The highly pathogenic Avian Influenza subtype H5N1 can lead to 100 % mortality in chickens. The main issue in prevention of H5N1 is the development of efficient poultry vaccines. Influenza haemagglutinin (HA) derived recombinant polypeptides would not elicit an immune response against internal viral proteins. Thus HA polypeptide use facilitates differentiation between infected and vaccinated animals (DIVA). Serological tests using recombinant immune-dominant proteins devoid of non-specific moieties present in whole cell preparations might have higher sensitivity and specificity. In the present study, four non-overlapping sequences of different functional domains of influenza A virus subtype H5 virus (A / Thailand / 1 (Kan-1) / 2004) designated P1, P2, P5 and rHA1 were cloned and expressed in Pichia pastoris for vaccination and diagnosis purposes. The four polypeptides were expressed successfully in P. pastoris using peptone methanol (1 % (w/v) yeast extract, 2 % (w/v) peptone, 2 % (v/v) methanol). P1, P2 and rHA1 polypeptides were purified using nickel affinity chromatography, whereas, P5 was purified using lectin affinity chromatography. Correct expression was analysed by SDS-PAGE and western blot, glycosylation analysis and MALDI-TOF.The immune responses of P1, P2 and rHA1 polypeptides were assessed in BALB/C mice. To enhance antibody response, recombinant polypeptides were mixed with the Gerbu adjuvant and injected subcutaneously. Vaccination of mice induced high subtype specific antibody titres in mice as analysed by Elisa (using recombinant antigens or whole H5N1 antigen) and Immunofluorescence assay (IFA) performed on Vero cells infected with H5 (A / Thailand / 1 (Kan-1) / 2004). The immunogenicity of P1, P2, P5 and rHA1 polypeptides was determined in commercial layer chickens. Results showed that P1, P2 and rHA1 polypeptides induced high subtype specific antibody titres in chickens as analysed by Elisa (using recombinant antigens or whole H5N1 antigen), IFA (performed on Vero cells infected with H5N1 A / Thailand / 1 (Kan-1) / 2004) and microneutralization test (µNT). However, P5 polypeptide was not immunogenic in chickens. Neutralizing antibodies could be detected in chicken sera immunized with P1, P2 and rHA1 polypeptides as analyzed with microneutralization test. IgY was analysed in egg yolk of chickens immunized with recombinant polypeptides. The IgY of chicken immunized with P1 and rHA1, transferred to the egg yolk was proportional to maternal serum IgY. However, IgY could not be detected in egg yolk of chickens immunized with P2 and P5 recombinant polypeptides. The more immunogenic polypeptides P1 and rHA1 were used in an recombinant Elisa (rElisa) for detection of influenza A subtype H5 in chickens and duck sera.The optimal antigen for the concentrations of rHA1, P1 was 50 ng / well, 50 ng / well. Analysis of 25 positive sera and 25 negative sera to H5 antibodies revealed that, the sensitivity of Western blot, whole H5N1 Elisa, agar gel immunodiffusion test (AGID), P1-Elisa and rHA1-Elisa was 100 %, 100 %, 52 %, 80 % and 100 %, respectively, while the specificity was 100 %, 100 %, 100 %, 72 %, and 100 %, respectively. Moreover, duck sera, with haemagglutination inhibiting titer ranged from 4 - 8 log2, were tested positive by rHA1 Elisa compared with negative duck sera. Further analysis of 179 serum samples with rHA1-Elisa in comparison with haemagglutination inhibition (HI) and commercial Elisa proved to be highly sensitive and specific. The agreement ratio between rElisa and HI was 84.9 % and between commercial Elisa (Flock check) and HI was 76.5 %. In conclusion, P. pastoris may allow development of an effective recombinant influenza vaccine based on truncated sequences of HA that might provide broader protection against H5 influenza viruses. The possibilities to use rHA1, P1 and P5 recombinant polypeptides as a vaccine against H5 