Smart meters (SMs) are key components of the smart grid (SG) as they gather electrical usage data from residences and businesses.Home area networks (HANs) are used to provide two-way communications between SMs and devices within a building such as appliances. This can be implemented using power line communications (PLCs) on home wiring topologies. In this thesis, a HAN PLC channel model is designed based on a split-phase power system which includes branch circuits, a panel with circuit breakers and bars, a secondary transformer and the wiring of neighboring residences. A cell division (CD) method is employed to construct the channel model. Further, arc fault circuit interrupter (AFCI) and ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) circuit breaker models are developed. Several PLC channels are presented and compared with those obtained using existing models. PLC communication systems are affected by noise, thus a noise model is developed which is comprised of background and impulse noise. This noise model can be used to obtain the noise power spectral density (PSD) at receivers in the wiring topology. / Graduate

xiii, 48 p. : (col. ill.) A print copy of this title is available through the UO Libraries under the call number: SCIENCE QL537.D76 N57 2007 / Asymmetric cell division (ACD) is a unique mechanism employed during development to achieve cellular diversity from a small number of progenitor cells. Cells undergoing ACD distribute factors for self-renewal at the apical cortex and factors for differentiation at the basal cortex. It is critical for proper development that the mitotic spindle be tightly coupled to this axis of polarization such that both sets of proteins are exclusively segregated into the daughter cells. We use ACD in Drosophila neuroblasts as a model system for understanding the molecular mechanisms that govern spindle-cortical coupling. Neuroblasts polarize Partner of Inscuteable (Pins), Gαi and Mushroom Body Defect (Mud) at the apical cell cortex during mitosis. Gαi and Pins are required for establishing cortical polarity while Mud is essential for spindle-cortical alignment. Gαi and Mud interact through Pins GoLoco domains and tetratricopeptide repeats (TPR) respectively, however it is unclear how Mud activity is integrated with Pins and Gαi to link neuroblast cortical polarity to the mitotic spindle. This dissertation describes how Pins interactions with Gαi and Mud regulate Iwo fundamental aspects of neuroblast ACD: cortical polarity and alignment of the spindle with the resulting polarity axis. I demonstrate that Pins is a dynamic scaffolding protein that undergoes a GoLoco-TPR intramolecular interaction, resulting in a conformation of Pins with low Mud and reduced Gαi binding affinity. However, Pins TPR domains fail to completely repress Gαi binding, as a single GoLoco is unaffected by the intramolecular isomerization. Gαi present at the apical cortex specifies Pins localization through binding this "unregulated" GoLoco. Liberation of Pins intramolecularly coupled state occurs through cooperative binding of Gαi and Mud to the other GoLoco and TPR domains, creating a high-affinity Gαi-Pins-Mud complex. This autoregulatory mechanism spatially confines the Pins-Mud interaction to the apical cortex and facilitates proper apical-spindle orientation. In conclusion, these results suggest Gαi induces multiple Pins states to both properly localize Pins and ensure tight coupling between apical polarity and mitotic spindle alignment. / Adviser: Ken Prehoda

xi, 93 p. ; ill. (some col.) A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / The atypical protein kinase C (aPKC) protein has been implicated in several human tumors yet very little is known about how aPKC is regulated. One mechanism that has been proposed as the possible source of several types of tumor is the defective asymmetric cell division of a small number of tumor stem cells. aPKC is required for cell polarization from nematodes to mammals, in tissues as diverse as epithelia, embryonic blastomeres, and neural progenitors. In Drosophila central nervous system, mitotic neural stem cells, termed neuroblasts, recruit the polarity proteins aPKC at the cell apical cortex. pack restricts the localization of the differentiation factors Miranda, Prospero, Brat, and Numb to the cell's basal cortex. Later during mitosis, the cytokinetic furrow sets unevenly about the neuroblast apical-basal axis to produce a large cell (neuroblast) which will continue to divide and self-renew, while the smaller ganglion mother cell inherits differentiation factors and terminally divides to give rise to a pair of neurons and/or glia. Asymmetric cell division is not only critical for generating cellular diversity, it also ensures that a stable population of neural stem cell is constantly maintained while allowing neurogenesis to occur. Despite its conserved role in cell polarity and tumorigenesis, relatively little is