U.S.-New Zealand Cooperative Research: Analysis of Coupling,A Step Required for Synthesis of the Phytotoxin Coronatine

该奖项为俄克拉荷马州立大学的Carol Bender博士与Robin Mitchell博士在Mt.新西兰阿尔伯特研究中心关于紫丁香科植物冠状病毒合成的研究。冠状毒素是由丁香假单胞菌引起的多种疾病的重要毒力因子。建议的工作重点是偶联活性，这是一个步骤，催化非植物毒性前体冠醚和冠桂酸之间形成酰胺键，从而合成冠菌素。这项研究将对偶联活性进行结构表征，尝试鉴定偶联启动子，并鉴定调节活性的因素。研究人员计划使用无细胞分析和C14标记的前体来研究偶联活性的动力学和特异性，以获得有关冠状病毒生物合成的信息。这项研究与本德尔博士的美国国家科学基金会奖89-02561关于紫丁香科植物冠状合成遗传学的目标密切相关。该奖项结合了两位研究人员在分子遗传学和有机化学方面的专业知识，并使本德尔博士有机会接触到米切尔博士实验室的放射性示踪剂工作。

This award provides travel support for Dr. Carol Bender of Oklahoma State University to conduct collaborative research with Dr. Robin Mitchell at the Mt. Albert Research Center in New Zealand on coronatine synthesis in P. syringae. The phytotoxin coronatine is an important virulence factor in several diseases caused by Pseudomonas syringae. The proposed work focuses on coupling activity, a step which catalyzes amide bond formation between the nonphytotoxic precursors coronafacic and coronamic acid, resulting in the synthesis of coronatine. The research will produce a structural characterization of the coupling activity, will attempt to identify the coupling promoter, and will identify factors which regulate the activity. The investigators plan to study the kinetics and the specificity of the coupling activity using a cell-free assay and C14-labeled precursors to obtain information on coronatine biosynthesis. This research is closely related to the objectives of Dr. Bender's NSF award 89-02561 on the genetics of coronatine synthesis in P. syringae. This award combines the expertise of the two investigators in molecular genetics and organic chemistry and provides Dr. Bender exposure to the radiotracer work in Dr. Mitchell's laboratory.