Active design of the Kai proteins on the basis of cross-scale causality

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 22K19279
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Medium-sized Section 43:Biology at molecular to cellular levels, and related fields
• Research Institution: Institute for Molecular Science
• Principal Investigator: Akiyama Shuji 分子科学研究所, 協奏分子システム研究センター, 教授 (50391842)
• Project Period (FY): 2022-06-30 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: シアノバクテリア

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The cyanobacterial circadian clock system can be reconstituted in vitro by mixing three kinds of clock proteins (KaiA, KaiB, and KaiC) in the presence of ATP. Based on the cross-scale causality that connects the molecular scale to the cellular scale, the clock period was lengthened from circadian to "one-third of a month" by designing a KaiC mutant with an extensively reduced ATPase activity.

Free Research Field

生物物理学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

タンパク質分子のみから成る分子システムによって長周期リズムを実証することができれば、未だそのメカニズムが解明されていない概月リズムや概年リズムの理解深化はもとより、それらの設計原理にも指針を与え得る。