known about aPKC regulators and targets. In a co-authored work, I show that the small Rho GTPase, Cdc42, indirectly regulates aPKC. However, this stimulation is modest and the mutant phenotypes are not fully penetrant suggesting that other regulators exist. To isolate other aPKC regulators and targets, I used a biochemical approach to identify aPKC-interacting proteins, and identified one positive regulator and one negative regulator of aPKC. I show that Dynamin-associated protein-160 (Dap160; related to mammalian Intersectin) is a positive regulator of aPKC. I also show that a regulatory subunit of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A), negatively regulates aPKC. This dissertation includes both my previously published and my co-authored material. / Adviser: Chris Doe

xiii, 92 p. ; ill. (some col.) A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / Cellular polarity is a biological mechanism that is conserved across metazoa and is used in many different biological processes, one of which is stem cell self-renewal and differentiation. Stem cells generate cellular diversity during development by polarizing molecular determinants responsible for directing one daughter cell to maintain stem cell-like qualities and the other daughter cell to initiate a specific cell fate. The stem cell self-renewal versus differentiation choice is critical to avoid overproliferation of stem cells and tumor formation or underdevelopment of tissues and early animal death. Drosophila neural stem cells (neuroblasts) undergo asymmetric cell division (ACD) to populate the fly central nervous system and provide an excellent model system to study processes involving cellular polarity, ACD, stem cell self-renewal, and differentiation. Neuroblasts divide unequally to produce a large, apical self-renewing neuroblast and a small, basal ganglion mother cell that goes on to divide and form two neurons or glia. In this way, a small population of neuroblasts can give rise to thousands of neurons and glia to generate a functional central nervous system. Atypical Protein Kinase C (aPKC) is critical to establish and maintain neuroblast polarity, ACD, stem cell self-renewal, and differentiation. aPKC is part of the evolutionarily conserved Par complex, whose other members include Bazooka and Par-6, and they localize to the neuroblast apical cortex and function to restrict cell-fate determinants into one daughter cell. How aPKC is asymmetrically localized and how its activity translates into cell-fate specification are of incredible importance as apkc mutants where localization is disrupted no longer segregate cell-fate determinants. This work will show that Cdc42 recruits the Par-6/aPKC complex to the neuroblast apical cortex independent of Bazooka. Once there, aPKC phosphorylates the cell-fate determinant Miranda to exclude it from the apical cortex and restrict it basally. Par-6 and Cdc42 regulate aPKC kinase activity though inter- and intramolecular interactions that allow high aPKC kinase activity at the apical cortex and suppressed activity elsewhere. Cdc42 also functions to keep aPKC asymmetrically localized by recruiting the PAK kinase Mushroom bodies tiny to regulate cortical actin and provide binding sites for cortical polarity determinants. This dissertation includes previously published co-authored material. / Adviser: Kenneth Prehoda

Proper orientation of the mitotic spindle is essential during animal development for the generation of cell diversity and organogenesis. To understand the molecular mechanisms regulating this process, genetic studies have implicated evolutionarily conserved proteins that function in diverse cell types to align the spindle along an intrinsic cellular polarity axis. This activity is achieved through physical contacts between astral microtubules of the spindle and a distinct domain of force generating proteins on the cell cortex. In this work, I shed light on how these proteins form distinct cortical domains, how their activity is coupled to their subcellular localization, and how they provide cytoskeletal and motor protein connections that are required to generate the forces necessary to position the mitotic spindle. I first discuss the mechanisms by which Mushroom body defect (Mud; NuMA in mammals), provides spindle orientation cues from various subcellular locations. Aside from its known role at the cortex as an adapter for the Dynein motor, I reveal novel isoform-dependent Mud functions at the spindle poles during assembly of the mitotic spindle and astral microtubules, thus implicating Mud in spindle orientation pathways away from the cell cortex. Moreover, through collaborative efforts with former lab members, I describe molecular regulation and assembly of two ‘accessory’ pathways that activate cortical Mud-Dynein, one through the tumor suppressor protein Discs large (Dlg), and another through the signaling protein Dishevelled (Dsh). I demonstrate that the Dlg