COST STSM FA605-7924 Noam Reznik
Grantee: Noam Reznik, Department of Molecular Biology and Ecology of Plants, Tel-Aviv University, Israel (reznikno@post.tau.ac.il).
Host: Prof. Dr. Teun Munnik, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences (SILS), University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (t.munnik@uva.nl).
Duration: July 10-21, 2011.
Topic: Characterization of AtDC1-40 protein: involvement in lipid signaling and localization.
During my stay in the Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences (SILS) in the University of Amsterdam, where I was hosted by the group of Prof. Teun Munnik, I estimated protein-lipid interactions in-vitro by protein-lipid overlay essay (fat-blotting) and ways of cellular localization of these interactions by confocal microscopy in-planta using fluorescently tagged bio-sensor that bind to DAG (C1a domain from animal PKC) developed by Munnik’s group.
The main subject of the visit was the evaluation of diacylglycerol (DAG) interaction with a protein from Arabidopsis thaliana (AtDC1-40), that contains a provisional Divergent C1 domain (DC1) and the possible involvement of AtDC1-40 in lipid signaling under osmotic stress. This protein, whose function is still unknown, was discovered by a forward genetics approach that I have developed for identifying proteins involved in abiotic stress signaling in plants.
The sets of experiments described above have established the basis for the analyses of Arabidopsis C1 domain interaction with DAG. These newly developed strategies of protein-lipid interactions in-vivo and in-vitro will be further applied at Tel-Aviv University to continue the analysis and estimate whether or not DAG is interacting with AtDC1-40 protein.
I would like to thank the COST-STSM-FA605 fellowship for supporting visit to Prof. T. Munnik’s lab in Amsterdam. Special thanks to Prof. Munnik for this opportunity to enter the lipid signaling world and for his continuous help. I am also grateful for the support and help of Prof. Munnik group’s members.