Mitochondrial protein biogenesis depends on the import of nucleus-encoded precursors from the cytosol. Import is highly regulated and specific for different subcompartments, with intermembrane space (IMS) import driven by an oxidative mechanism on conserved cysteine residues. Oxidative folding in the IMS is facilitated by the mitochondria import and assembly (MIA) pathway. Proteins can only be imported into the IMS in Cys-reduced unfolded forms, as oxidation prevents translocation into the IMS. How the import-competent forms are maintained in the cytoplasm is lesser characterised compared to the MIA pathway. Two recent studies suggest that the cytosolic Thioredoxin (Trx) and Glutaredoxin (Grx) reductase systems play a role in facilitating IMS protein import, with previous evidence identifying a role for yeast Trxs in small Tim protein biogenesis. In this study, the redox properties of the yeast Trx and Grx systems were investigated, as well as whether the yeast Grx system play a role in the biogenesis of two typical types of IMS precursor proteins. First, in vitro studies were carried out to determine the standard redox potentials (E°’) of the Trx and Grx enzymes. This was a quantifiable parameter of reducing activity and the results were described in Chapter 3. This study determined the E°’Trx1 value, which was shown to be a more effective reductant compared to other orthologs. Experimental limitations prevented the Grx system E°’ values being determined. Next, whether the Grx plays a role in the biogenesis of the CX3C motif-containing small Tim proteins were investigated using yeast genetic in vivo and biochemical analysis methods. The results were described in Chapter 4. There, Grxs were observed to not affect cell growth, but in using overexpressed Tim9 as an import model, significant differences were observed for the Grx system as GRX deletion significantly decreased overexpressed Tim9 levels. Study on the isolated mitochondria and cytosol with overexpressed Tim9 was unclear however. This study also observed a genetic interaction between GRX andYME1 that recovered cell functioning under respiratory conditions. Finally, whether the Grx system plays a role in the biogenesis of CX9C motif-containing proteins (Mia40, Mia40C and Cox17) was studied in Chapter 5. Whilst Mia40C (C-domain of Mia40) and Cox17 are imported into mitochondria via the MIA pathway, the full-length Mia40 is a substrate of the presequence-targeted TIM23 pathway. The results indicated that import of the full-length Mia40 was unaffected by GRX deletion. However, studies of an overexpressed Mia40C as a substrate of the MIA pathway, showed strong mitochondrial protein level decreases caused by deletion of the Grx proteins. This decrease was also accompanied by an accumulation of unimported Mia40C in the cytosol. Cox17 as an alternative MIA pathway substrate also showed decreased mitochondrial levels in the GRX deletion mutants. These results altogether suggest that the cytosolic Grx system can function in the biogenesis of CX9C motif-containing IMS proteins imported through the MIA pathway, as well as the CX3C small Tim proteins. The topic of how IMS proteins are degraded in the cell was also raised by the study of Yme1.

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Doctor of Philosophy / Horticulture, Forestry, and Recreation Resources / Sunghun Park / Abiotic stresses, including chilling and drought stresses, are considered to be major limiting factors for growth and yield of agricultural and horticultural crops. One of the inevitable consequences of abiotic stresses is the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in plants. ROS can either act as an alarm signal to induce the defense pathway when kept at a low level or cause oxidative damage to various cellular components when increased to a phytotoxic level. Glutaredoxins (GRXs) are members of ROS scavenging system that can maintain the cell redox homeostasis by using the reducing power of glutathione. In this research, we characterized the roles of GRXs in protecting tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) from chilling stresses and rice (Oryza sativa L.) from drought stresses. Our results indicated that ectopic expression of an Arabidopsis gene AtGRXS17 in tomato could enhance the chilling tolerance by increasing antioxidant enzyme activities and reducing H₂O₂ accumulation to ameliorate oxidative damage to cell membranes and photosystems. Furthermore, AtGRXS17-expressing tomato plants had increased accumulation of soluble sugars to protect plant cells from dehydration stress. In rice, silenced expression of a rice glutaredoxin gene OsGRXS17 was used as a reverse-genetic approach to elucidate the roles of OsGRXS17 in drought stress tolerance. Our results showed that silenced expression of OsGRXS17 conferred improved tolerance to drought stress in rice. ABA-mediated stomatal closure is an important protection mechanism that plants adapt to a drought stress conditions, and H2O2 acts as secondary messenger in ABA signaling to induce the stomatal closure. Silenced expression of OsGRXS17 gave rise to H₂O₂ accumulation in the guard cells and promoted ABA-mediated stomatal closure, resulting in reduced water loss, higher relative water content, and consequently enhanced drought tolerance in rice. This research provides a new perspective on the functions of GRXs in chilling and drought stress tolerance of tomato and rice, and an important genetic engineering approach to improve chilling and drought stress tolerance for other crop species.