pathway is spatially regulated by the polarity kinase atypical Protein Kinase C (aPKC) through direct phosphorylation of Dlg. This signal relieves Dlg autoinhibition to promote cortical recruitment of the Dlg-ligand Gukholder (Gukh), a novel microtubule-binding protein that provides an additional connection between astral microtubules and the cortex that is essential for activity of the Dlg pathway. Lastly, I determine that the Dsh accessory pathway provides an alternative cytoskeletal cue by recruiting Diaphanous (Dia), an actin nucleating protein. By demonstrating interchangeability between the two accessory pathways, we conclude that Mud-Dynein is activated by various cytoskeletal cues and that the mode of activation is cell-context dependent. This dissertation includes unpublished and previously published co-authored material. / 10000-01-01

Although much progress has been made in understanding the events that lead to successful cell division, many details of this process remain a mystery. This dissertation presents findings which help to explain events that occur in the latest stages of cytokinesis, with an emphasis on the role of centrosome proteins. The first chapter introduces the novel centrosome protein centriolin. We show that this protein is localized specifically to the subdistal appendages of the maternal centriole in interphase, and it localizes to the midbody during cytokinesis. Disruption of this protein results in a unique cytokinesis defect in which cleavage furrow formation and ingression appear normal, but the cells remain connected by a thin intracellular bridge for extended periods of time. These results lead us to the conclusion that centriolin has an important function in cytokinesis. The second chapter describes our attempt to identify centriolin interacting partners. A yeast two hybrid screen was performed, and the results of this screen revealed an interaction between centriolin and proteins involved in vesicle target specificity and fusion. Further studies of these proteins revealed a novel localization to the midbody in cycling cells and a novel function in the final stages of cytokinesis, similar to centriolin. The third chapter discusses my attempts to clone and characterize a novel GTPase Activating Protein (GAP), which was also discovered in the screen for centriolin interacting proteins.

Estudou-se o comportamento frente a radiação UV de células humanas XP12RO, deficientes em reparo-excisão de dímeros de pirimidina. Cinéticas de incorporação de precursor radiativo de DNA em tempos crescentes apos a exposição a UV mostraram uma rápida inibição da taxa de síntese, até se alcançar um platô bem abaixo do valor obtido para células não irradiadas. Tanto o tempo para que este platô fosse alcançado quanto o valor basal de síntese obtido dependiam da dose de UV fornecida. Este tempo era compatível com o necessário para que a maquinaria de replicação percorresse a distância média interdímeros esperada para a dose de UV aplicada. Verificou-se também que o DNA recém-sintetizado após UV apresentava um peso molecular e uma taxa de elongação bem menores que nos controles não irradiados, sugerindo todos estes resultados que o dímero se constitue num bloqueio temporário para a replicação de DNA. Utilizando uma metodologia baseada no tratamento do DNA nativo com S1 endonuclease de Aspergillus oryzae, específica para DNA simples-fita, foi possível detectar a existência de lacunas de DNA replicado após UV, lacunas estas que desaparecem gradativamente com o passar do tempo pós-irradiação. DNA não irradiado manteve-se refratário à enzima, nas mesmas condições. A digestão enzimática acarretava o aparecimento de duas populações distintas de DNA, uma de alto peso molecular e outra de peso molecular bem menor, ambas se equivalendo em quantidade. Este fenômeno pôde ser observado em uma ampla faixa de doses de UV, tanto em células XP12RO como em outras linhagens celulares, e mesmo sob condições diversas de proliferação celular. Além disso, o desaparecimento das lacunas, no caso de células de roedor previamente irradiadas com UV, era retardado pela presença de cafeína, um conhecido inibidor de reparo pós-replicação (RPR) nestas linhagens. Foi efetuada uma análise da progressão da forquilha de replicação e da distribuição de lacunas do DNA replicado após UV, através de ensaios enzimáticos combinados com bandeamento de DNA em gradientes isopícnicos de CsCl. Os resultados assim obtidos levaram-nos a considerar um modelo de replicação a partir de molde lesado onde síntese descontínua (3\'-5\') propicia a formação de lacunas, enquanto que síntese contínua (5\'-3\') é retardada temporariamente pela presença da lesão, sem contudo acarretar a formação de descontinuidades físicas no DNA replicado. A mesma metodologia de digestão de DNA com S1 endonuclease permitiu verificar a ocorrência de uma nítida relação causal entre a frequência de lacunas e a frequência correspondente de dímeros, em