Molecular Biology of Proteolysis in T4-Infected Cells

本研究的重点是噬菌体t4感染大肠杆菌中蛋白质降解的分子生物学。该提案的具体目标包括(a)鉴定除pinA外的T4基因，这些基因具有阻断大肠杆菌蛋白水解活性的功能。(b)不能阻断蛋白降解的T4突变体的特征。该方法涉及标准的分子生物学和生化程序，此外，基于特定蛋白质降解的新型筛选和选择策略。这项研究将导致对病毒-宿主细胞相互作用的更广泛的认识，增加对大肠杆菌蛋白酶识别其底物的分子基础的了解，并能够减少大肠杆菌中的蛋白质水解，从而稳定大肠杆菌细菌中产生的具有医学和科学重要性的蛋白质。

This proposal focuses on the molecular biology of protein degradation in phage T4-infected Escherichia coli bacteria. The specific aims of this proposal include (a) the identification of T4 genes in addition to pinA that function to block E. coli proteolytic activities. (b) The characterization of T4 mutants that fail to block protein degradation. The methodology involves standard molecular biological and biochemical procedures and, in addition, novel screening and selection strategies based on the degradation of specific proteins. This research should lead to a broader knowledge of virus - host cell interactions, to an increased understanding of the molecular bases by which E. coli proteases recognize their substrates, and to an ability to reduce proteolysis in E. coli and, thereby, to stabilize proteins of medical and scientific importance produced in E. coli bacteria.