Oenococcus oeni est la principale de bactérie lactique du vin. L’espèce comprend de nombreuses souches plus ou moins bien adaptées au vin et qui forment différents groupes génétiques. Récemment, deux groupes de souches ont été identifiés dans les vins rouges (VR) et vins blancs (VB) de Bourgogne. Il est probable que les bactéries se sont adaptées à l’un ou l’autre de ces vins en raison de leurs différences physico-chimiques et de composition. Néanmoins, d’autres souches peuvent s’y développer. Ce sont par exemple des levains commerciaux, qui ont une bonne tolérance aux stress du vin. L’objectif de cette étude était d’analyser l’adaptation des souches d’O. oeni au vin et en particulier aux polyphénols. Dans un premier chapitre, des souches des groupes VR et VB ont été étudiées. Leurs phénotypes ont été comparés dans des moûts et des vins à différents pH et en présence de polyphénols. Les résultats ont permis de mieux comprendre leur adaptation au vin blanc ou rouge. Dans les deuxième et troisième chapitres, la tolérance à l’acidité et aux polyphénols de souches commerciales a été étudiée. Leur résistance au vin et leurs capacités fermentaires ont été analysées, les cellules ont été observées en microscopie électronique et les mécanismes de résistance à l’acidité et aux polyphénols ont été recherché par protéomique quantitative. Un protocole de purification des protéines spécifique pour les essais en présence de polyphénols a été mis au point. Les résultats montrent des voies métaboliques et enzymes qui contribuent à l’adaptation des souches au vin. Ils permettent aussi l’exploration de nouvelles pistes pour la sélection des souches industrielles. / Oenococcus oeni is the main lactic acid bacteria species in wine. The species comprises many strains, which are more or less well adapted to wine and form different genetic groups. Recently, two groups of strains have been identified from Burgundy’s red (VR) and white (VB) wines. It is likely that the bacteria have adapted to one or the other of these wines because of their different physico-chemical properties and compositions. Nevertheless, other strains can also develop in these wines. They are for example commercial starters, which are well resistant to wine stressors. The objective of this study was to analyze the adaptation of O . oeni strains to wine and particularly to phenolic compounds. In the first chapter, strains of groups VR and VB were studied. Their phenotypes were compared in grape musts and in wines at different pHs and in the presence of phenolic compounds. The results provide insights on their adaptation to red or white wine. In the second and third chapters, the tolerance to acidity and phenolic compounds of commercial strains has been studied. Their survival in wine and their fermentative capacities were analyzed, the cells were observed by electron microscopy and the mechanisms of resistance to acidity and phenolic compounds were investigated by quantitative proteomics. A specific protein purification protocol has been developed for trials performed in the presence of polyphenols. The results show metabolic pathways and enzymes that contribute to the adaptation of strains to wine. They also open new tracks for the selection of industrial strains.

Bacillus cereus est une bactérie à coloration de Gram positive capable de s'adapter à un grand nombre de stress tels que les bas pH ou les bas potentiels d'oxydo-réduction (Eh). Si certains des mécanismes d'adaptation de B. cereus à chacun de ces stress sont connus, les intéractions entre ces deux facteurs sur la physiologie bactérienne n'ont jamais été étudiés. Nous nous sommes donc intéressés à l'effet des variations de Eh sur la résistance au stress acide de B. cereus, aux adaptations métaboliques de B. cereus à pH acide et à l'intéraction de cette bactérie avec son environnement redox. Les résultats obtenus ont démontré, dans un premier temps, que la survie de B. cereus au choc acide était légèrement augmentée sous atmosphères à Eh réducteurs par rapport aux atmosphères à Eh oxydants. Nous avons également observé une réorientation majeure du métabolisme de B. cereus exposé à pH acide depuis la fermentation des acides mixtes vers la fermentation butanediolique. Cette réorientation joue vraisemblablement un rôle important dans la résistance au stress acide de B. cereus. Dans un second temps, nous avons étudié les intéractions de B. cereus avec son environnement redox et nous avons montré l'importance des groupements thiols exofaciaux dans l'activité réductrice de cette bactérie. L'ensemble de ces résultats permettent de mieux comprendre la physiologie de B. cereus confronté à un stress acide et aux variations de Eh et ouvre la voie à de nombreuses pistes de recherches novatrices. / Bacillus cereus is a Gram positive bacterium able to adapt and survive to numerous stress, including acid stress or oxydo-reduction potential (Eh) variations. Some adaptations are documeted for each of these two stress. However, the interaction between Eh and pH on B. cereus physiology was never studied. Here, we focus on the impact of Eh variation on the acid resistance of B. cereus, on the metabolic adaptation of these bacteria under low pH and on the interaction of bacterial cells with their redox environement. Results obtained demonstrate that the acid survival of B. cereus was slighlty higher under reductive Eh than under oxdative Eh. Concerning acid adaptations, we observed a major metabolic adjustement for cells cultivated at low pH with an important shift from mixed acid fermentation to butanediolic fermentation. Finally, we demonstrate the importance of exofacials thiols groups in the reductive abilities of B. cereus. All these conclusions will help to better understand the response of B. cereus exposed to acid stress and Eh.

