This is a Presidential Young Investigator award. The specific transport of proteins from the cytoplasm into the nucleus of eukaryotic cells will be investigated, using yeast histones as the model system. The problem of how proteins are specifically translocated from the site of protein synthesis to a different site, the site of its function, within the cell is a fundamental and important problem of cell biology. Dr. Melese will address this problem using modern state-of-the-art approaches, including genetic engineering and biochemical techniques.