crescentes doses de UV, sugerindo fortemente que dímeros estão opostos às lacunas no DNA recém sintetizado. Além disso, um tratamento estatístico da cinética de clivagens enzimáticas observada para as lacunas tornou possível calcular a extensão física destas, detectando-se a presença de duas populações distintas, onde 65% correspondem a 1250 nucleotídeos e 35% correspondem a 150 nucleotídeos. Finalmente, foi verificado que DNA recém-sintetizado longos tempos após UV apresenta um drástico declínio da frequência de lacunas, não obstante a frequência de dímeros permanecer essencialmente inalterada. Estes resultados favorecem a hipótese de ocorrer um processo induzido de RPR, o qual permitiria à maquinaria de replicação transpor eficientemente os dímeros presentes, apesar destes não terem propriedades codificadoras. / The synthesis of DNA in human XP12RO cells, deficient in excision repair of pyrimidine dimers was studied. The rate of incorporation of radioactive precursors into DNA was measured at different times after irradiation. The DNA synthesis decreases shortly after irradiation, reaching a lateau whose value and time to be attained was dependent on the UV dose. This time period was the one expected for the replication machinery to coyer the interdimer distance at the UV dose applied. It was also verified that the newly synthesized DNA after UV irradiation presented much smaller molecular weight and elongation rate, when compared with the non-irradiated controls. These results suggest that the dimer imposes a delay to DNA replication machinery. Using a methodology based on the treatment of native DNA with S1-endonuclease from Aspergillus orizae, specific for single-stranded DNA, it was possible to detect gaps in the DNA replicated after UV treatment. Thesee gaps disapeared gradually with time after irradiation. The nonirradiated DNA remained refractory to the enzyme, under the same experimental conditions. The enzymatic digestion originated approximately equal alounts of two distinct double-stranded DNA populations, one of high molecular weight and other of much smaller molecular weight. This fenomenon could be seen on a wide range of UV doses, in XP12RO cells as well as in other cells lines, and did not depend on the particular conditions of cell proliferation. Furthermore, the gap disappearence, in the case of rodent cells previously irradiated with UV, was delayed by the presence of caffeine, a known post-replication repair (PRR) inhibitor in these cell lines. An analysis of the progression of the replication fork and of the distribution of gaps in the DNA replicated after UV irradiation was carried out through enzymatic assays combined with DNA banding in isopicnic CsCl gradients. The results thus obtained led us to consider a model for replication on damaged template, whereby gaps are formed only in the strand replicating opposite the fork movement (3\'-5\'). The strand replicating in the same direction as the fork movement (5\'-3\') is temporarily delayed by the presence of the lesion, without originating gaps in the replicative DNA. The same methodology of DNA digestion with S1-endonuclease permitted us to verify the occurrence of a nitid relationship between the gap frequency and the corresponding dimer frequency, for different doses of UV, strongly suggesting that the dimers are opposite the gaps in the newly-synthesized DNA. Furthermore, an statistical analysis of the dependende of DNA cleavage by S1-endonuclease on the enzyme concentration rendered it possible to calculate the size of the gaps. Two distinct populations were detected, 65% corresponding to 1250 nucleotides and 35% corresponding to 150 nucleotides. Finally, it was verified that the nascent DNA synthesized long periods after UV are essentially free of gaps although the dimer frequency remained almost unaltered. These results favour the hypothesis of the occurrence of an induced process of PRR, which would permit the replication machinery to efficiently bypass the dimers, in spite of the fact that these lesions do not exhibit codifying properties.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Rosmarinus officinalis L. is a species that has stood out for its intense popular use, the main product the essential oil. The work was ainmed determine the effect of sa-linity on the biomass period, content, yield, phytochemical composition and genotoxi-city of essential oil of rosemary.Dois experiments sheets were simultaneously per-formed between June 3, 2014 to December 12, 2015, the experiments were per-formed in the department of Plant Science at the Federal University of Santa Maria. In the first experiment, the control (T1) was employed in a nutrient solution with elet-rical conductivity (EC) of 1.0 dSm-1 and the other four treatments (T2, T3, T4, T5) was used with a nutrient solution conductivity electric 5,0 dSm-1. T2 plants were submitted to the salt solution for a period of 140 days after planting (DAP) in