UCLA biochemistry professor Sabeeha Merchant wins prestigious rese...( ystery. Indeed last December she publ...)

ystery. Indeed, last December, she published the results of a major research effort from her laboratory, in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. That research concerns a specific protein molecule she has identified in cells that she believes measures the copper and responds to whether copper is present in a green alga called Chlamydomonas, which scientists use as a model for studying photosynthesis in plants. The molecule is a critical element of the mechanism that creates the back-up pathway, Merchant said.

While the protein contains 1,232 amino acids, only a tiny portion of it, approximately 70 amino acids, may be involved in binding copper, she said.

"Somehow copper is changing the properties of this region of the protein," Merchant said. "Exactly how the 70-amino acid region acts is not yet known; how is the switch turned on? We hope to learn answers to these questions."

Mechanisms that apply in algae also apply in many other forms of life, and other kinds of cells, including those of plants and mammals.

"We study algae to understand how cells work," Merchant said. "It's easier to conduct research with a micro-organism, and to see the metabolic defects when you remove metals."

Starting with her postdoctoral research, she identified and cloned two important genes and studied how they are turned on and off in response to copper. Her UCLA laboratory also is studying the role of the 70-amino acid region in the metabolism of zinc, and the group conducts research on iron as well. Merchant thinks comparable resource allocation occurs with iron and zinc as with copper, and is conducting research to identify the biochemistry, including the critical genes and proteins, and how they work.

"Cells take only the amount of copper that they need," Merchant said. "When there's a deficiency, certain enzymes get a higher priority than others."

Using an analogy, Merchant said, "If you have three ch
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Contact: Stuart Wolpert
swolpert@support.ucla.edu
310-206-0511
University of California - Los Angeles
10-Feb-2006

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