SBIR Phase II: Overexpression of Membrane Proteins from Hyperthermophilic Bacteria - Refinement of a Novel Expression System

该小型企业创新研究（SBIR）二期项目建议继续开发和完善一种新型膜蛋白表达系统，该系统利用一种独特的细菌群，能够合成大量的膜蛋白并支持广泛的内部膜结构。膜蛋白具有重要的医学意义。然而，研究膜蛋白的努力往往受到其低水平生物合成的阻碍。一个高效的膜蛋白过表达系统将有助于它们的生化和生物物理表征。这将使大规模结构基因组学研究和工业应用所需的膜蛋白的经济大规模生产成为可能。该项目的商业影响将是生物技术和制药公司的药物发现工作。额外的影响将出现在生物和生理学领域，这些领域的过程由膜蛋白调节（例如，在农业领域）。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II Project proposes to continue the development and refinement of a novel membrane protein expression system utilizing a unique group of bacteria capable of synthesizing a vast amount of membrane proteins and supporting extensive internal membrane structures. Membrane proteins are of significant medicinal importance. However, efforts to study membrane proteins are often hampered by their low level of biosynthesis. An efficient membrane protein overexpression system will facilitate their biochemical and biophysical characterization. This will allow for the economical mass production of membrane proteins essential for large-scale structural genomics effort as well as for industrial applications. The commercial impact of the project will be on drug discovery work by biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Additional impact will be in areas of biology and physiology where processes are modulated by membrane proteins (for example, in agriculture).