This award supports collaboration between Barry Rosen, Wayne State University, and Liu Shusen, State Key Laboratory of Biomembrane and Membrane Biotechnology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences on the enzymology and structure-function relationships of an anion- translocating ATPase in E. coli. The project will focus on the catalytic subunit of the oxyanion pump, which is responsible for extruding arsenite from cells. Dr. Rosen's group will perform the protein purification and mutagenesis, and Dr. Liu's group will perform the rapid kinetic measurements. The Chinese collaborator is head of one of China's most advanced laboratories ("key labs") which has been heavily supported by the Chinese government through World Bank loans. The lab has equipment unavailable in the US PI's lab, providing an important complementary capability. Dr. Rosen has students of Dr. Liu working in his lab at Wayne State; collaboration between Liu and Rosen will help keep the skills and interests of the returned Chinese students viable, providing potential for longer term collaboration. This project is supported under the US-China Cooperative Research Program.