Glutaredoxine wie auch Thioredoxine gehören der großen Proteinfamilie der Redoxine an. Das in dieser Arbeit näher untersuchte Glutaredoxin S17 (GRXS17) besteht aus einer Thioredoxin (Trx)- und bis zu drei Glutaredoxin (Grx)-Homologie-Domänen (HD). Es ist in ähnlicher Zusammensetzung in allen eukaryotischen und in vielen prokaryotischen Organismen unter unterschiedlichen Namen zu finden. Der Aufbau aus einer Trx-HD und drei Grx-HD kommt nur in höheren Pflanzen vor. In dieser Arbeit wurde das GRXS17 aus A. thaliana (AtGRXS17) sowohl durch computerbasierte Promotoranalysen als auch durch in vitro-Protein-Interaktionsstudien mit Transkriptionsfaktoren und Kinasen in Verbindung gebracht, die an Differenzierungsprozessen wie z.B. der Blühinduktion und/ oder an der Blütenbildung beteiligt sind. Mittels Bimolekularer Fluoreszenzkomplementation (BiFC) wurden Interaktionen von AtGRXS17 mit der Kinase At1g50570 und dem CCAAT-Transkriptionsfaktor NF-YC11 (At3g12480) verifiziert, welche zuvor bereits mittels massenspektrometrischer Analysen von pulldown-Versuchen identifiziert worden waren. Die drei Grx-HD des AtGRXS17-Proteins können [2Fe-2S]-Cluster einlagern (Kooperation mit C. Berndt, Karolinska Institut, Schweden). Eine regulative Funktion auf Transkriptebene, wie sie für das zu AtGRXS17 homologe GRX4 aus Saccharomyces cerevisiae (ScGRX4) durch die Interaktion mit dem CCAAT-Transkriptionsfaktor PHP4 in Abhängigkeit vom [2Fe-2S]-Cluster-Status des ScGRX4 stattfindet, ist daher denkbar. T DNA-Insertions-Mutanten im AtGRXS17-Gen generieren unter Langtag-Bedingungen (LT) verschiedene Differenzierungs-Phänotypen, während die Pflanzen unter Kurztag-Bedingungen (KT) in ihrer Entwicklung keine Abweichungen vom WT aufweisen. Der auffälligste dieser LT-Phänotypen zeigt eine verspätete Blühinduktion, die mit einem blütenlosen ersten Spross (PIN-like-Phänotyp) einhergeht. Erhöhte Lichtintensitäten verzögern die Blühinduktion weiter und lösen unterschiedliche stark ausgeprägte Entwicklungsstörungen in allen Blüten aus. Verschiedene, ebenfalls an der Blühinduktion beteiligte Vertreter der NF-Y-Transkriptionsfaktoren bilden mit CONSTANS (CO) einen Transkriptionsfaktor-Komplex zur Initiation der Transkription von FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT), dessen Genprodukt aus dem Blatt über das Phloem in den Vegetationskegel transportiert wird. Dort löst der Transkriptionsfaktor FT mit weiteren Transkriptionsfaktoren die Blühinduktion aus. Die Interaktion von AtGRXS17 mit dem NF YC11 und die Funktionsweise dieser Transkriptionsfaktor-Familie legen nahe, dass AtGRXS17 an regulativen Prozessen der Transkription von FT und somit an der Blühinduktion beteiligt ist. In 35S::AtGRXS17-Komplementations-Linien sind alle beobachteten Phänotypen der AtGRXS17-KO-Pflanzen behoben. Gibberellinsäure-Behandlungen an den KO-Pflanzen schwächen die Phänotypen, die bei Blühinduktion und Blütenbildung auftreten, ab. Vernalisierung unter LT-Bedingungen revertiert den Phänotyp der KO-Mutante vollständig. Da diese Behandlungen, die die Phänotypen des AtGRXS17 revertieren können, Mechanismen betreffen, die der Induktion durch die Photoperiode (LT) nachgeschaltet sind, ist der Wirkort von AtGRXS17 im Blühinduktionsweg durch LT-Bedingungen belegt.