T3 to 150 in the 160 T4 and T5 to 170 DAP. All plants were collected on 12 December 2014 complet-ing a period of 190 days. The period in which the plants remained under saline condi-tions before the collection was 50, 40, 30 and 20 days in T2, T3, T4 and T5, respec-tively. In the second experiment it was also compared four periods of salinity (CE 5.0 dSm-1) and control (CE 1.0 dSm- 1). The planting was done on the same day of the experiment I and the supply of saline solution began on the same day of the first trial, but the harvest was delayed in order to increase the periods in which the plants re-mained in saline conditions. All plants were collected on 12 February 2015. Thus, the salinity period before the collection was 110, 100, 90 and 80 days for treatments T2, T3, T4 and T5, respectively. In both experiments the experimental design was ran-domized with five replications. The Extraction of oil from the leaves by hydrodistilla-tion in Clevenger was performed and then performed gas chromatography. The es-sential oil was evaluated for antiproliferative and genotoxic effects in cells of Allium Cepa at a concentration of 0.20 % for the oil of plants grown in different periods of salinity collected at 190 after planting. The biomass production data and essential oil were subjected to analysis of variance with polynomial regression and other data were compared by Scott-Knott test (p <0.05). The results showed that the salinity period through a nutrient solution with electrical conductivity of 5 dS m-1 linearly re-duces biomass, content and essential oil yield of rosemary plants in soilless culture. The major compounds of the essential oil were camphor, 1.8 cineol, verbenone, α-pinene and β-myrcene. And this in turn was not genotoxic nor showed significant an-tiproliferative effect, except that obtained from the plants that remained for a longer period of exposure to salinity, which inhibited cell division of Allium Cepa. / Rosmarinus officinalis L. é uma espécie que tem se destacado pelo seu intenso uso popular, tendo como principal produto o óleo essencial. O trabalho teve como objetivo determinar o efeito do período de salinidade sobre a fitomassa, teor, rendimento, composição fitoquímica e genotoxicidade do óleo essencial das folhas de alecrim. Dois experimentos foram realiza-dos simultaneamente no período entre 3 de junho de 2014 a 12 de dezembro de 2015, os experimentos foram realizados no Departamento de Fitotecnia da Universidade Federal da Santa Maria. No experimento I, na testemunha (T1) foi empregada uma solução nutritiva com condutividade elétrica (CE) de 1,0 dSm-1 e nos demais quatro tratamentos (T2,T3,T4,T5) foi empregada uma solução nutritiva com condutividade elétrica de 5,0 dSm-1. Em T2 o fornecimento da solução salina foi iniciado aos 140 dias após o plantio (DAP), em T3 aos 150, em T4 aos 160 e em T5 aos 170 DAP. Todas as plantas foram coletadas no dia 12 de dezembro de 2014 completando um período de 190 dias. O período no qual as plantas permaneceram sob condições salina antes da coleta foi de 50, 40, 30 e 20 dias em T2, T3, T4 e T5, respectivamente. No experimento II também foram utilizados quatro perío-dos de salinidade (CE de 5,0 dSm-1) e a testemunha (CE de 1,0 dSm-1). O plantio foi feito no mesmo dia do experimento I e o fornecimento da solução salina iniciou-se nos mesmos dias do experimento I, porém a colheita foi retardada de forma a aumentar os períodos nos quais as plantas permaneceram em condições salinas. Todas as plantas foram coletadas no dia 12 de fevereiro de 2015. Dessa forma, o período de salinidade antes da coleta foi de 110, 100, 90 e 80 dias nos tratamentos T2, T3, T4 e T5, respectivamente. Em ambos os experi-mentos o delineamento experimental empregado foi casualizado, com cinco repetições. Foi realizada extração de óleo das folhas por hidrodestilação em Clevenger e posteriormente realizada cromatografia gasosa. Os óleos essenciais foram avaliados quanto aos efei-tos antiproliferativo e genotóxico em células de Allium cepa L. na concentração de 0,20 % para o óleo das plantas cultivadas nos diferentes períodos de salinidade coletadas aos 190 depois do plantio. Os dados de produção de fitomassa e rendimento de óleo essencial foram submetidos à análise de variância com regressão polinomial e os demais dados foram com-parados pelo teste Scott-Knott (p<0,05). Os resultados mostraram que o período de salini-dade através de uma solução nutritiva com condutividade elétrica de 5 dS m-1 reduz linear-mente a fitomassa, teor e rendimento de óleo essencial de plantas de alecrim em cultivo sem solo. Os compostos majoritários do óleo essencial foram cânfora,1,8 cineol, verbenona, α-pineno e β-mirceno. E esse, por sua vez não se mostrou genotóxico e nem apresentou efeito antiproliferativo significativo, com exceção daquele obtido a partir das plantas que permaneceram por um maior período de exposição à salinidade, que inibiu a divisão celular de Allium cepa.

