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【bio-news】植物蛋白下一个生物燃料
Chloroplasts, which are specialized compartments in plant cells, convert sunlight, carbon dioxide and water into sugars and oxygen ("fuel" for the plant) during photosynthesis. The newly discovered protein, trigalactosyldiacylglycerol 4, or TGD4, offers insight into how the process works.
"Nobody knew how this mechanism worked before we described this protein," said Christoph Benning, MSU professor of biochemistry and molecular biology. "This protein directly affects photosynthesis and how plants create biomass (stems, leaves and stalks) and oils."
Benning also is a member of the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, a partnership between MSU and the University of Wisconsin-Madison funded by the U.S. Department of Energy to conduct basic research aimed at solving some of the most complex problems in converting natural materials to energy.
The research, published in the August 2008 issue of journal The Plant Cell, shows how TGD4 is essential for the plant to make chloroplasts. Plants that don't have the protein die before they can develop beyond the embryonic stage.
Understanding how TGD4 works may allow scientists to create plants that would be used exclusively to produce biofuels, possibly making the process more cost-effective. Most plants that are used to produce oils – corn, soybeans and canola, for example – accumulate the oil in their seeds.
"We've found that if the TGD4 protein is malfunctioning, the plant then accumulates oil in its leaves," Benning said. "If the plant is storing oil in its leaves, there could be more oil per plant, which could make production of biofuels such as biodiesel more efficient. More research is needed so we can completely understand the mechanism of operation."
Other members of the MSU research team are: Changcheng Xu, research assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology; Jilian Fan, research technician; and Adam Cornish, biochemistry undergraduate student at the time of the research and current graduate student.
The research was funded by the Energy Department and the National Science Foundation. Benning's research also is supported by the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station.
http://www.mphtimes.com/us/biologybiochemistry/240-discovery-of-plant-protein-holds-promise-for-biofuel-production 本人已认领该文编译，48小时后若未提交译文，请其他战友自由认领。 密西根州州立大学的科学家已经鉴定了一种在线粒体产生过程中所必需的新蛋白质。这项发现最终可创造一种作为生物燃料生产的植物。
线粒体是一种在植物细胞中用来转换光、二氧化碳和水成为糖类和氧气的一种特殊细胞成分，而糖和氧气则作为植物的燃料。最新发现的蛋白质、 trigalactosyldiacylglycerol 4 或 TGD4, 将为我们更深入的了解这个过程是如何工作的具有重要的作用。
"我们发现这个蛋白之前没有人知道这个过程是如何工作的," 密西根州州立大学生物化学和分子生物学教授 Christoph Benning说,"这个蛋白质直接地影响光合作用和植物体如何产生生物质(茎、树叶和茎) 和油类。"
Benning也是大湖生物能源研究中心的成员之一， 该研究中心是密西根州立大学和威斯康辛麦迪逊大学间的合伙机构，该机构是有美国能源部资助的进行天然资源转换成能源方面的一些最复杂问题的基础研究。
这一成果发表在2008年8月的植物细胞杂志上, 研究内容揭示TGD4对植物制造叶绿体是如此的重要。如果没有该蛋白质，则植物在刚过胚胎阶段就会死亡。
对TGD4如何发挥作用的深入了解将可能让科学家创造专门用来产生生物燃料的植物, 同时也可能使这一过程更加划算。 大部份用来生产油的植物比如玉米、大豆和油菜籽等,他们产生的油类集中于种子中。
"我们已经发现如果 TGD4 蛋白质发生功能失常,那么植物将在它的树叶中累积油类,"Benning说。 "如果植物在树叶中储存油类，那么植物储藏的油类将大大增加，从而使生产的生物燃料，如生物柴油更加有效。我们需要进行更多的研究，以便我们能够完全理解该机制的过程”。
密歇根州立大学研究团队的其他研究成员包括:生物化学和分子生物学助教徐常成先生，研究技术员范忌廉和该项研究过程中的亚当考尼士学士和其他研究生。
该项研究由美国能源部和国家科学基金资助。 Benning 的研究同时也得到密西根州农业实验站的支持。
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作者:admin@医学,生命科学 2011-03-13 05:14
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