结构和组装机制。这种结构的知识将极大地增强我们对分泌机制的理解，以及我们抑制该系统以治疗动物疾病或操纵该系统用于工业应用的能力，为我们的国家提供未来的经济和环境效益。

The Type IX Secretion System present in diverse bacteria of veterinary, agricultural, environmental and industrial importance enables effector proteins to be secreted and attached to the cell surface where they contribute to disease pathogenesis or degrade biopolymers of commercial interest. This project aims to determine the structure and assembly mechanism of this complex secretion nanomachine comprising 15 different proteins using state of the art microscopy. Knowledge of the structure will greatly enhance our understanding of secretion mechanisms and our ability to both inhibit the system to treat disease in animals or manipulate the system for industrial applications providing future economic and environmental benefits to our nation.