Control of dynamic palmitoylation: Identification of de-palmitoylating enzymes and their substrates in plants

植物中调节蛋白质功能——新调节酶及其底物的鉴定蛋白质是细胞中关键的功能分子，形成结构构件并执行细胞生存所需的许多特殊功能。确保单个蛋白质在正确的时间执行正确的任务是通过在蛋白质结构的特定位置用各种小分子修饰它们来实现的。这种修饰可以改变细胞中蛋白质的位置，它们如何与其他蛋白质相互作用，将它们作为回收目标或改变它们的活性。对蛋白质的修饰是这项工作的关键，被称为棕榈酰化，它涉及到从蛋白质中添加或去除脂肪酸来激活或抑制不同的反应。这些添加和去除的循环可以通过多种不同的物理机制促进反应，这取决于单个蛋白质。由于这些修饰对于调节细胞的运作至关重要，因此了解控制和调节这些修饰的机制和过程对我们来说至关重要。我已经确定并描述了棕榈酰基团被添加到植物蛋白质中的机制。本项目旨在确定和表征棕榈酰基团从植物蛋白质中去除的机制。这对于理解棕榈酰化的调控框架至关重要。一旦我们掌握了这些知识，我们就能确定所有受棕榈酰化调节的蛋白质。这将为更好地理解细胞功能是如何被调节和帮助有机体作为一个整体运作打开大门。棕榈酰化影响细胞内近15%的蛋白质，但它如何调节它们的功能基本上是未知的。使用我们开发的工具，我们将识别经历去棕榈酰化的蛋白质。这将使我们能够专门研究受棕榈酰化状态变化调节的蛋白质，并开始了解棕榈酰化状态的变化如何改变蛋白质的功能。棕榈酰化蛋白几乎参与细胞内的每一个过程，包括信号传导或分子从细胞外到细胞内的运输。因此，这些蛋白质对于与外界的相互作用非常重要，了解它们如何被调节以正确执行其功能对于理解植物如何与环境相互作用，抵抗病原体，建立细胞壁和吸收营养至关重要。这反过来对提高作物的粮食产量、提高水、土地和养分的利用效率以及帮助增加生物燃料的生产也很重要——这些都是未来粮食和能源安全的重要组成部分。

Regulating protein function in plants - identification of new regulatory enzymes and their substratesProteins are the key functional molecules in the cell, forming structural building blocks and performing the many specialized functions a cell requires to survive. Making sure that individual proteins perform the right task at the right time is achieved by modifying them with various small molecules at specific places within the protein structure. This modification can alter where in the cell proteins are found, how they interact with other proteins, target them for recycling or alter how active they are. The modification of proteins that is key to this work is known as palmitoylation and involves the addition or removal of fatty acids from proteins to activate or suppress different responses. These cycles of addition and removal can promote responses through a wide range of different physical mechanisms depending on the individual protein. As these modifications are vital for regulating how a cell operates it is crucial for us to understand the mechanisms and processes that control and regulate these modifications. I have already identified and characterized the mechanisms by which palmitoyl groups are added to proteins in plants. This project aims to identify and characterize the mechanisms by which palmitoyl groups are removed from proteins in plants. This is essential for understanding the regulatory framework surrounding palmitoylation.Once we have this knowledge we will then be in a position to identify all of the proteins that are regulated by palmitoylation. This will open the door to greater understanding of how cellular function is regulated and helps the organism operate as a whole. Palmitoylation affects nearly 15% of all proteins within the cell but how it regulates their function is essentially unknown. Using the tools we have developed we will identify proteins that undergo de-palmitoylation. This will allow us to specifically study proteins regulated by changes in palmitoylation state and begin to understand how changes in palmitoylation state alter protein function.Palmitoylated proteins are involved in virtually every process in the cell that involves signaling or transport of molecules from outside of the cell to the inside. These proteins are therefore extremely important for interactions with the outside world and understanding how they are regulated to correctly perform their function will be extremely important for understanding how plants interact with their environment, fight off pathogens, build their cell walls and take up nutrients. This is in turn important for improving the food yield of crops, improving water, land and nutrient use efficiency and helping increase biofuel production - all essential parts of future food and energy security.