Collaborative Research: Regulation of CpNifS/CpSufE1-Mediated Iron-Sulfur Cluster Synthesis in Plant Plastids. Implications for Sulfur and Iron Metabolism and Selenium Tolerance

智力价值：光合作用，即从水和二氧化碳中产生糖，发生在植物叶绿体中，驱动着地球上的所有生命。叶绿体也是生产我们呼吸的氧气所必需的，另外还需要制造植物生长和健康植物性饮食所必需的氮和硫化合物。缺铁会限制植物的生长，因为土壤中的铁含量很低，而且铁对光合作用至关重要。光合作用需要大量蛋白质，其中许多蛋白质依赖于铁-硫簇来实现蛋白质的正常功能。该项目旨在研究在叶绿体中组装铁-硫簇的机制是如何受到调控的。本项目将特别关注(1)硫和铁代谢及其调控的整合和(2)铁-硫簇组装。将描述在铁-硫簇组装中起作用的植物特有蛋白的调节作用。这项合作研究还试图探索与硫相似但有毒的硒是如何干扰叶绿体中必要的硫代谢的。此外，还将分析特定的铁-硫簇相关蛋白在硒代谢中的作用。在模式植物拟南芥中，将采用一种涉及生物化学、遗传学和植物生理学的跨学科方法。将开发在体内组装铁硫簇合物的新分析方法。这些合作研究将为植物中光合作用机械的组装机制和调控提供亟需的见解。更广泛的影响：这项研究涉及海岸卡罗莱纳大学和科罗拉多州立大学之间的合作。海岸卡罗莱纳大学是一所以本科为主的机构，少数民族入学率为18%。该项目将培养几名本科生、一名研究生和一名博士后研究员。CCU的本科生将参与并培训尖端研究方法。该项目直接让更大的本科课程的学生在项目的一个独特和创新的部分，在假设驱动的研究中感到兴奋，它整合了课堂教学和研究，从而增加了对一大群学生的科学理解。在许多环境中，铁限制了作物的生长；硒污染问题日益严重。因此，合作项目的结果还将对农业、生物质生产、强化食品生产和环境产生直接影响。

Intellectual Merit:Photosynthesis, the production of sugars from water and carbon dioxide, takes place in plant chloroplasts and drives all life on our planet. The chloroplasts are also needed for the production of the oxygen that we breathe, and additionally make nitrogen and sulfur compounds necessary for plant growth and a healthy plant-based diet. Iron deficiency limits plant growth because iron is available only at very low levels in soils and iron is essential for photosynthesis. Photosynthesis requires numerous proteins, many of which are dependent upon iron-sulfur clusters for proper protein function. This project aims to study how the machinery that assembles iron-sulfur clusters in chloroplasts is regulated. The integration of (1) sulfur and iron metabolism and their regulation and (2) iron-sulfur cluster assembly will get special attention in this project. The regulatory roles of plant-specific proteins that function in iron-sulfur cluster assembly will be delineated. This collaborative research additionally seeks to explore how selenium, which is similar to sulfur yet toxic, interferes with essential sulfur metabolism in chloroplasts. Moreover, the role of specific iron-sulfur cluster-related proteins in selenium metabolism will be analyzed. An interdisciplinary approach involving a combination of biochemistry, genetics and plant physiology in the model plant Arabidopsis will be employed. New analysis methods for the assembly of iron-sulfur clusters in vivo will be developed. These collaborative studies will provide much-needed insights into the mechanisms and regulation of assembly of the photosynthetic machinery in plants. Broader impacts:This research involves collaboration between Coastal Carolina University, a primarily undergraduate institution with 18% minority enrollment, and Colorado State University. The project will train several undergraduate students, a graduate student, and a post-doctoral fellow. Undergraduate students at CCU will be engaged and trained in cutting edge research methods. The project directly involves students in a larger undergraduate course in the excitement of hypothesis-driven research in a unique and innovative part of the project, which integrates classroom teaching and research, thereby increasing scientific understanding of a large group of students. Iron is limiting to crop growth in many environments; selenium contamination is increasingly problematic. Therefore, the results of the collaborative project will also have direct implications for agriculture, biomass production, the production of fortified foods, and the environment.