influenza should be further studied. Also our study demonstrates the potential utility of recombinant Elisa as a tool for improvement of serological diagnosis of influenza A subtype H5 in chickens and ducks. / Die hochpathogene aviäre Influenza des Subtyps H5N1 erreicht beim Ausbruch von Infektionen in Nutzgeflügelbeständen Mortalitätsraten von bis zu 100 %. Effektive und kostengünstige Impfstoffe werden benötigt, die möglichst auch eine Differenzierung zwischen geimpften Tieren und mit Wild-Virus infizierten Tieren zulassen. In diesem Zusammenhang könnten Peptid-Vakzine eine mögliche Alternative zu den herkömmlichen Impfstoffen darstellen, bei denen unter Verwendung des Vollvirus Antikörper gegen mehrere Virusproteine induziert werden. Außerdem, könnten rekombinante Antigene in serologischen Tests zur Diagnose von H5 Virus in Nutzgeflügel eingesetzt werden. Von dem Einsatz spezifischer rekombinanter Antigene ist eine Verbesserung der Serodiagnostik zu erwarten. In dieser Arbeit, wurden vier verkürzte Sequenzen des Hämagglutinins (P1, P2, P5 und rHA1) von Subtyp H5 (A / Thailand / 1 (Kan-1) / 2004) rekombinant in Pichia Pastoris exprimiert. Dazu erfolgten zunächst eine Klonierung in der Expressionsvektor pAOX und die Transformation von Pichia Pastoris. Die Expression wurde durch Methanol induziert. Der Nachweis der rekombinanten Fusionspeptiden mit C-terminalen Histidin-Tag erfolgte durch SDS-PAGE, Western Blot, Glycolysierungsanalyse, und MALDI-TOF. Der Histidin-Tag ermöglichte die Reinigung von P1, P2 und rHA1 mit Metall-Affinitätschromatographie. Polypeptid P5 hingegen wurde mittels Lectin-Affinitäts- chromatographie gereinigt. Balb/c Mäuse wurden mit Polypeptid P1, P2 bzw. rHA1, versetzt mit Gerbu Adjuvans, immunisiert. Zur Untersuchung der Immunantwort wurden die murinen Seren mittels Elisa (unter Verwendung rekombinanter Antigene oder Voll-H5N1 Antigen) sowie IFA (durchgeführt in Vero- Zellen infiziert mit A / Thailand / 1 (Kan-1) / 2004) analysiert. Dabei wurde die präferentielle Induktion von H5-spezifischen Antikörpern detektiert. Die Immunogenität der P1, P2, P5 und rHA1-Polypeptide wurde in kommerziellen Legehennen bestimmt. Seren wurden mit ELISA, IFA, und Mikroneutralizationstest (μNT) analysiert. Die ELISA-Ergebnisse zeigten, dass die Polypeptide P1, P2 und rHA1 hohe Subtyp-spezifische Antikörpertiter in Hühnern induzierten. Im µNT konnte nur ein niedriger neutralisierender Antikörpertiter nachgewiesen werden. Das P5- Polypeptid ist bei Hühnern nicht immunogen. Im Eigelb von Hühnern, die mit den rekombinanten Polypeptiden P1 und rHA1 immunisiert wurden, konnten H5-spezifische IgY Antikörper detektiert werden. Hühner, die mit P2 und P5 immunisiert wurden, zeigten keine IgY im Eigelb. Die rekombinanten Antigene P1 und rHA1 wurden im ELISA auf ihre potenzielle Eignung für die Serodiagnostik untersucht. Die optimale Antigenkonzentration war 50 ng / well. Die serologische Analyse von 25 positiven und 25 negativen Seren auf Antikörper gegen H5 zeigte, dass Sensitivität und Spezifität von Western Blot, Voll-H5N1 ELISA und rHA1-ELISA bei jeweils 100 % lagen. Bei Agargel- Immunodiffusiontest (AGID) lagen Sensitivität und Spezifität bei 52 % und 100 %, während im P1-Elisa lediglich eine Sensitivität von 80 % und eine Spezifität von 72 % erreicht wurden. Somit eignet sich rHA1 für die Anwendung in der Serodiagnostik. Bei der serologischen Untersuchung von 175 Hühnerseren wurde eine Überbestimmung zwischen rHA1-ELISA und Hämagglutinationshemmungstest (HAI) 84.9 % festgestellt, während diese zwischen dem kommerziellen ELISA (Flock Check) und HAI 76.5 % betrug. Die Ergebnisse zeigten, dass das Expressionssystem P. pastoris als Produktionssystem rekombinanter Antigene für die Serodiagnostik von H5 Influenza geeignet ist. Challenge-Versuche sind nötig, um die Eignung von rekombinanten Antigenen als möglichen Impfstoff gegen H5 Influenza zu untersuchen.

