Function and Regulation of Metacaspases in Plant Cell Death

后半胱天冬酶在植物细胞死亡中的功能和调节

• 批准号: 1258071
• 负责人: Eric Lam
• 金额: $ 56.56万
• 依托单位: Rutgers University New Brunswick
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-09-15 至 2018-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1258071&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Function; Regulation; Metacaspases; Plant; Cell

Programmed cell death (PCD) is found in all eukaryotes and plays critical roles in important processes such as tissue/organ morphogenesis, elimination of unwanted/damaged cells, pathogen defense, and stress responses. Metacaspases belong to a family of specialized cysteine proteases that are found to be highly conserved regulators of this important process in plants, fungi and protozoa but their mode of regulation and downstream targets remain obscure in most cases. This project will carry out genetic and molecular studies aimed at elucidating the mechanisms by which the activation and desensitization of metacaspases may be controlled. Furthermore, the investigators will deploy a novel technology to define the intracellular targets for three different metacaspases in order to uncover the potential pathways that are regulated by these proteases. In addition to the direct contributions toward our understanding of PCD regulation in higher plants, this project will shed light on the mechanisms of how the conserved metacaspases could be regulated. These advances can facilitate future design of novel strategies to activate cell death in pathogenic protozoa strains and fungi, as well as to suppress cell death in crop plants during stresses for improved productivity. Results generated from this project will be communicated to the public via peer-reviewed journals, and the resources produced, such as new mutant lines and DNA constructs, will be freely shared with other investigators upon request. From the pedagogical perspective, this project will provide diversified, interdisciplinary training to postdoctoral researchers and students at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. It will expose team members to a diverse array of disciplines, including genetics, genomics, molecular cloning, biochemistry and cell biology. This broad-based training will provide a rich environment that is conducive to creative approaches for solving complex problems in biology and for leveraging innovative technologies for novel solutions.

在所有真核生物中都发现了程序性细胞死亡（PCD），并在重要过程中起着关键作用，例如组织/器官形态发生，消除不需要/受损的细胞，病原体防御和应激反应。 肠胃菜酶属于一个专门的半胱氨酸蛋白酶家族，被认为是植物，真菌和原生动物中这种重要过程的高度保守调节剂，但是在大多数情况下，它们的调节方式和下游靶标的模式仍然晦涩难懂。该项目将进行旨在阐明可以控制掌酶激活和脱敏的机制的遗传和分子研究。 此外，研究人员将部署一种新型技术来定义三种不同的肠脂酶的细胞内靶标，以发现这些蛋白酶调节的潜在途径。除了对我们对高等植物中PCD调控的直接贡献外，该项目还将阐明如何调节保守的肠胃菜酶的机制。这些进步可以促进新型策略的未来设计，以激活致病原生动物菌株和真菌中细胞死亡，并抑制胁迫期间作物植物中的细胞死亡，以提高生产力。该项目产生的结果将通过同行评审的期刊传达给公众，并应要求与其他研究人员自由共享所产生的资源，例如新的突变线和DNA结构。 从教学的角度来看，该项目将为研究生和本科生的博士后研究人员和学生提供多元化的跨学科培训。它将使团队成员接触到各种各样的学科，包括遗传学，基因组学，分子克隆，生物化学和细胞生物学。这种基于广泛的培训将提供一个丰富的环境，有利于解决生物学中复杂问题并利用创新技术的新颖解决方案的创造性方法。