Mechanisms of Organelle Trafficking, Inheritance, and Homeostasis in Bacteria

大气中的二氧化碳处于80万年来的最高水平，因此，了解碳固定机制变得非常重要。全球几乎一半的碳修复是由光合作用的蓝藻完成的，它们将固定二氧化碳所需的机械集中到完全由蛋白质组成的细胞器中，这种细胞器被称为羧基体。尽管它们对全球碳循环很重要，但控制羧体遗传的因素尚不清楚。这项研究将阐明羧基体的运输机制，以了解这个重要的细胞器是如何在细胞群体中保持的。对羧基体遗传的基本生物学机制的了解将为将羧基体用于合成生物学应用提供一种手段。为此，该项目将推动美国国家科学基金会通过改善自然碳固定来扩大科学和工程研究潜力的使命；因此，该项目提供了重大的社会效益。该项目还通过让公众了解细菌功能如何产生全球影响，对教育、公众参与和提高科学素养产生了广泛影响。虽然真核生物的细胞器是由细胞骨架来组织的，但细菌细胞器是如何在空间上受到调控的尚不清楚。在长聚球藻中，羧体沿细胞长度均匀分布，这确保了它们的遗传。支配这种分布的机制尚不清楚。这项研究将有助于首次从机制上理解负责羧基体遗传的贩运系统。Vecchiarelli实验室将使用生物化学、遗传学、数学建模和定量显微镜来研究羧体组织的分子基础。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Atmospheric carbon dioxide is at the highest level in the past 800,000 years, therefore, understanding carbon fixation mechanisms has become very important. Almost half of global carbon remediation is done by photosynthetic cyanobacteria that concentrate the machinery required to fix carbon dioxide into organelles made entirely of protein called carboxysomes. Despite their importance to the global carbon cycle, the factors controlling carboxysome inheritance is unclear. This research will elucidate the trafficking mechanisms of carboxysomes so as to understand how this vital organelle is maintained in a cell population. An understanding of the basic biological mechanisms by which carboxysomes are inherited will provide a means to utilize carboxysomes for synthetic biology applications. Toward this end, this project will further the NSF's mission of expanding science and engineering research potential by improving natural carbon fixation; thus, this project offers a major societal benefit. The project also has broad impacts on education, engaging the public, and increasing scientific literacy by giving the public an appreciation of how bacterial function can have global implications. While eukaryotic organelles are organized by the cytoskeleton, it is unknown how bacterial organelles are spatially regulated. In the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus, carboxysomes are evenly spaced along the cell length, which ensures their inheritance. The mechanism governing this distribution is unknown. The research will contribute the first mechanistic understanding of a trafficking system responsible for the inheritance of carboxysomes. The Vecchiarelli lab will employ biochemistry, genetics, mathematically modelling and quantitative microscopy to study the molecular basis of carboxysome organization.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.