The Golgi apparatus is the main crossroad of the intracellular trafficking network in all eukaryotic cells and plays a crucial role in the distribution of cellular material. To ensure the proper sorting and delivery of cargo proteins to their destination while maintaining Golgi homeostasis the coordination of all transport events to and from this organelle is required. Although a cascade of activation events has already been reported for Golgi Ypt/Rab proteins that function in the exocytic pathway, their connection to incoming vesicles from endosomal compartments or to the different Arf mediated vesicle formation machineries has still to be established. In addition, the role of lipids and the interplay between lipid and protein regulators at the Golgi are largely missing. In the present study, we used several approaches to unravel the crosstalk between known regulators of Golgi trafficking and to identify new proteins involved in this process. As starting point, we considered the results from four different screens before focusing on the role of Arf exchange factors. We report two new physical interactors of the late Golgi Arf-GEF Sec7p: the lipid kinase Pik1p and the cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase Cpd1p. In addition, our studies on the function of Sec7p revealed additional feature of this protein and it’s relationship to the other yeast Golgi Arf-GEFs. Arf proteins and their regulators play an important role in the formation of vesicles at the exit from the Golgi apparatus. There are three Golgi-localized Arf-GEFs in S.cerevisiae, Sec7p and the redundant Gea1p/Gea2p. While it has been established that Sec7p function does not overlap with the Gea’s, the specific role of these proteins remains unclear. We show that Sec7p colocalizes poorly with the Gea’s, indicating that these proteins activate Arf on different Golgi sub-compartments. In addition, our data suggest that Sec7p mainly promotes the formation of post-Golgi transport vesicles supporting forward transport from the late Golgi while the Gea’s primarily regulate COPI-mediated retrograde traffic. This observation is consistent with published data from mammalian cells and suggests that the spatial and temporal regulation of Arf is conserved from yeast to mammals. Both Arf regulation and phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate (PI4P) metabolism are important factors for Golgi function. Here, we show that the yeast PI4-kinase, Pik1p binds specifically to Sec7p but not Gea1p or Gea2p. Taken together, the physical interaction, the colocalization and similar transport phenotypes of the respective mutants suggests a functional link between Pik1p and Sec7p but not the Gea’s. In addition, Pik1p binds to the catalytic domain of Sec7p and could directly influence the activity of the GEF. We propose that this interaction coordinates Arf activation with PI4P production to generate a highly specific dual recognition system for the recruitment of specific effectors to the late Golgi. Besides its catalytic domain, Sec7p shares several conserved regions with other members of the BIG/GBF Arf-GEF subfamilies, including the N-terminal DCB (Dimerization/Cyclophilin Binding) domain. We show that a single point mutation in the DCB domain of Sec7p efficiently inhibits Arf activation without affecting membrane recruitment of the GEF and could interfere with a possible dimerization of the protein. We identified Cpd1p as an allele specific dosage suppressor of the Sec7p DCB domain mutation. Cpd1p and Sec7p physically interact and both proteins localize independently to the late Golgi. Increased Golgi level of Cpd1p compensates for the loss of interaction due to the mutation in the DCB domain of Sec7p. The catalytic activity of Cpd1p is important for the rescue, indicating an intriguing connection between the Arf activation cycle and ADP-ribose derivates. We also find that Cpd1p interacts with several other proteins involved in Golgi- and post-Golgi transport events. Hence, Cpd1p is a new regulator of vesicular traffic at the Golgi that could act as a scaffolding factor for Sec7p and other transport proteins.