Les cellules végétales sont entourées d’une paroi pecto-cellulosique rigide, soudant les cellules les unes aux autres et empêchant toute migration. Lors de la mitose, le positionnement du plan de division est donc un processus fondamental dans l’organisation des tissus puisque les cellules nouvellement formées restent à leur position initiale après la cytokinèse. Chez les plantes terrestres, le plan de division est déterminé lors de la transition G2/M du cycle cellulaire par l’anneau de préprophase (PPB), une structure transitoire corticale de microtubules. Les mécanismes mis en jeu pour la formation de la PPB sont encore inconnus. L’équipe dans laquelle j’ai effectué ma thèse a identifié un complexe régulateur, le complexe TTP, composé de TON1, de la famille de protéines TON1-Recruiting-Motif (TRMs) et d’une phosphatase de type 2A où FASS est la sous-unité régulatrice. TON1 et FASS sont impliquées dans l’organisation des microtubules corticaux en interphase, et sont indispensables à la formation de la PPB. La famille des protéines TRMs, identifiée récemment, est composée de 34 membres, dont certains sont capables de se lier aux microtubules et de recruter TON1 et FASS au cytosquelette. Les profils d’expression des TRMs et les analyses génétiques préliminaires suggèrent que certaines auraient un rôle en interphase, alors que d’autres pourraient être impliquées dans la formation de la PPB. Mon projet était d’identifier et de caractériser, si elles existent, les TRMs impliquées spécifiquement dans la formation de la PPB. L’analyse des données de transcriptome a révélé qu’un des gènes de la famille TRM, le gène TRM7, présente un pic d’expression en mitose. Nous avons d'abord montré que TRM7 est spécifiquement exprimée dans les tissus en division. L’utilisation d’une fusion génomique TRM7-3xYpet indique d'autre part que la protéine TRM7 n’est exprimée qu’au stade G2/M. Elle est localisée à la PPB et disparaît en début de métaphase, peu après dépolymérisation de la PPB. TRM7 est ainsi le seul marqueur spécifique de la PPB identifié à ce jour chez les plantes, puisque toutes les autres protéines localisées à la PPB marquent également les autres structures mitotiques ou le cytosquelette d’interphase. TRM7 fait partie d’un sous-groupe de trois TRM partageant environ 74% de similarité de séquence. L’analyse phénotypique du mutant trm7, ainsi que celui du triple mutant trm6 trm7 trm8 a montré que ce sous-groupe de protéines joue un rôle majeur dans la formation de la PPB. Près de la moitié des cellules du mutant trm7 présentent un stade préprophase aberrant alors que 100% des cellules du triple mutant au stade G2/M sont affectées, la très grande majorité se divisant sans former de PPB. Étonnamment, la morphologie de ces mutants est peu perturbée et le phénotype n’est en rien comparable au syndrome développemental sévère des mutants ton1 ou fass dépourvus de PPB. De plus, les plans de division ne sont pas aléatoires comme c’est le cas pour les mutants ton1 et fass. Nos résultats permettent donc d'apporter une nouvelle lumière sur le rôle de la PPB dans la détermination du plan de division. Pour la première fois, grâce au triple mutant trm6 trm7 trm8, nous avons réussi à découpler les fonctions interphasiques de la fonction mitotique du complexe TTP, ce qui était jusqu’alors impossible chez les mutants ton1 ou fass où les défauts en interphase et les défauts dus à l’absence de PPB étaient indissociables. Tous les composants du complexe TTP partageant des similarités avec des protéines centrosomales animales faisant partie du même complexe, nous avons exploré dans un projet annexe, la conservation des interactions au sein du complexe animal. Nous avons pu mettre en évidence, grâce au système double-hybride chez la levure, des interactions entre protéines animales et protéines végétales. / Plant cells are embedded within a semi-rigid pecto-cellulosic cell wall that prevents cell migration. As a consequence, three-dimensional cellular organization of tissues mostly results from polarized cell division, since new cells remain in place after mitosis with no possibility for subsequent relocation. In land plants, the division plane is determined pre-mitotically, during the G2 to M phase transition by the preprophase band (PPB), a transient, premitotic microtubule array. The molecular pathways leading to preprophase band formation are still largely unknown. Our team has identified a regulatory complex, the TTP complex, composed of TON1, TRM and a Protein Phosphatase 2A complex with FASS as the regulatory subunit. Both TON1 