Renuka Shanmugam

Citation

Thesis Title
Identification of Gcn1 binding proteins and characterization of their effect on Gcn2 function

Read article at Massey Research Online:

Various stresses from the environment affect every living organism. Stress signals from the environment are conveyed to the cells by protein molecules and the cells respond to stresses by adjusting their gene expression. It has been reported that Gcn2 is activated in cells when there is amino acid starvation. Active Gcn2 slows down the protein synthesis to conserve cell''sresources. Studies on yeast have revealed that Gcn2 must bind to its positive effector protein Gcn1 for its function. Ms Shanmugam proposed that Gcn1 may serve as a platform for recruiting other proteins close to Gcn2 to fine tune its activity. In this study she identified proteins that are associated with Gcn1 from published and in-house data and identified those that are required for promoting Gcn2 function. Her research contributes to a better understanding of how Gcn2 is regulated in the cell.

Supervisors
Associate Professor Evelyn Sattlegger
Dr Mark Patchett