Um Beweise für eine mögliche Mikrokompartimentierung der Glykolyse im pflanzlichen System zu erhalten, sollten in der vorliegenden Arbeit Protein-Protein-Interaktionen der cytosolischen Mais-Aldolase mit anderen Proteinen experimentell nachgewiesen werden. Die in Tieren bekannte Interaktion des glykolytischen Enzyms Aldolase mit Aktin, einem Bestandteil des Cytoskeletts, wurde für Pflanzen in vitro durch Copolymerisationsversuche bestätigt. Die Bindung pflanzlicher Aldolase an Aktinfilamente wurde anders als im tierischen System durch das Substrat Fructose-1,6-bisphosphat auch in hohen Konzentrationen (10 mM) nicht vollständig verhindert, sondern führte lediglich zu einer um 50% verringerten Bindung. Eine ebenfalls hemmende Wirkung auf die Bindung der Aldolase an Aktin wiesen Fructose-6-phosphat und Fructose-2,6-bisphosphat in Konzentrationen von 10 mM auf. Ein eindeutiger Einfluss des Redox-Milieus auf die Aldolase-Aktin-Bindung konnte nicht nachgewiesen werden. Mit Hilfe des im Rahmen dieser Arbeit etablierten Hefe-2-Hybrid-Systems wurden weitere Interaktionspartner der Aldolase identifiziert. Insgesamt wurden neun mögliche Protein-Protein-Interaktionen nachgewiesen, bei denen es sich jedoch zum Teil um falsch-positive Interaktionen handeln kann. Neben einigen noch unbekannten Proteinen konnten Interaktionen mit einem Translations-Initiationsfaktor und dem spannungsabhängigen Anionenkanalprotein VDAC nachgewiesen werden. In Bindeversuchen auf Grundlage der Affinitätschromatographie mit den rekombinanten Proteinen VDAC und Aldolase wurde ein weiterer Hinweis auf eine Interaktion zwischen VDAC und Aldolase erhalten. Aufgrund unspezifischer Bindungen der Aldolase an die Affinitätsmatrix konnte mit dieser Methode jedoch keine eindeutige Verifizierung der Interaktion erzielt werden. Eine eindeutige Bestätigung der Interaktionen zwischen Aldolase und Aktin sowie zwischen Aldolase und VDAC erfolgte durch Far-Western-Blots .

