Molecular Basis and Redox-Regulation of Plant Glutathione Biosynthesis

环境胁迫会导致作物品质和植物生物量生产力的巨大损失。植物暴露在极端温度、干旱、污染和病原体下会产生活性氧，从而改变信号通路和生长。作为对这些压力的反应的一部分，植物会产生谷胱甘肽。谷胱甘肽作为一种抗氧化剂，通过猝灭活性氧物种，对环境污染物的解毒是必不可少的。谷胱甘肽合成有两种酶：谷氨酸半胱氨酸连接酶(GCL)和谷胱甘肽合成酶(GS)。这个项目通过1)研究植物GS的结构，2)确定GCL在谷胱甘肽生物合成中作为调节开关的作用，以及3)识别作为氧化还原相关调节开关的更多植物蛋白，来探索这些酶是如何发挥作用和受到调控的。首先，该研究项目为本科生和研究生提供植物生物学、生物化学和结构生物学的多学科培训。在研究生阶段，有两名学生参与了这个项目。在本科阶段，PI和Co-PI都活跃在丹福斯中心的NSF-REU计划和辉瑞-首诺暑期学生和教师研究科学家(STAR)计划中。其次，PI帮助开发了华盛顿大学高等本科生/研究生植物生物学课程(Bio4024)，该课程提供基于研究的实验，结合了蛋白质化学、X射线结晶学、质谱学/蛋白质组学和显微镜(Jez等人，2007 Biochem)。摩尔。比奥尔。电学。35,410-415)。通过将生物化学和植物生物学相结合，学生获得了在这些学科的交界处解决问题所需的广度理解和科学技能。

Environmental stresses result in considerable losses in crop quality and plant biomass productivity. Exposure of plants to temperature extremes, drought, pollution, and pathogens results in the generation of reactive oxygen species that alter signaling pathways and growth. As part of their response to these stresses, plants produce the peptide glutathione. Glutathione acts as an antioxidant by quenching reactive oxygen species and is essential for the detoxification of environmental pollutants. Two enzymes catalyze glutathione synthesis: glutamate-cysteine ligase (GCL), and glutathione synthetase (GS). This project explores how these enzymes function and are regulated by 1) examining the structure of plant GS, 2) establishing the role of GCL as a regulatory switch in glutathione biosynthesis; and 3) identifying additional plant proteins that act as redox-linked regulatory switches.Efforts related to broader impact fall into two categories. First, the research project provides undergraduate and graduate students with multidisciplinary training in plant biology, biochemistry, and structural biology. At the graduate level, two students are involved in the project. At the undergraduate level, both the PI and Co-PI are active in the NSF-REU program at the Danforth Center and in the Pfizer-Solutia Summer Students and Teachers as Research Scientists (STARS) program. Second, the PI helped develop an upper-level undergraduate/graduate plant biology course (Bio4024) at Washington University that offers research-based experiments that combine protein chemistry, x-ray crystallography, mass spectrometry/proteomics, and microscopy (Jez et al., 2007 Biochem. Mol. Biol. Educ. 35, 410-415). By blending biochemistry and plant biology, students acquire the breadth of understanding and the scientific skills required for solving problems at the interface of these disciplines.