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Une meilleure compréhension de la physiologie de la semence des céréales constitue certainement un moyen pour améliorer et développer de nouvelles variétés capables de correspondre aux besoins économiques et écologiques du moment. Les rédoxines constituent des marqueurs intéressants pour appréhender la qualité technologique et germinative du grain de blé en particulier. Le criblage des banques de données a permis d’isoler des isoformes de ces rédoxines. Cette étude a confirmé l’implication des thiorédoxines dans la réduction des protéines de réserve du blé et de maïs. Elle a permis de mettre en évidence un autre rôle de certains isoformes de thiorédoxines h dans la formation de polymères de hauts poids moléculaires. L'inhibition de l’expression de gènes par interférence ADN montre que les thiorédoxines et les glutarédoxines sont impliquées dans la protection contre le stress oxydatif chez le blé. De même, l'application d’un stress biotique simulé par la laminarine a permis de discriminer l'implication de différents marqueurs du stress, et de montrer en particulier que la 1-Cys-Prx peut être considérée comme un indicateur de l'état redox du grain pendant la germination. La mise en place d’une méthode simple et efficace de transformation des céréales via Agrobacterium, constitue un moyen pour comprendre davantage le rôle de ces rédoxines dans la gestion des stress, et les éventuelles conséquences sur la qualité technologique du grain. / A better understanding of the physiology of seed cereal constitutes certainly a means to improve and develop new varieties capable of corresponding to the actual economic and ecological needs. Redoxins are interesting markers to apprehend the technological and germinative quality of wheat seed in particular. The screening of data banks allowed isolating isoforms of these redoxins. This study confirmed the implication of thioredoxins in the reduction of storage proteins in wheat and corn seeds. It allowed to bring to light another role of some thioredoxins h isoforms in the formation of high molecular weights polymers. The inhibition of the expression of genes by DNA interference shows that thioredoxins and glutaredoxins are involved in the protection against oxidative stress in wheat. Also, the application of a biotic stress simulated by laminarin allowed to discriminate the implication of various stress markers, and to highlight in particular that the 1-Cys-Prx can be considered as an indicator of the redox state of the grain during germination and seedling. The implementation of a simple and effective method of transformation of cereal via Agrobacterium constitutes a means to understand more on the role of these redoxins in the management of the stress, and the possible consequences on the technological quality of the seed.

L'adaptation des plantes face au stress thermique est cruciale pour leur survie et implique des réponses spécifiques telles que l’induction de protéines chaperonnes et la production d'espèces réactives de l'oxygène (ROS). Les glutaredoxines (GRX), une famille de protéines thiol anti- oxydantes, jouent un rôle important dans la régulation redox et la réponse au stress oxydatif. Mes études se concentrent sur GRXS17, une protéine multi-domaine à cœur fer-soufre. Malgré un phénotype de développement sévère du mutant grxs17 à des températures normales et plus élevées, peu est connu sur les fonctions biochimiques et les rôles intracellulaires précis de GRXS17. J’ai montré au cours de ma thèse que GRXS17 fonctionne comme une chaperonnedépendante de l’oxydation de la cellule. Elle présente à la fois une activité de type foldase mais également holdase. L'exposition aux stress oxydatif et thermique provoque le passage d'une forme dimérique à des complexes à poids moléculaires élevés ce qui est consistant avec une activité holdase. J’ai également montré que GRXS17 est requis pour la tolérance à des hausses de température de manière dépendante de ses cystéines catalytiques. Des approches de transcriptomique, métabolomique et protéomique montrent une réponse au stress thermique retardée dans le mutant grxs17, des défauts dans l’accumulation de certains métabolites clés, et ont permis d'identifier de potentiels nouveaux interactants de GRXS17 dans des conditions de stress thermique. Ces éléments soutiennent la fonction chaperonne de GRXS17 dans desconditions normales et de stress thermiques. / Adaption of plants to heat stress is crucial for their survival and involves dedicated response