U.S.-Netherlands Planning Visit: Binding and Recognition of Complex Glycolipids by Mycobacterial Proteins

通过这次计划访问，纽约州立大学石溪分校的研究人员杰西卡·塞利格将与荷兰格罗宁根大学的合作伙伴发起一个合作项目。她的同行Adriaan Minnaard和他的团队已经在分枝杆菌脂类及其类似物的全合成方面建立了专业知识，这是对塞利格对酶机制和底物活性研究的补充。总之，他们的目的是研究分枝杆菌中脂质生物合成和运输背后的蛋白质机制和催化机制。他们对分子识别的化学决定因素的关注应该会提高我们对疏水底物如何被识别为从制造它们的细胞液运输到它们所在的外膜的知识。计划中的长期合作的结果有望提高我们对分枝杆菌脂质生物发生的基本理解。如果成功，研究人员预计将获得有关化学探针的新信息，这些信息不仅对分枝杆菌研究界有用，而且对其他研究其他细菌中的脂质的人也有用。这次具有催化作用的研究访问通过使美国和欧洲的专家能够在共同感兴趣和能力很强的领域共享研究资源和计划有益的项目，实现了促进基础生物学知识的计划目标。通过检查生物合成途径和异常脂肪的运输获得的经验，特别是在放线杆菌中，可能会产生更广泛的影响，有助于我们识别细菌抗原的免疫受体。此外，一名参与的美国研究生将获得宝贵的早期职业介绍，了解国际协作团队合作。

Through this planning visit, researcher Jessica Seeliger of SUNY at Stony Brook will initiate a cooperative project with partners in the Netherlands at the University of Groningen. Her counterpart, Adriaan Minnaard, and his group have established expertise in total synthesis of mycobacterial lipids and their analogues, which complements Seeliger's studies of enzymatic mechanistic and substrate activity. Together, their intent is to investigate the protein machinery and catalytic mechanisms behind lipid biosynthesis and transport in mycobacteria. Their focus on chemical determinants of molecular recognition should improve our knowledge of how hydrophobic substrates are recognized for transport from the cytosol, where they are made, to the outer membrane where they reside. Results from the planned long-term collaboration are expected to improve our fundamental understanding of lipid biogenesis in mycobacteria. If successful, the researchers expect to gain new information about chemical probes that would be useful not only to the mycobacterial research community, but also to others studying lipids in other bacteria. This catalytic research visit fulfills the program objective of advancing basic biological knowledge by enabling experts in the United States and Europe to share research resources and plan beneficial projects in areas of strong mutual interest and competence. The experience gained through examination of biosynthetic pathways and transport of unusual lipids, particularly in Actinobacteria, may have broader impact by contributing to our ability to identify immunological receptors for bacterial antigens. Furthermore, one participating U.S. graduate student will gain a valuable early career introduction to international collaborative teamwork.