Characterisation of distinct eIF4E mRNA cap binding proteins during early Drosophila development

细胞生长从根本上与蛋白质合成水平有关。为了在细胞分裂过程中体积加倍，细胞必须将其蛋白质含量加倍。蛋白质是通过一种称为信使RNA（mRNA）的中间分子复制基因中包含的信息而产生的。mRNA产生的过程称为转录，而从mRNA合成蛋白质的过程称为翻译。这些过程涉及许多因素，在本提案中，我们将集中于识别mRNA的特定翻译因子eIF4E。有趣的是，许多生物体含有许多不同形式的eIF4E，其作用可能不同。转录和翻译都是可以控制的，允许细胞精确地改变哪些基因被翻译成蛋白质。这种控制在多细胞生物体中特别重要，其中许多不同类型的细胞产生不同类型的蛋白质。在简单的生物体（如果蝇）中，调节翻译的翻译因子与人类中的相同。由于果蝇作为实验生物具有许多优点，因此常用于研究。在果蝇胚胎中，已经确定翻译调节对其正确发育至关重要。在这项提案中，我们将使用果蝇胚胎作为模型来研究不同形式的eIF4E翻译因子是否具有不同的功能，以及确定它们如何参与胚胎发育的早期阶段。这项研究的结果将为其他生物体中不同eIF4E的潜在功能提供深入了解，包括存在多种eIF4E的人类。

Cellular growth is fundamentally linked to the levels of proteins synthesised. In order to double in size during cell division, cells must double their protein content. Proteins are made by copying information contained in genes via an intermediate molecule called messenger RNA (mRNA). The process of mRNA production is called transcription, whereas the process by which proteins are made from mRNA is called translation. These processes involve many factors and in the proposal we will concentrate on a specific translation factor, eIF4E, that recognises mRNA. Interestingly many organisms contain a number of different forms of eIF4E that may vary in their role. Both transcription and translation can be controlled, allowing cells to precisely vary which genes are translated into protein. This control is particularly important in multicellular organisms where many distinct types of cell produce different types of protein. The translation factors which regulate translation in simple organisms, such as the fruitfly, are the same as those in humans. As the fruitfly has many advantages as an experimental organism, it is commonly used in research. In the fruitfly embryo, it has been established that translation regulation is critical to its correct development. In this proposal, we will use the fruitfly embryo as a model to investigate if the different forms of the eIF4E translation factor have distinct functions, as well as determining how they are involved in the early stages of embryonic development. Findings from this study will provide insight into potential functions for different eIF4Es in other organisms, including humans where multiple eIF4Es exist.