Ziel dieser Arbeit war es, den zentralen Kohlenstoffwechsel mit besonderem Fokus auf Regulation zu untersuchen, insbesondere durch die Auftrennung von zwei Regulationsebenen: metabolische Regulation, assoziiert mit direkten Wech- selwirkungen zwischen Metaboliten und Enzymen, sowie hierarchische Regulation, assoziiert mit Änderungen in Enzymmengenänderungen durch die Regulation von de novo Enzymproduktion. Unsere Untersuchungen basieren größtenteils auf drei Datensätzen aus glukoselimitierten Chemostatkulturen von S. cerevisiae. Im Kap. 2 wurden Extrazelluläre Bedingungen im Makroskopischen unter- sucht. Das wichtigsten Ergebnis dieser the- oretischen Analyse ist die Charakterisierung des Selektionsdruckes in einem Chemostatkultur. Im Kap. 4 wurde eine Analyse auf Systemebene des zentralen Kohlenstoffwech- sels durchgeführt. Unter Verwendung der Metaboliten- und der Flußdaten wurde ein kinetisches Modell konstruiert, welches wesentliche Teile des zentralen Kohlen- stoffwechsels umfaßt. Die meisten kinetischen Ausdrücke und Parameterwerte wurden aus einem bestehenden kinetischen Modells (Teusink-Modell) übernom- men. / In this work, we aimed to elucidate central carbon metabolism focusing on the aspect of regulation, especially by separating two regulatory levels: metabolic regulation, associated with direct interactions of metabolites and enzymes, and hierarchic regulation, associated with enzyme level change via regulation of de novo enzyme production. Our investigations were largely based on the analysis of three datasets from glucose limited continuous cultures of S. cerevisiae. Extracellular conditions on the macroscopic scale were investigated in Chapter 2. This was inspired by the perceived lack of clarity regarding an important aspect: concentration of glucose, the limiting nutrient and main carbon source in these cultures. The main outcome of this theoretical analysis was characterisation of the selection pressure in a chemostat culture, as selecting for cells which produce the growth rate, defined by the pre-set dilution rate, with lower external concentration of the limiting nutrient. Flux regulation on the scale of individual enzymes was investigated for selected reactions in Chapter 3. This analysis was based on the attempt to reproduce flux changes through these reactions, using enzyme kinetic expressions with inputs from the three aforementioned datasets. The notion of hierarchic and metabolic regulation was introduced and modified. System-level analysis of central carbon metabolism was undertaken in Chap- ter 4. Using the information on metabolite levels and flux, a kinetic model representing significant parts of central carbon metabolism was constructed. To get feasible flux distributions, constrained metabolic flux balance analysis was performed, using a stoichiometric network, constructed to be consistent with the model’s stoichiometry. Fitting the model resulted in two sets of parameters corresponding to steady states reproducing, the nominal data values of the anaerobic and the fully aerobic conditions.

No description available.

No description available.

This work was performed in the framework of two application-oriented research projects that focus on the generation and evaluation of fluorescent Saccharomyces (S.) cerevisiae-based sensor and reporter cells for white biotechnology as well as the extension of the conventional single-cell/single-construct principle of ordinary yeast biosensor approaches. Numerous products are currently generated by biotechnological processes which require continuous and precise process control and monitoring. These demands are only partially met by physical or physiochemical sensors since they measure parameters off-line or use surrogate parameters that consequently provide only indirect information about the actual process performance. Biosensors, in particular whole cell-based biosensors, have the unique potential to near-line and long-term monitor parameters such as nutrient availability during fermentation processes. Moreover, they allow for the assessment of an analyte’s biological relevance. Prototype yeast sensor and reporter strains derived from common laboratory strains were transformed with multicopy expression plasmids that mediate constitutive or inducible expression of a fluorescence reporter gene. Performance of these cells was examined by various qualitative and quantitative detection methods – representative of putative transducer technologies. Analyses were performed on the population level by microplate reader-based fluorometry and Western blot as well as on the single-cell level by fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry. ‘Signature’ promoters that are activated or repressed during particular nutrient-limited growth conditions were selected in order to generate yeast nutrient sensor strains for monitoring the biological availability of nitrogen, phosphorus or sulphur. For each category, at least one promoter mediating at least threefold changed green fluorescence levels between sensor cells in non-limited and nutrient-limited conditions was identified. Sensor strains were evaluated in detail regarding sensitivity, analyte selectivity and the ability to restore basic fluorescence after shift from nutrient-limited to non-limited conditions (regeneration). The applicability for bioprocess monitoring purposes was tested by growth of yeast nutrient sensor cells in microalgae media and supernatants. Despite successful proof of principle, numerous challenges still need to be solved to realise prospective implementation in this field of white biotechnology. The major drawback of plasmid-borne detection constructs is a high fluorescence variance between