CHLORELLA AND ITS VIRUSES AS AN EXPERIMENTAL PLANT SYSTEM

THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS DIRECTED TOWARD ACCESSING THE FEASIBILITY OF USING THE GREEN ALGAE CHLORELLA AND ITS INFECTION BY A NATURALLY OCCURRING VIRUS AS AN EXPERIMENTAL PLANT SYSTEM. THE VIRUS, PARAMECIUM BURSARIA CHLORELLA VIRUS-1, PBCV-1, WILL BE INVESTIGATED TO DETERMINE ITS POTENTIAL AS A MOLECULAR VEHICLE TO INTRODUCE FOREIGN DNA INTO PLANT CELLS. SPECIFICALLY, ANALYSIS OF VIRAL MUTANTS AND INTRODUCTION OF VIRAL GENES INTO CHLORELLA WILL BE EXAMINED IN AN EFFORT TO DEVELOP A GENE TRANSFER SYSTEM. SUCH A SYSTEM WILL BE UTILIZED TO STUDY THE REGULATION OF PLANT GENE EXPRESSION. IT WILL ALSO FACILITATE THE IDENTIFICATION AND MANIPULATION OF GENES OF INTEREST. THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUCH AN EXPERIMENTAL PLANT SYSTEM WILL EXPEDITE IDENTIFICATION OF GENES BY COMPLEMENTATION ANALYSIS. GENES FIRST IDENTIFIED IN THE RELATIVELY SIMPLE UNICELLULAR PLANT WILL FACILITATE THE IDENTIFICATION OF THE COGNATE GENES OF HIGHER PLANTS.