Protein-Protein Interactions in Photosystem II

9982395 Bricker阐明膜蛋白复合物的功能特性和结构组织是当前生物化学研究的中心目标之一。生物膜几乎涉及细胞组织和活动的每个方面。膜功能的最有趣的方面之一是它在光合生物中的能量转导介导中的作用。光能是最剧烈的物理过程--聚变的产物，它被转化为光合细胞所利用的生物能当量。光合作用过程提供了几乎所有食物链基础上的碳水化合物，以及作为副产品的高等生物所利用的所有大气氧气。该项目研究了参与氧气释放的蛋白质之间的结构相互作用。了解氧释放复合物的结构将对这一重要的膜蛋白复合物的功能产生新的见解。 蛋白质之间的相互作用的光系统的组成部分将使用生物化学和分子工具相结合的研究。 光系统II复合物是光合作用中的放氧位点，将从高等植物叶绿体和蓝绿藻（蓝藻）中分离。 这些将通过各种技术进行研究，包括定点诱变，抑制分析，化学修饰，荧光和时间分辨的氧闪光产率测量。

9982395BrickerElucidation of the functional properties and structural organization of membrane protein complexes is one of the central objectives of current biochemical investigation. Biological membranes are involved in virtually every aspect of cellular organization and activity. One of the most intriguing aspects of membrane function is its role in the mediation of energy transduction in photosynthetic organisms. Light energy, which is the product of a most violent physical process, fusion, is transformed into biological energy equivalents utilized by the photosynthetic cell. The photosynthetic process provides both the carbohydrate which lies at the base of virtually all food chains and, as a byproduct, all of the atmospheric oxygen utilized by higher organisms. This project investigates the structural interactions between the proteins involved in oxygen evolution. An understanding of the structure of the oxygen-evolving complex will yield new insights into how this important membrane protein complex functions. Protein-protein interactions among the components of the photosystem will be studied using a combination of biochemical and molecular tools. Photosystem II complexes, which are the oxygen-evolving site in photosynthesis will be isolated from both higher plant chloroplasts and blue-green algae (cyanobacteria). These will be studied by a variety of techniques including site-directed mutagenesis, suppressor analysis, chemical modification, fluorescence, and time-resolved oxygen flash yield measurements.