RNA EDITING IN PLANT ORGANELLES

RNA编辑可以通过改变基因的编码， 一份成绩单的能力。 RNA编辑已经在转录本中被报道 从锥虫、高等植物和哺乳动物等生物体中分离。 在 在人类中，RNA编辑对于某些基因的正确表达是必要的。 大脑和肠道。 这个过程负责生产 来自同一基因的两种不同的载脂蛋白; 其中一种蛋白质与冠状动脉疾病相关， RNA编辑可能会对健康造成严重后果。 是 很可能其他的人类基因转录物的RNA编辑的例子 还有待发现。 我们建议在植物中研究RNA编辑 细胞器作为理解这一基本过程的模型， 控制基因表达。 像哺乳动物一样，植物细胞器编辑导致 修饰核苷酸而不是插入核苷酸 发生在锥虫和其他生物体中。 中的编辑活动 叶绿体和线粒体可以共享特征甚至是相同的。 一 隐藏的更高层次的遗传密码可能是指定哪些核苷酸是 在编辑过程中进行修改。 RNA的结构要求 将通过引入叶绿体在体内检查编辑， 瞬时稳定转化的叶绿体中 通过粒子轰击获得。 关于RNA底物的信息 将进行研究，以表征组件 的编辑活动。 为了了解是否有一种机制， 防止从不完全编辑的转录物合成蛋白质，或 未编辑RNA的翻译是否导致多种变体蛋白， 我们将分离出两种线粒体蛋白质， 彻底 为了确定编辑是否在基因调控中起作用， 我们将进行实验，以确定是否编辑特定的 基因是组织特异性的。

RNA editing can profoundly affect gene expression by altering the coding capacity of a transcript. RNA editing has been reported in transcripts from such organisms as trypanosomes, higher plants, and mammals. In humans, RNA editing is necessary for proper expression of certain genes in the brain and intestine. This process is responsible for the production of two different apolipoproteins from the same gene; as the abundance of one of these proteins is correlated with coronary artery disease, aberrant RNA editing could potentially have serious health consequences. It is likely that additional examples of RNA editing of human gene transcripts remain to be discovered. We propose to study RNA editing in plant organelles as a model for understanding this fundamental process that can control gene expression. Like mammals, plant organelle editing results in the modification of nucleotides rather than the insertion of nucleotides that occurs in trypanosomes and other organisms. The editing activity in chloroplasts and mitochondria may share features or even be identical. A cryptic higher-level genetic code may be specifying which nucleotides are to be altered by the editing process. Structural requirements for RNA editing will be examined in vivo by introduction of chloroplast and mitochondrial RNAs into transiently and stably transformed chloroplasts obtained by particle bombardment. After information about RNA substrate is available, studies will be carried out to characterize the components of the editing activity. To learn whether there is a mechanism that prevents synthesis of proteins from incompletely edited transcripts, or whether translation of unedited RNAs results in multiple variant proteins, we will isolate two mitochondrial proteins and characterize them thoroughly. To determine whether editing has a role in gene regulation, we will perform experiments to determine whether editing of particular genes is tissue-specific.