US-France Cooperative Research: Biosensors of Protease Activity and Endomembrane Traffic in Plants

0340759

Gal

Tools to probe enzyme activities and the movement of proteins through the endomembrane system in a living plant can advance understanding of many biological processes. The goal of this three-year U.S.-France cooperative research award, funded by the Office of International Science and Engineering and the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biology, is to develop a biosensor, which is based on a fluorescent hybrid system, to monitor protease activity and endomembrane protein movement in living plants. With these tools in place, a wide variety of experiments can be developed to probe changes in protease activity and endomembrane movement in response to plant stress, pathogen attack and development. Protease activities in the endomembrane system of tobacco and Arabidopsis will be investigated.

The U.S. and French investigators, Susannah Gal as the State University of New York in Binghamton and Nadine Paris at the University of Rouen, have complementary expertise. Dr. Gal is expert in protease biology, whereas, Dr. Paris' main interest is in membrane protein trafficking. Graduate students will be trained in different molecular biology, biochemistry and cell biology.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) support this joint project. NSF provides funding for visits to France by the U.S. investigator and graduate students. The CNRS covers the cost of travel to the United States by the French investigator.