U.S.-Sweden Cooperative Research: Cell Biology and Enzyme Localization Research in the Marine Diazotroph, Trichodesmium

该奖项将支持生物学领域的合作研究。 州立大学的爱德华·卡彭特博士 纽约的斯托尼布鲁克和伯吉塔·伯格曼博士 乌普萨拉大学生理植物学研究所， 瑞典. 拟议研究的目的是研究 浮游生物固氮生理学 蓝细菌束毛藻 这种生物在世界生物学中具有重要意义 海洋作为热带地区新氮的主要贡献者 亚热带海洋 在这个项目中，博士。 卡彭特将研究酶的先进技术 定位、分子生物学和电子显微镜 为了解决有关这方面的重大未决问题， 特别是这种非异形囊的生物 菌落能够在有氧条件下在白天固定氮 条件他将专注于：1）位置和丰度 固氮酶通过昼夜循环，2） 氮转化酶GS的定位和丰度， GOGAT的目标是了解氮是如何固定的， 从固氮细胞转移到营养细胞，3） 氧保护酶的位置，如摄取 氢化酶和超氧化物歧化酶，以及4）定位 其他参与光合作用的蛋白质。 两 主要的束毛藻属物种，束毛藻属和thiebautii， 将被对比。这项研究将在 通过研究所对束毛藻样本的研究， 乌普萨拉的生理植物学，与博士。 伯格曼 两者的互补性 LM和TEM免疫定位研究者 cynobacteria中关键蛋白质的水平将有助于 该项目的成功。

This award will support collaborative research in biological oceanography between Dr. Edward Carpenter, State University of New York at Stony Brook, and Dr. Birgitta Bergman, Institute of Physiological Botany, University of Uppsala, Sweden. The objective of the proposed research is to study the physiology of nitrogen fixation in the pelagic cyanobacterium Trichodesmium. This organism is significant in the biology of the world's oceans as a major contributor of new nitrogen to tropical and subtropical seas. In the proposed project, Dr. Carpenter will study advanced techniques on enzyme localization, molecular biology and electron microscopy in order to address major unresolved questions concerning this enigmatic organism, in particular, how this non-heterocystous colony is able to fix nitrogen during the day under aerobic conditions. He will focus on: 1) the location and abundance of the enzyme nitrogenase through diel cycles, 2) the localization and abundance of N transforming enzymes GS and GOGAT, with the goal of understanding how fixed nitrogen is transferred from diazotrophic cells to vegetative cells, 3) the location of oxygen protective enzymes, such as uptake hydrogenases and superoxide dismutase, and 4) the location of other proteins involved in photosynthesis. The two major Trichodesmium species, erythraeum and thiebautii, will be contrasted. The research will be carried out through the study of Trichodesmium samples at the Institute of Physiological Botany in Uppsala, jointly with Dr. Bergman. The complementary expertise of the two investigators in immuno-localization at the LM and TEM level of key proteins in cynobacteria will contribute to the success of the proposed project.