Early Chemotactic Signaling Mediated by an Unconventional Myosin

趋化性是一个了不起的过程--环境中少量的化学线索可以引导细胞或有机体向源头移动，就像新烤面包的气味吸引我们进入厨房一样。我们工作的目标是了解趋化性的基本机制，使用一个简单的模型系统，为我们的研究，社会阿米巴Dictyosteelium。从阿米巴到人类，趋化性途径是高度保守的，所以我们从阿米巴身上学到的关于趋化性的知识是多种多样的生物。一个新的球员在趋化途径命名MyoG已被确定在网骨藻。MyoG是肌球蛋白家族的一员，肌球蛋白作为分子马达在细胞内产生运动。我们的目标是确定MyoG在将信号从细胞外传递到负责指导细胞运动的内部机制中的作用。确定MyoG在趋化性途径中的作用方式和位置，并确定它与哪些其他蛋白质协同工作，将提供有关趋化性途径的新信息。我们还将在哺乳动物细胞中寻找类似的蛋白质，作为理解趋化性的基本机制以及它如何在数百万年的进化中如此高度保守的第一步。更广泛的影响：拟议的项目将用于向各级学生（从高中到研究生院）介绍基础研究方法和实践。年轻的学生将与PI一对一合作，专门针对每个学生的才能进行几个子项目。每个学生都将被教授科学方法，鼓励他们思考和回答自己的问题，提出新的问题，并在项目进行时总结结果。PI积极参与基于趋化性项目的拉丁美洲细胞生物学和生物化学国际培训课程的讲座和实验室模块的开发。这些课程的目标是促进美国和南美学生和调查人员之间的互动和关系。最后，一个关于肌球蛋白超家族信息的中央网络资源，肌球蛋白主页，将被采用，更新和维护。它将作为一个全面的资源，为学生和非肌球蛋白研究人员获得有关分子马达的大肌球蛋白超家族的单个成员的功能的基本信息。

Chemotaxis is a remarkable process -- a small amount of a chemical cue in the environment can direct a cell or organism movement towards the source, like the smell of freshly baked bread draws us into the kitchen. The goal of our work is to understand the basic mechanism of chemotaxis using a simple model system for our studies, the social amoeba Dictyostelium. The chemotaxis pathway is highly conserved from amoebae to humans so what we learn from the amoebae can teach us about chemotaxis is a wide variety of organisms. A new player in the chemotaxis pathway named MyoG has been identified in Dictyostelium. MyoG is a member of a family of proteins called myosins that work as molecular motors, generating movements within cells. Our objective is to determine the role of MyoG in transmitting signals from outside of the cell to the machinery inside that is responsible for directing cell movement. Determining how and where MyoG acts in the chemotaxis pathway and identifying what other proteins it works in concert with will provide new information about the chemotaxis pathway. We will also search for similar proteins in mammalian cells as a first step towards understanding the fundamental mechanism of chemotaxis and how it has been so highly conserved through millions of years of evolution.Broader Impacts: The proposed project will be used to introduce students at all levels (from high school through graduate school) to basic research methods and practice. Young students will work one-on-one with the PI on several subprojects specifically tailored to each student's talents. Each student will be taught scientific methods, encouraged to think through and answer their own questions, formulate new questions, and summarize results as the project proceeds. The PI actively participates in the development of lectures and laboratory modules for International Training Courses in Cell Biology & Biochemistry in Latin America based on the chemotaxis project. The goal of these courses is to foster interactions and relationships between US and South American students and investigators. Finally, a central web resource for information about the myosin superfamily, the Myosin Home Page, will be adopted, updated and maintained. It will serve as a comprehensive resource for students and non-myosin researchers to gain basic information about the function of individual members of the large myosin superfamily of molecular motors.