Nucleus-Vacuole Junctions

细胞核-液泡连接

• 批准号: 0720643
• 负责人: David Goldfarb
• 金额: $ 50.35万
• 依托单位: University of Rochester
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2007-09-01 至 2011-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0720643&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Nucleus; Vacuole; Junctions

In this project the brewer''s yeast Saccharomyces cerevisae is employed to study the dynamic inner workings of animal cells. Animal cells are characterized by their numerous membrane-enclosed organelles, which serve to isolate various metabolic processes from one another. Each of these organelles must grow and divide within the cell. Little is known about the coordination of these processes. During various environmental conditions such as starvation, some organelles increase their numbers while others decrease in number. This project will provide insight into how the cell organizes and regulates the growth and shrinkage of organelle membranes. The PI has discovered a fascinating situation where two different organelles, the nucleus and the vacuole, form Velcro-like nucleus-vacuole (NV) junctions. The nucleus contains the genetic information and is considered essential. The vacuole is the digestive center of the cell and is filled with enzymes that degrade cellular constituents. During starvation, nonessential cellular components are delivered to the vacuole where they are degraded and recycled by a family of processes called autophagy (self-eating). Since the entire nucleus cannot be degraded, yeast evolved a way to pinch-off and degrade small nonessential pieces of the nucleus. This process, called Piecemeal Microautophagy of the Nucleus (PMN) takes place at NV junctions. Many other organelles come into close physical contact with each other, but NV junctions are the only one for which the junction proteins are known. During PMN, the nuclear membranes within the NV junction grow and expand. Other aims of this project include studying how the NV junction serves as a platform for assembling specialized membrane sub-domains with multiple physiological roles. Besides providing mechanistic insight into basic cell phenomena, the broader impact of this project includes developing state-of-the-art microscopy methods. The project also serves as a training ground for undergraduate and graduate-level researchers, and is used in both lecture and laboratory courses at the University of Rochester. The work is done in consultation and collaboration with scientists around the world, including colleagues in Canada, England, Germany, Austria, and Australia. Finally, this project will yield insights into how cell processes have changed over evolutionary history, providing a wonderful opportunity to bridge the otherwise distinct fields of evolutionary biology and molecular cell biology.

在这个项目中，酿酒厂的酿酒酵母酿酒师用于研究动物细胞的动态内部起作用。 动物细胞的特征是它们的众多膜封闭的细胞器，这些细胞器可将各种代谢过程彼此分离。 这些细胞器中的每一个都必须在细胞内生长和分裂。关于这些过程的协调知之甚少。 在各种环境条件（例如饥饿）中，一些细胞器会增加其数量，而其他细胞器的数量减少。该项目将提供有关细胞如何组织和调节细胞器膜的生长和收缩的洞察力。 PI发现了一种令人着迷的情况，在这种情况下，两个不同的细胞器（核和液泡）形成了魔术贴样细胞核 - 谷（NV）连接。核包含遗传信息，被认为是必不可少的。 液泡是细胞的消化中心，充满了降解细胞成分的酶。 在饥饿期间，非必要的细胞成分被输送到液泡，在那里它们被称为自噬（自我捕食）的过程降解和回收。由于无法降解整个核，因此酵母发展了一种捏合和降解小细胞核小部分的方法。这个过程称为核的零碎微噬细胞（PMN）发生在NV连接处。许多其他细胞器彼此紧密接触，但是NV连接是唯一已知连接蛋白的连接。在PMN期间，NV连接内的核膜增长和扩展。 该项目的其他目的包括研究NV连接如何用作组装具有多个生理角色的专门膜子域的平台。 除了提供对基本细胞现象的机械洞察力外，该项目的更广泛影响还包括开发最新的显微镜方法。 该项目还可以作为本科和研究生级研究人员的培训理由，并在罗切斯特大学的讲座和实验室课程中使用。这项工作是在与世界各地的科学家协商和合作进行的，包括加拿大，英格兰，德国，奥地利和澳大利亚的同事。最后，该项目将为细胞过程如何在进化史上变化，提供了一个绝佳的机会来弥合进化生物学和分子细胞生物学的不同领域。