Objectif
Wolbachia is an intracellular bacterium capable of inducing various forms of the reproductive manipulation in a diversity of arthropods. The best characterized type of reproductive manipulation is cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) which makes sperm from inf ected males unable to complete fertilization of eggs from uninfected females whereas eggs from infected females develop normally. At present the molecular basis for CI is not understood. Several genomes of CI-inducing Wolbachia are being sequenced and one of the most striking features is the high number of genes encoding ankyrin repeat (ANK) containing proteins found. This protein motif is common in eukaryotes where it has been shown to mediate protein-protein interaction, to interact with the cytoskeleton, to act as a transcription factor and to modify the activity of cell-cycle regulating proteins. Since CI appears to involve disruption of host cell-cycle timing, the ANK genes represent promising candidates for control of the phenotype. The project aims to understand the role of the ANK genes in CI by looking at the variability and expression, potential interactions with other proteins and localization of the ankyrins in relevant tissues.
Champ scientifique
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculesproteinsproteomics
- medical and health sciencesmedical biotechnologygenetic engineeringgene therapy
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologybacteriology
- natural sciencesbiological scienceszoologyinvertebrate zoology
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesgeneticsgenomesprokaryotic genomes
Appel à propositions
FP6-2004-MOBILITY-5
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