individual cells. By generation of a nitrogen sensor strain with a genome-integrated detection construct, uniform expression on the single-cell level and simultaneous maintenance of basic properties (ability of fluorescence induction/regeneration and lack of cross-reactivity) was achieved. However, due to the singular detection construct per cell, significantly weaker overall fluorescence was observed. The traditional single-cell/single-construct approach was expanded upon in two ways. Firstly, a practical dual-colour sensor strain was created by simultaneous, constitutive expression of a red fluorescence reporter gene in green fluorescent nitrogen sensor cells. Secondly, an innovative cellular communication and signal amplification system inspired by the natural S. cerevisiae pheromone system and mating response was established successfully. It features the yeast pheromone alpha-factor as a trigger and alpha-factor-responsive reporter cells which express a fluorescence reporter gene from the pheromone-inducible FIG1 promoter as an output signal. The system was functional both with synthetic and cell-secreted alpha-factor, provided that recombinant cells were deleted for the alpha-factor protease Bar1p. Integration of amplifier cells which secrete alpha-factor in response to stimulation with the pheromone itself could increase the system\'s sensitivity further. Signal amplification was demonstrated for phosphorus sensor cells as a proof of concept. Therefore, the alpha-factor-based cellular communication and signal amplification system might be useful in applications that suffer from poor signal yield. Due to its modular design, the system could be applied in basically any cell-based biosensor or sensor-actor system. Immobilisation of the generated sensor and reporter cells in transparent natural polymers can be beneficial considering biosensor fabrication. Functionality of sensor and reporter cells in calcium-alginate beads or nano-printed arrays was successfully demonstrated. For the latter setup, fluorescence scanning and software-assisted fluorescence quantification was applied as a new detection method. In an experiment using an agarose-based two-compartment setup proposed by Jahn, 2011, properties of the alpha-factor-based cellular communication and signal amplification system after immobilisation were tested. These studies provide an initial experimental basis for an appropriate geometry of miniaturised immobilisation matrices with fluorescent yeast sensor and reporter cells in prospective biosensor designs.

The studies presented here were focused on the understanding of the principles for protein sorting from the Golgi to the cell surface. As a marker protein we used Fus1p, a type I plasma membrane protein that is O-glycosylated on the extracellular domain and plays a role in cell fusion during yeast mating. Additionally, we analyzed mechanisms responsible for asymmetric distribution of Fus1p in mating cells. We demonstrated that the glycans attached to the protein act as a sorting determinant for protein transport to the cell surface. In cells lacking PMT4, encoding a mannosyltransferase involved in the initial step of O-glycosylation, Fus1p was not glycosylated and accumulated in late Golgi structures. A similar defect in exocytosis was observed when a Fus1p mutant lacking the O-glycosylated domain was expressed in wild-type cells, however, the cell surface delivery could be rescued if the 33 amino acid portion of the Fus1p ectodomain, containing 15 potentially glycosylated sites was added to the protein. It was previously well documented in epithelial cells that different types of protein glycosylation and association with lipid rafts play a role of determinants for protein delivery to the apical plasma membrane. However, otherwise the machinery responsible for cargo sorting to the apical membrane is poorly understood. Our finding that also in yeast, protein glycosylation can function as a sorting determinant provides a new possibility to investigate underlying mechanisms...

Cytochrome c oxidase (COX) is one of two known Cu-containing enzymes in mitochondria. Delivery and insertion of copper into COX are very complex processes that require multiple steps and involve a large number of assisting factors. One of the involved components is Cox11p, a copper binding protein in the inner mitochondrial membrane that is conserved from prokaryotes to eukaryotes. Cox11p is essential for respiratory growth and implicated in the assembly of the CuB site located in subunit Cox1p of COX. In the thesis the topology of Cox11p was determined and evidence for its association with the mitochondrial translation machinery is provided. The interaction of Cox11p with mitoribosomes is mediated by its single evolutionary conserved transmembrane segment and appears to be indirect and mediated by another conserved membrane protein(s). A model is proposed in which the CuB site is co-translationally formed by a transient interaction between Cox11p and the nascent Cox1p in the mitochondrial intermembrane space. In addition the genetic and biochemical characterization of S. pombe Cox11p homologue was performed. Two versions of cox11+ gene are detected in a haploid S. pombe genome. Cells lacking either of the cox11+ copies remain respiratory competent, whereas deletion of both S. pombe cox11+ alleles appears to result in either spore lethality or in severe decrease of spores viability. Thus, both versions of SpCox11p are functional and important. In S. pombe Cox11p exists as a tandem with the mitoribosomal protein Rsm22p. This precursor protein is cleaved during mitochondrial import into two mature protein species corresponding to Rsm22p- and Cox11p-like moieties.

