Structural basis of function of receiver domains of plant hybrid histidine kinases

The aim of the thesis is to study the role of conformational changes in function of the receiver domain of hybrid histidine kinase CKI1 from the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and compare it with homologous histidine kinases from the same organism. Although the activation has been studied in structurally similar bacterial domains, little is known about the mechanism and structural basis of this event in plant systems, differing in several significant aspects. Our previous results show that the activation of the receiver domain is associated with a dramatic reduction of conformational dynamics of a loop in a vicinity of the phosphorylation site. NMR and computational approaches will be employed to study the structural changes during activation, to relate the dynamics of the loop to the function of other residues important for signal transduction, and to investigate interactions.

Keywords: hybrid histidine kinase, CKI1, Arabidopsis thaliana, NMR, conformational changes

Applicants who wish to pursue a degree at the CEITEC PhD programme must hold the equivalent of a Master’s degree (MSc) in similar field (four or five year undergraduate degree). The application can be submitted before obtaining the Master’s degree, however, the applicant should obtain the degree within five month after the application deadline.