Genetic Modification of Rubisco in Chlamydomonas
{'Code': '08070400', 'Directorate': {'Abbreviation': 'BIO', 'LongName': 'Direct For Biological Sciences'}, 'Division': {'Abbreviation': 'MCB', 'LongName': 'Div Of Molecular and Cellular Bioscience'}}
{'SignBlockName': 'Kamal Shukla', 'PO_EMAI': None, 'PO_PHON': None}
Genetic Modification of Rubisco in Chlamydomonas:  The                  chloroplast enzyme ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate (RuBP)                             carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) catalyzes either the                            carboxylation or oxygenation of RuBP.  The relative                             efficiencies of these two reactions determine net carbon                        dioxide fixation in photosynthesis.  A significant increase in                  plant productivity may be realized by increasing the ratio of                   carboxylase/oxygenase activities.  Since the catalytic site of                  the enzyme is located on the chloroplast-encoded large-subunit                  polypetide, photosynthesis-deficient chloroplast mutants of the                 green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardii will be analyzed for                        altered enzyme specificity.  Detailed biochemical analysis of                   Rubisco enzymes from these mutants will be correlated with the                  primary structure of the mutant large-subunit protein; mutant                   genes will be cloned and subjected to DNA sequencing.                           Photosynthesis-competent revertants will be selected from the                   mutants, and Rubisco will be analyzed as described for mutants.                                                                                                 The proposed work is significant for several reasons.  First,                   Chlamydomonas reinhardii has a Rubisco that is similar to the                   enzyme in higher plant.  Beneficial changes identified in the                   proposed project could be engineered into other plants.                         Second, C. reinhardii is the only organism in which chloroplast                 mutations can be induced and recovered on a routine basis.                      Third, mutations that cause only a partial deficiency of                        Rubisco function are being recovered randomly.  Thus,                           structural determinants of enzyme function may be identified                    that have not been identified by previous biochemical or                        molecular approaches.  Fourth, revertants can be selected for                   restored Rubisco function and an elevated carboxylase/oxygenase                 ratio.  Complementing mutations will define the relationships                   between three-dimensional enzyme structure and Rubisco                          function.  In conclusion, the project will combine                              biochemistry, molecular biology and genetics to generate new                    information about the structure/function relationships of                       Rubisco.
{'FirstName': 'Robert', 'LastName': 'Spreitzer', 'PI_MID_INIT': 'J', 'PI_SUFX_NAME': None, 'PI_FULL_NAME': 'Robert J Spreitzer', 'EmailAddress': 'rspreitzer1@unl.edu', 'NSF_ID': '000280804', 'StartDate': '07/15/1987', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Principal Investigator'}
{'Name': 'University of Nebraska-Lincoln', 'CityName': 'LINCOLN', 'ZipCode': '685032427', 'PhoneNumber': '4024723171', 'StreetAddress': '2200 VINE ST # 830861', 'StreetAddress2': None, 'CountryName': 'United States', 'StateName': 'Nebraska', 'StateCode': 'NE', 'CONGRESSDISTRICT': '01', 'CONGRESS_DISTRICT_ORG': 'NE01', 'ORG_UEI_NUM': 'HTQ6K6NJFHA6', 'ORG_LGL_BUS_NAME': 'BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA', 'ORG_PRNT_UEI_NUM': None}
{'Name': None, 'CityName': None, 'StateCode': None, 'ZipCode': None, 'StreetAddress': None, 'CountryCode': None, 'CountryName': None, 'StateName': None, 'CountryFlag': None, 'CONGRESSDISTRICT': None, 'CONGRESS_DISTRICT_PERF': '""'}
{'Code': '114400', 'Text': 'Molecular Biophysics'}
{'url': 'https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/download?DownloadFileName=1987&All=true', 'xml': '8703820.xml'}