This dissertation is a compilation of published work and a manuscript that seeks to understand the role of polyamine metabolism in the regulation of pneumococcal physiology. Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) is the major cause of community-acquired pneumonia, and otitis media worldwide. Genetic diversity and serotype replacement, and antibiotics resistance to confound existing therapeutic strategies and limit the effectiveness of the available capsule polysaccharide (CPS) based vaccines. Polyamines such as putrescine, spermidine and cadaverine are ubiquitous polycationic hydrocarbons that interact with negatively charged molecules and modulate important cellular processes. Intracellular polyamine concentrations are regulated by biosynthesis, degradation, and transport. This work investigated the impact of the deletion of polyamine biosynthesis gene, SP_0916 (cadA, lysine/arginine decarboxylase covered in the second, third and fourth chapters), on growth, Gram staining characteristics, capsule production, proteome and stress responses of virulent pneumococcal serotype 4 (TIGR4). We identified loss of capsular polysaccharide (CPS) in DELTA SP_0916 strain. Our proteome results showed a shift in metabolism towards the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) that could reduce the availability of precursors for CPS and could explain the un-encapsulated phenotype of DELTA SP_0916. Since a shift towards the PPP is usually in response to stress, we compared the stress responses of DELTA SP_0916 to that of TIGR4. Our results show that the mutant was more susceptible to oxidative, nitrosative, and acid stress compared to the wild type. In the fifth chapter we compared the transcriptome, metabolome, stress responses and stress susceptibility of the polyamine transport deficient strain (DELTA potABCD) and S. pneumoniae TIGR4. Results in this chapter show that polyamine transport is essential for pneumococcal stress responses, and capsule biosynthesis. The impact of impaired polyamine synthesis (DELTA SP_0916), and transport (DELTA potABCD) on pneumococcal capsule is due to altered expression of Leloir pathway, reduced glycolysis, and increased PPP, possibly in response to impaired stress responses. These results demonstrate that alteration of polyamine pathways affects pneumococcal stress responses which in turn could limit the availability of precursors for capsule synthesis, and thus have an impact on virulence. Thus, polyamine metabolism is an attractive avenue for developing novel interventions for limiting the spread of S. pneumoniae, a versatile human pathogen.

No description available.

The Escherichia coli acid stress response allows the survival of cells over a wide range of pH challenges: down to pH 2.0 with the extreme acid stress response and down to pH 4.0 – 5.0 with the mild acid stress response. The cell employs a number of different acid stress response systems, including a number of structurally related, pyridoxal-5′-phosphate (PLP)-dependent amino acid decarboxylases, including the glutamic acid, arginine, lysine, and ornithine decarboxylases. The decarboxylases are large multi-domain enzymes that exist as homodimers or higher-order oligomers and have various activity optima at different pH values. By the proton-consuming decarboxylation of a target amino acid, these enzymes provide a response to a wide range of pH challenges. The primary focus of this work is the elucidation of the X-ray crystal structure of the inducible lysine decarboxylase LdcI, a homodecameric enzyme that has distinct 5-fold symmetry. A combination of heavy-atom derivatization, anomalous scattering and molecular replacement techniques were used to determine the X-ray structure and the model was refined to a resolution of 2.0 Å. The structure of LdcI revealed that the protein co-crystallized with the stringent response alarmone ppGpp. The stringent response is activated under nutritional and stress conditions and reorganizes cellular transcription and metabolism from exponential-phase growth into stationary phase growth. The primary target of ppGpp is the RNA polymerase, but other classes of enzymes are known to be affected. ppGpp was found to be a potent inhibitor of LdcI both in vitro and in vivo and this role provides the first evidence of a linkage between the stringent response and acid stress response. Among the decarboxylases related to LdcI (the constitutive lysine, the ornithine and arginine decarboxylases), a number of these enzymes were similarly regulated by ppGpp.

