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FRIMEDBIO-Fri prosj.st. med.,helse,biol

Plastids as cellular reservoir for nuclear transcription factors

Awarded: NOK 4.2 mill.

Transcription factors are responsible for the transcription of the genetic information and are therefore key molecules in any cell. In plant cells the genetic information is divided into three sub-genomes (nuclear, plastid, mitochondrial) that are depende nt on each other. The description of a eukaryotic transcription factor that is targeted not only to the nucleus but also to plastids in 2005 has raised many questions with regard to the complexity of the regulatory networks in plant cells since this trans cription factor is likely to be involved in the control of the communication between the DNA-containing compartments. Since the discovery of the first dually targeted transcription factors more proteins with the same characteristics have been identified a nd a surprising aggregation of all investigated proteins in the chloroplasts was observed (see Project Description). Based on several lines of evidence, it is assumed that the formation of these aggregates is regulated. The proposed project aims at eluci dating the details of the sequestration of a selected dually targeted transcription factor of the AP2 protein family. Immunological and biochemical approaches (including mass spectrometry) will be used to dissect the formed aggregates with respect to thei r exact sub-plastidic localization and their composition . Furthermore, transient and stable transgenic approaches with GFP-labeled fusion proteins will be employed to study the behavior and fate of the aggregates under a variety of stress situations. The expected results will significantly add to our current picture of intracellular regulatory networks in plant cells, which are essential to our understanding and manipulation of plant development.

Funding scheme:

FRIMEDBIO-Fri prosj.st. med.,helse,biol

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