MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF DNA PROTECTION IN SPORES OF BACILLUS SPECIES

这个子项目是众多研究子项目之一

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The objectives of the research proposed in this application are to investigate the mechanisms whereby a group of novel DNA-binding proteins, termed alpha/beta-type small, acid-soluble proteins (SASP) protect DNA in dormant spores of Bacillus species against a variety of damaging agents, and how these proteins are subsequently removed during spore outgrowth. The studies will involve biochemical and biophysical elucidation of the properties of the alpha/alpha-type SASP and the complexes of these proteins with DNA, as well as the characterization of the spore protease, termed Gpr, that initiates SASP degradation during spore outgrowth. A major goal of the proposed research is the characterization of all of these components including elucidation of their three-dimensional structures by x-ray crystallography. Success in achieving this goal will lead to an understanding at the molecular level of the mechanisms of DNA protection in dormant spores, as well the mechanisms responsible for the loss of this DNA protection during spore germination and outgrowth.