2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

How do redox-regulated systems in photosynthetic organisms work in situ?

Research Project

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Project/Area Number	21H02502
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Section	一般
Review Section	Basic Section 44030:Plant molecular biology and physiology-related
Research Institution	Tokyo Institute of Technology
Principal Investigator	HISABORI TORU 東京工業大学, 国際先駆研究機構, 特任教授 (40181094)
Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha)	吉田啓亮東京工業大学, 科学技術創成研究院, 准教授 (40632310)
Project Period (FY)	2021-04-01 – 2024-03-31
Keywords	レドックス制御 / チオレドキシン / システイン / グルタチオン / 光合成電子伝達 / 酸化因子 / ATP合成
Outline of Final Research Achievements	(1) Physiological Importance of the Thylakoid Redox Control System: The gene disruption of Ferredoxin-Thioredoxin Reductase (FTR), which is associated with electron transfer in the chloroplast redox control system, revealed its physiological significance. Insufficient reduction of redox-regulated target enzymes due to FTR knockdown affected in the photosynthetic electron transfer chain. (2) Oxidation Factors in Chloroplasts: It was demonstrated that oxidation factors functioning in chloroplasts exhibit targeted specificity. The oxidation factor ACHT is involved in the excess light energy dissipation system. (3) Redox regulation of Chloroplast ATP Synthase: Several strains containing mutations at the redox regulatory region of chloroplast ATP synthase were created, and the correspondence between redox responses and ATP synthesis activity regulation was elucidated. In addition, the contribution of proton motive force during the oxidation process of this enzyme was clarified.
Free Research Field	植物生化学
Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements	光合成は地球上で唯一太陽光エネルギーを生物が利用可能な化学エネルギーに変換する、すべての生命を支える重要なエネルギー変換機構である。自然界では、光環境は時々刻々変化するが、光合成生物はこの環境変化に適応して最適な状態で光合成反応を営んでいる。この最適化の鍵を握る制御システムがレドックス制御システムであり、この制御機構を明らかにすることは、光合成の耐性強化、生産性の向上など、将来の光合成機能の改変による光合成生物の強化に重要な知見を提供するもので、エネルギー獲得や食糧増産など人類社会に貢献する研究である。