and FASS have been shown to be involved in cortical microtubules organization during both interphase and PPB formation. The TRM super family is a newly identified protein family composed of 34 members, some of which are microtubule-associated proteins able to recruit TON1 and FASS to the microtubules. Based on TRM expression profiles and preliminary genetic analysis, we hypothesized that some TRMs could have a role in interphase, while others could be involved in PPB formation. My project was to identify and characterize TRMs specifically involved in PPB formation, if any. Transcriptomic analysis using the Genevestigator tool revealed that one TRM gene, TRM7, has a peak of expression at mitosis. TRM7 promoter GUS fusion analysis confirmed that TRM7 is expressed in all dividing tissues and in situ hybridizations of shoot apical meristems revealed a patchy pattern of expression, typical of cell cycle-regulated genes. Remarkably, the genomic TRM7-3xYFP fusion is only expressed at the G2/M transition where it localizes to the PPB, persists beyond PPB degradation until the beginning of metaphase and then disappears. To our knowledge, this makes TRM7 the only PPB-specific marker identified in plants so far, since all other PPB-associated markers label others structures as well, both interphasic or mitotic. TRM7 is part of the TRM6-7-8 sub-family, which share 74% of similarity. Phenotypic analysis of the trm7 and trm6 trm7 trm8 triple mutant revealed a major role of this sub-group in PPB formation. Almost half trm7 cells and all trm6 trm7 trm8 cells displayed an abnormal preprophase stage, the vast majority of the triple mutant cells dividing without PPB. Surprisingly, the triple mutant phenotype is rather mild compare to the severe developmental syndrome of PPB-lacking ton1 or fass plants. Moreover, although often shifted, division plane positioning is far from being fully randomized as in ton1 and fass mutants. Our results show that, for the first time, we have fully uncoupled the mitotic function of the TTP complex from its interphasic function, contrarily to other TTP mutants analyzed so far, where division and interphase defects are indistinguishable. Moreover, these findings question the central role of the PPB in division plane positioning. All TTP components share similarities with animal proteins assembled within a complex at the centrosome. In a side project, we studied the conservation of protein interactions within the animal complex and were able to find cross-interactions between animal and plant proteins in yeast two-hybrid experiments.

A description of two techniques used extensively in this study namely cell counting with a "cell counting plate" and argentation TLC for the separation of ω -6 -fatty acids is given. Zn supplementation into GM of two malignant (BL-6 and Hep- 350) and a non-malignant (LLC-MK) cell line/s resulted in an increased uptake of Zn by the cells and progressively suppressed proliferation of particularly the malignant cells. Zn chelation by EDTA suppressed in vitro proliferation of all 3 cell line, this effect being more pronounced in the malignant cells. A dietary Zn deficiency resulted in alopecia in mice and both a dietary Zn deficiency and Zn excess reduced growth of BL-6 tumours implanted subcutaneously in mice. Zn supplementation into GM progressively increased the uptake of [1-¹⁴C]-LA by BL-6 and LLC-MK cells but had a very slight though irregular effect on this parameter in the Hep- 350 cells. Zn supplementation also stimulated desaturase activity in the BL-6 cells. These results suggested that there are select cell lines whose Δ⁶-desaturase activity responds positively to Zn supplementation (e.g. the BL-6 cells). Delta-6-desaturase activity was also assayed in microsome preparations from different tissues. No enzyme activity was detected in the microsomes prepared from the BL-6 tumours. There was no significant effect with the addition of Zn or EDTA, on Δ⁶-desaturase activity of the regenerating liver microsomes. In the resting liver microsomes this enzyme activity was reduced only when EDTA and Zn were added together and when EDTA was added to the reaction medium as well as to the microsome preparations 2 hr before the enzyme activity assay was initiated. The results of these experiments suggested that the Δ⁶-desaturase enzyme in the microsome preparations may have had an adequate amount of Zn with further additions having no stimulatory effect on the enzyme. Two independent mechanisms of control of cell proliferation by low and high Zn are suggested to operate.