Discovery of intrinsically disordered sequences conferring desiccation survival

Informations projet

Desiccation Survival

N° de convention de subvention: 838945

DOI

10.3030/838945

Projet clôturé

Date de signature de la CE 21 Mars 2019

Date de début 1 Avril 2019

Date de fin 31 Mars 2021

Financé au titre de

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Coût total

€ 212 933,76

Contribution de l’UE

€ 212 933,76

Coordonné par

UNITED KINGDOM RESEARCH AND INNOVATION
United Kingdom

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Desiccation Survival (Discovery of intrinsically disordered sequences conferring desiccation survival)

Période du rapport: 2019-04-01 au 2021-03-31

Résumé du contexte et des objectifs généraux du projet

Desiccation is a form of stress wherein extremely dry conditions cause intracellular proteins to unfold and aggregate irreversibly, resulting in cell death. How cells and organisms survive desiccation is a fundamental question in biology. Families of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) in tardigrades (a phylum of microscopic animals), have been shown to be important for their survival during long periods of dryness. Under desiccation conditions, some of these proteins undergo glass-transition and gelation to form vitrified solids that protect intracellular proteins from unfolding and aggregation. However, the features of these proteins that confer protection are unknown. In this project, I endeavoured to unravel how the sequence features of tardigrade disordered proteins dictate their functions in achieving desiccation survival. The results of the project will help us understand better how proteins achieve biological functions and provide insight into possible mechanisms for combating harsh abiotic stresses.

Travail effectué depuis le début du projet jusqu’à la fin de la période considérée dans le rapport et principaux résultats atteints jusqu’à présent

Through development of an integrative analytical pipeline, combining computational sequence analysis, structural characterization using NMR, solution biophysics and ensemble generation, membrane biophysics, yeast genetics and cell biology, I successfully identified new protein sequences and features that could contribute to desiccation survival and abiotic stress tolerance in general. I also uncovered the mechanism by which these IDPs achieve stress tolerance.

Progrès au-delà de l’état des connaissances et impact potentiel prévu (y compris l’impact socio-économique et les conséquences sociétales plus larges du projet jusqu’à présent)

The results of this project provided insights into how IDPs function in a complex cellular context under stress, and resources to describe functional mechanisms of IDPs across different size and time scales. The project illustrates the importance of studying molecular mechanisms by which abiotic-stress tolerant organisms survive under harsh condition and brings possibility in future bioengineering and fundamental biological research for improving our lives.

An overview of project summary