such as chaperones proteins induction and production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Glutaredoxins (GRX), a family of thiol redox proteins, play an important role in redox regulation and response to oxidative stress. The focus of our studies is on GRXS17 which is a multi-subunit iron-sulfur glutaredoxin. Despite the severe developmental phenotype of the grxs17 mutant at normal and elevated temperatures, relatively little is known about the biochemical functions and precise intracellular roles of GRXS17. I show during my thesis that GRXS17 function as a foldase and holdase redox-dependent chaperone. Oxidative and heat stress exposure cause a shift from a dimeric form to high MW complexes which is concordant with a holdase activity. I show that GRXS17 is required for the tolerance to moderated heatstress in a Cys-dependent manner. Transcriptomic, metabolomic and proteomic approaches show heat stress response delayed in grxs17, key-metabolites defects and allowed to identifynew potential GRXS17-interactor under heat stress conditions, supporting a potential protecting function of GRXS17 against stress damage.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a debilitating movement disorder. The cardinal symptoms of PD are bradykinesia, resting tremors and rigidity. PD is characterized by degeneration of dopaminergic neurons of A9 region, substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) and loss of dopaminergic terminals in striatum while the dopaminergic neurons of A10 region, ventral tegmental area (VTA) are relatively protected. Putative mechanisms, such as mitochondrial dysfunction, dysregulation of the ubiquitin proteasome system and increased oxidative stress have been hypothesized to mediate PD pathology. However, precise mechanisms that underlie selective vulnerability of SNpc dopaminergic neurons to degeneration are unknown. The aim of this thesis was to evaluate the pathological mechanisms that may contribute to degeneration of SNpc dopaminergic neurons in PD. Dopaminergic neurons of SNpc are pacemakers and constant calcium entry through L-type calcium channel, Cav1.3 has been reported in these neurons during pacemaking. In addition, these neurons have poor calcium buffering capacity. Together, this leads to dysregulation of calcium homeostasis in the SNpc dopaminergic neurons leading to increased oxidative stress. Gene expression of the full length channel and the variant was investigated in the mouse midbrain and further their presence was verified in mouse SNpc and VTA and also in SNpc and VTA in the MPTP mouse model of PD. Gene expression of Cav1.3 -42 and its variant was also studied in SNpc from autopsy tissue from PD patients and age matched controls. Having studied differential expression of the calcium channels, global changes in gene expression in SNpc from the MPTP mouse model of PD and PD autopsy tissues were next examined. This is the first report of transcriptome profile alterations from SNpc in mouse model and PD tissue performed using RNA-seq. Gene expression profiles were examined from SNpc 1 day post single exposure to MPTP, in which case there is no neuronal death and 14 days after daily MPTP treatment where SNpc has undergone ~50% cell death. Further, RNA- seq was performed to study gene expression alterations in SNpc from human PD patients and age- matched controls. The RNA-seq data was taken through extensive analyses; analysed for differential gene expression, gene-set enrichment analysis, pathway analysis and network analysis. Glutaredoxin 1 (Grx1) is a thiol disulfide oxidoreductase that catalyses the deglutathionylation of proteins and is important for regulation of cellular protein thiol redox homeostasis. Down-regulation of Grx1 has been established to exacerbate neurodegeneration through impairment of cell survival signalling. Previous work from our laboratory has demonstrated that perturbation of protein thiol redox homeostasis through diamide injection into SNpc leads to development of PD pathology and motor deficits. It was therefore investigated if Grx1 down-regulation in vivo, leading to increased glutathionylation and protein thiol oxidation, could result in PD pathology. This work is thus the first study of RNA-seq based transcriptomic profile alterations in SNpc from human PD patients. This work also highlights several differences between mouse model and human PD tissue indicating that the underlying mechanisms of PD pathogenesis differ from mouse to humans in addition to developing a novel model for PD.