U.S.-Austria Cooperative Research: A Model for Plastid Evolution--Cyanophora Cyanelle DNA (Molecular Biology)

该奖项将支持一个为期两年的合作研究项目， Hans J.博纳特教授，生物化学系，密歇根大学 亚利桑那州，和博士沃尔夫冈Loeffelhardt，研究所一般 生物化学，奥地利维也纳大学。 科学家和 他们的研究小组成员将研究基因组和基因 奇异蓝藻（Cyanophora paradoxa）蓝色素DNA结构 他们将试图 确定（1）蓝色素DNA上几个基因/操纵子的结构 它们在花青和高等植物中的组织方式不同 叶绿体DNA和（2）在何种程度上，蓝色素是依赖 从周围的细胞质中输入蛋白质， 实现传输，或者不同于或者相同于 高等植物的运输 这项工作的长期目标是 了解，通过监测之间的差异良好的研究更高 植物叶绿体特征和蓝色素基因组， 进化的选择是可以允许光合作用 活性细胞器被整合到真核生物的代谢中 cell. 蓝绿藻（Cyanophora paradoxa）中的蓝色素是质体的一个例子， 植物细胞中被膜包围的部分。 叶片中的叶绿体 是另一个更著名的例子。 在这项研究中， 科学家们将进行生化和分子生物学研究， 旨在证明蓝色素基因与 高等植物叶绿体中的基因和蓝藻基因。 的 这项工作包括对几个蓝色素染色体区域进行测序， 他们在进行这些比较时的预期价值。 以这种方式 也许有可能收集证据， 从简单的细菌到矛盾蓝藻， 植物，如树木。 博纳特教授在分子生物学方面很有经验 生物学和植物遗传学。 勒费尔哈特教授是一位生物化学家 有经验的蛋白质研究在这些 实验 他们的专业知识将结合在一项研究中， 有望揭示基因的进化，位于 不同的细胞区室， 历史不太清楚。

This award will support a two-year cooperative research project between Professor Hans J. Bohnert, Department of Biochemistry, University of Arizona, and Dr. Wolfgang Loeffelhardt, Institute for General Biochemistry, University of Vienna, Austria. The scientists and members of their research groups will study the genome and gene structure of cyanelle DNA from Cyanophora paradoxa. They will attempt to determine (1) the structure of several genes/operons on cyanelle DNA which are differently organized in cyanelle and higher plant chloroplast DNA and (2) the extent to which the cyanelle is dependent on import of proteins from the surrounding cytoplasm and how this transport is achieved, either differently from or identically to the transport in higher plants. The long-term goal of the work is to understand, by monitoring differences between the well-studied higher plant chloroplast characteristics and the cyanelle genome, which evolutionary options were available to permit a photosynthetically active organelle to be integrated into the metabolism of a eukaryotic cell. The cyanelle in Cyanophora paradoxa is an example of a plastid, a membrane-enclosed component of a plant cell. Chloroplasts in leaves are another, better-known example. In this study, the cooperating scientists will carry out biochemical and molecular biological studies aimed at demonstrating the degree of relatedness of cyanelle genes to those in higher plant chloroplasts and to cyanobacterial genes. The work involves sequencing several cyanelle chromosome regions selected for their anticipated value in making these comparisons. In this way it may be possible to gather evidence for the evolution of specific genes from simple bacteria through Cyanophora paradoxa to still higher plants, such as trees. Professor Bohnert is experienced in molecular biology and plant genetics. Professor Loeffelhardt is a biochemist with experience in working with the proteins to be studied in these experiments. Their expertise will be combined in a study which is expected to shed light on the evolution of genes that are located in different cellular compartments in an organism whose evolutionary history is not well understood.