The Escherichia coli acid stress response allows the survival of cells over a wide range of pH challenges: down to pH 2.0 with the extreme acid stress response and down to pH 4.0 – 5.0 with the mild acid stress response. The cell employs a number of different acid stress response systems, including a number of structurally related, pyridoxal-5′-phosphate (PLP)-dependent amino acid decarboxylases, including the glutamic acid, arginine, lysine, and ornithine decarboxylases. The decarboxylases are large multi-domain enzymes that exist as homodimers or higher-order oligomers and have various activity optima at different pH values. By the proton-consuming decarboxylation of a target amino acid, these enzymes provide a response to a wide range of pH challenges. The primary focus of this work is the elucidation of the X-ray crystal structure of the inducible lysine decarboxylase LdcI, a homodecameric enzyme that has distinct 5-fold symmetry. A combination of heavy-atom derivatization, anomalous scattering and molecular replacement techniques were used to determine the X-ray structure and the model was refined to a resolution of 2.0 Å. The structure of LdcI revealed that the protein co-crystallized with the stringent response alarmone ppGpp. The stringent response is activated under nutritional and stress conditions and reorganizes cellular transcription and metabolism from exponential-phase growth into stationary phase growth. The primary target of ppGpp is the RNA polymerase, but other classes of enzymes are known to be affected. ppGpp was found to be a potent inhibitor of LdcI both in vitro and in vivo and this role provides the first evidence of a linkage between the stringent response and acid stress response. Among the decarboxylases related to LdcI (the constitutive lysine, the ornithine and arginine decarboxylases), a number of these enzymes were similarly regulated by ppGpp.

Stress hormones, adrenaline and noradrenaline, have been shown to be critical for heart development. Mice lacking dopamine greek lower case letter beta]-hydroxylase (Dbh), an enzyme responsible for synthesis of these adrenergic hormones, die during mid-gestation due to cardiac failure. Prior research showed that adrenergic cells are found within the electrical conduction system of the heart, and adrenergic deficiency leads to slowed cardiac conduction during embryogenesis. Microarray analysis of wild-type (Dbh+/+) and knockout (Dbh-/-) mouse hearts revealed significant differences in expression of retinoic acid (RA) signaling genes. RA signaling has also been shown to be critical for heart development. These data suggest that heart failure due to adrenergic deficiency may be dependent upon RA signaling. This led to the hypothesis that adrenergic hormones promote the development of the electrical conduction system through modulation of RA signaling. To test this, embryonic mouse hearts were cultured with LE 135, a RA receptor blocker. Heart rate, arrhythmic index (AI) and conduction time were measured. Under these conditions there was a marked increase in arrhythmias. Hearts treated with LE 135 showed a mean AI of 0.232±0.057 after 24 hours of treatment while when untreated had an AI of 0.083±0.028 (p<0.05;n=15). In contrast, there was no significant change in heart rate or conduction speed after 24 hours with or without the retinoic acid receptor blocker. To determine if adrenergic stimulus influences retinoic acid response, an established RA-sensitive reporter cell line was employed. These F9-RARE-LacZ cells were treated with forskolin (cAMP regulator) and isoproterenol (greek lower case letter beta]-agonist) to measure changes in RA signaling. Evaluation of RA signaling showed an increase in retinoic acid responsiveness when treated with an adrenergic signaling agonist.; These results suggest that proper retinoic acid signaling is essential for maintaining cardiac rhythmicity during embryonic development and adrenergic stimulation can influence this response.

No description available.

In der Hefe Yarrowia lipolytica führen Mutationen im GPR1-Gen zu Essigsäuresensitivität. Die Deletion dieses Genes hat demgegenüber keinen Effekt auf den Phänotyp. In dieser Arbeit wurde das Gpr1-Protein näher charakterisiert. Es zeigte sich, dass GPR1-Mutantenstämme wesentlich schneller Acetat akkumulierten als der Wildtyp. Außerdem konnte bestetigt werden, dass Gpr1p ein integrales Membranprotein ist. Mittels Ortspezifischer Analyse wurden verschiedene funktionelle Bereiche untersucht. Das Protein unterliegt zudem einer Phosphorylierung/Dephosphorylierung. Auf der Grundlage der dargelegten Ergebnisse wurde ein Funktionsmodell für Gpr1p erstellt.

In der Hefe Yarrowia lipolytica führen Mutationen im GPR1-Gen zu Essigsäuresensitivität. Die Deletion dieses Genes hat demgegenüber keinen Effekt auf den Phänotyp. In dieser Arbeit wurde das Gpr1-Protein näher charakterisiert. Es zeigte sich, dass GPR1-Mutantenstämme wesentlich schneller Acetat akkumulierten als der Wildtyp. Außerdem konnte bestetigt werden, dass Gpr1p ein integrales Membranprotein ist. Mittels Ortspezifischer Analyse wurden verschiedene funktionelle Bereiche untersucht. Das Protein unterliegt zudem einer Phosphorylierung/Dephosphorylierung. Auf der Grundlage der dargelegten Ergebnisse wurde ein Funktionsmodell für Gpr1p erstellt.