Characterisation of distinct eIF4E mRNA cap binding proteins during early Drosophila development

细胞生长从根本上与合成的蛋白质水平有关。为了在细胞分裂期间扩大一倍，细胞必须将其蛋白质含量增加一倍。蛋白质是通过一种称为信使RNA(信使RNA)的中间分子复制基因中包含的信息而形成的。信使核糖核酸的产生过程称为转录，而蛋白质由信使核糖核酸合成的过程称为翻译。这些过程涉及许多因素，在提案中，我们将专注于识别mRNA的特定翻译因子eIF4E。有趣的是，许多生物体含有许多不同形式的eIF4E，它们的作用可能有所不同。转录和翻译都是可以控制的，使细胞能够精确地改变哪些基因被翻译成蛋白质。这种控制在多细胞生物体中尤其重要，因为在多细胞生物体中，许多不同类型的细胞产生不同类型的蛋白质。在简单的生物体中，如果蝇，调节翻译的翻译因素与人类的相同。由于果蝇作为实验生物有许多优点，因此在研究中被广泛使用。在果蝇胚胎中，翻译调控是其正确发育的关键。在这个方案中，我们将使用果蝇胚胎作为模型来研究不同形式的eIF4E翻译因子是否具有不同的功能，以及确定它们如何参与胚胎发育的早期阶段。这项研究的发现将为深入了解不同eIF4E在其他生物体中的潜在功能提供帮助，包括存在多个eIF4E的人类。

Cellular growth is fundamentally linked to the levels of proteins synthesised. In order to double in size during cell division, cells must double their protein content. Proteins are made by copying information contained in genes via an intermediate molecule called messenger RNA (mRNA). The process of mRNA production is called transcription, whereas the process by which proteins are made from mRNA is called translation. These processes involve many factors and in the proposal we will concentrate on a specific translation factor, eIF4E, that recognises mRNA. Interestingly many organisms contain a number of different forms of eIF4E that may vary in their role. Both transcription and translation can be controlled, allowing cells to precisely vary which genes are translated into protein. This control is particularly important in multicellular organisms where many distinct types of cell produce different types of protein. The translation factors which regulate translation in simple organisms, such as the fruitfly, are the same as those in humans. As the fruitfly has many advantages as an experimental organism, it is commonly used in research. In the fruitfly embryo, it has been established that translation regulation is critical to its correct development. In this proposal, we will use the fruitfly embryo as a model to investigate if the different forms of the eIF4E translation factor have distinct functions, as well as determining how they are involved in the early stages of embryonic development. Findings from this study will provide insight into potential functions for different eIF4Es in other organisms, including humans where multiple eIF4Es exist.