2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Correlation between photosynthesis and phototaxis in Chlamydomonas
Project/Area Number |
19H03242
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Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
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Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
Section | 一般 |
Review Section |
Basic Section 44030:Plant molecular biology and physiology-related
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Research Institution | Tokyo Institute of Technology |
Principal Investigator |
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Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
得津 隆太郎 京都大学, 理学研究科, 特定研究員 (60613940)
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Project Period (FY) |
2019-04-01 – 2022-03-31
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Keywords | 緑藻 / 光走性 / 鞭毛・繊毛 / 光合成 / 活性酸素種 |
Outline of Final Research Achievements |
The purpose of this study was to elucidate the mechanism and significance of phototaxis sign switching (positive or negative) by the model unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii depending on the amount of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the cell. We succeeded in isolating seven "always positive" and three "always negative" phototaxis strains. Although we were unable to identify the gene for the former, we made the unexpected discovery that many of these strains have higher proliferation capacity and higher tolerance to strong light than the wild strains. For the latter, the causative genes were all found to be alleles of the same gene of unknown function. Regarding the physiological significance, we found the possibility that they use ROS as a signal to indicate that they are in the light stage.
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Free Research Field |
細胞生物学
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Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements |
遊泳性の藻類の多くは光環境の変化に応じた行動(光反応行動)を示すが、その意義について明確な回答はない。また、その制御メカニズムについても、光受容体から運動装置制御までの間の経路が解明されたとは言えない。本研究の成果は、これら未解明の問題について部分的に回答できた点で、学術的な意義がある。さらに、近年藻類はクリーンエネルギー源として注目を集めている。光走性と増殖能、強光耐性になんらかの連関を見出したことから、今後「常に正」の株の原因遺伝子を明らかにすることで、次世代のエネルギー開発に寄与する可能性があり、その点で社会的意義がある。
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