In numerous Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria as well as in Archaea SL proteins form the outermost layer of the cell envelope. SL (glyco)monomers self-assemble with oblique (p2), tetragonal (p4), or hexagonal (p3, p6) symmetries [12]. SL subunits interact with each other and with the underlying cell surface by relatively weak non-covalent forces such as hydrogen-bonds, ionic bonds, salt-bridges or hydrophobic interactions. This makes them easy to isolate by applying chaotropic agents like urea and guanidine hydrochloride (GuHCl), chelating chemicals, or by changing the pH of the environment [10]. Upon dialysis in an ambient buffer monomers recrystallize into regular arrays that possess the forms of flat sheets, open ended cylinders, or spheres on solid substrates, at air-water intefaces and on lipid films, making them appealing for nanobiotechnological applications [3, 18]. The aim of this study was to investigate the structure, thermal stability, in vivo self-assembly process, recrystallization and metallization of three different recombinant SL proteins (SslA-eGFP, mSbsC-eGFP and S13240-eGFP) expressed in yeast S. cerevisiae BY4741 which could be further used in nanobiotechnological applications. In order to fulfill this aim, I investigated the in vivo expression of SL proteins (SslA, SbsC, S13240) tagged with eGFP (SL-eGFP) in the yeast S. cerevisiae BY4141. First, I characterized the heterologous expression of SL fusion constructs with growth and fluorescence measurements combined with Western blot analyses. Fluorescence microscopy investigations of overnight grown cultures showed that SslA-eGFP fusion protein was expressed as fluorescent patches, mSbsC-eGFP as tubular networks, and S13240-eGFP as hollow-like fibrillar network structures, while eGFP did not show any distinct structure Thermal stability of in vivo expressed SL-eGFP fusion proteins were investigated by fluorescence microscopy and immunodetection. In vivo self-assembly kinetics during mitosis and meiosis was the second main issue. In parallel, association of in vivo mSbsC-eGFP structures with the cellular components was of interest. A network of tubular structures in the cytosol of the transformed yeast cells that did not colocalize with microtubules or the actin cytoskeleton was observed. Time-resolved analysis of the formation of these structures during vegetative growth and sporulation was investigated by live fluorescence microscopy. While in meiosis ascospores seemed to receive assembled structures from the diploid cells, during mitosis surface layer structures were formed de novo in the buds. Surface layer assembly always started with the appearance of a dot-like structure in the cytoplasm, suggesting a single nucleation point. In order to get these in vivo SL assemblies stably outside the cells (in situ), cell distruption experiments were conducted. The tubular structures formed by the protein in vivo were retained upon bursting the cells by osmotic shock; however their average length was decreased. During dialysis, monomers obtained by treatment with chaotropic agents recrystallized again to form tube-like structures. This process was strictly dependent on calcium ions, with an optimal concentration of 10 mM. Further increase of the Ca2+ concentration resulted in multiple non-productive nucleation points. It was further shown that the lengths of the S-layer assemblies increased with time and could be controlled by pH. After 48 hours the average length at pH 9.0 was 4.13 µm compared to 2.69 µm at pH 5.5. Successful chemical deposition of platinum indicates the potential of recrystallized mSbsC-eGFP structures for nanobiotechnological applications. For example, such metalized protein nanotubes could be used in conductive nanocircuit technologies as nanowires.