Caractérisation de CCX2, un élément de la super-famille des antiports cationiques CaCA et de son rôle dans l’homéostasie minérale.<p><p>L'homéostasie des métaux est importante pour les fonctions cellulaires. Elle dépend de la régulation stricte des transports cellulaires d'ions métalliques et des espèces métalliques complexées. Nous rapportons ici l'analyse fonctionnelle chez Arabidopsis thaliana d'un élément de la superfamille CaCA, CCX2 (Calcium Cation eXchanger 2) qui n’est pas encore caractérisé dans les plantes. Nous avons pu observer en utilisant une fusion aves la protéine fluorescente GFP (Green Fluorescent Protein) que la protéine AtCCX2 était localisée dans le réticulum endoplasmique. L’expression de CCX2 est régulée par des traitements en métaux divers et par la carence en magnésium en particulier. De plus, l'expression du gène est régulée par la photopériode mais n’est probablement pas sous le contrôle de l'horloge circadienne. La caractérisation d'un mutant knock-out d’Arabidopsis a révélé que l’absence de l’activité CCX2 entrainait une meilleure croissance pendant la carence Mg (dans les conditions testées) mais pas de phénotype particulier sur les milieux aves excès de Zn ou de Cd ou induisant un stress osmotique. A ce stade, nous de pouvons apporter une explication au phénomène de tolérance pendant la carence Mg. Par ailleurs, le mutant ccx2 montre une réponse altérée à des hormones telles l’auxine et l’éthylène. Parce ce que le phénotype ccx2 mutant est relativement discret, des doubles mutants avec les gènes homologues les plus proches (CCX1 et CCX3) ont été créés. Alors que les mutants ccx1 et ccx3 sont plus résistants à la carence en Mg et ccx1 plus résistant à la déficience Zn, aucun effet additif de ces mutations avec la perte de fonction de CCX2 n’a été observé. Les profils en minéraux du mutant ccx2 ne permettent pas de confirmer des différences significatives dans les concentrations d’éléments minéraux mesurés. Des tendances pour le Ca2+ en particulier sont observées et devraient être confirmés par d’autres expériences. La surexpression hétérologue dans la levure ou dans une suspension de cellules BY2 de tabac, la surexpression dans la plante et la production de protéine pour des études d’activité de transport dans des vésicules n’ont pu être possibles pour la caractérisation de CCX2. L’expression de CCX2 semble toxique pour les bactéries, la levure et les cellules de plantes; en effet les organismes hôtes sont morts lors de l'induction de l'expression (testé au niveau de la levure). Cet effet pourrait être lié à la perturbation de l’homéostasie du Ca2+ qui joue un rôle très important comme messager secondaire lors de la perception d’un stimulus et en particulier lors de l’apoptose. L’Analyse AhCAX8/CCX2 AhCCX2 est constitutivement plus exprimé dans les racines de l’hyperaccumulatrice de Zn et Cd, Arabidopsis halleri (accession d’Auby) par rapport à sa parente proche non tolérante non accumulatrice A. lyrata ssp petraea. L'expression plus élevée pourrait être liée à l'adaptation aux hautes concentrations de zinc et de cadmium dans le sol. Nous avons pu observer qu’avec une protéine GFP, AhCCX2 est également localisée au niveau du réticulum endoplasmique comme son homologue AtCCX2. Puisque une haute expression de CCX2 est toxique pour les organismes, nous avons exprimé la protéine sous le contrôle de son propre promoteur dans A. thaliana. Cette expression faible et spécifique a pu être atteinte sans signe de toxicité. La caractérisation de A. thaliana exprimant AhCCX2 dans le type sauvage ou le mutant ccx2 a montré une meilleure croissance lors d’une déficience Mg et, dans les plantes ccx2 qui expriment AhCCX2, une moins bonne croissance lors d’une carence en Zn. Les analyses minérales des plantes exprimant AhCCX2 n’ont pas montré de différence au niveau des concentrations en minéraux. Cependant, certaines tendances ont été observées pour les concentrations en Ca, Fe et Zn qui doivent être confirmées. Nos données suggèrent pour AhCCX2 un rôle dans l'homéostasie du Zn. Un niveau d'expression élevé d’AhCCX2 a un impact négatif sur la croissance lors d’une carence en zinc et pourrait être une partie des adaptations à un approvisionnement en Zn élevé. / Doctorat en Sciences / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

[EN] ABSTRACT This PhD thesis is based on a collaboration between Professor Dr. Ramon Serrano's laboratory and the fertilizer company Fertinagro Nutrientes and it's motivated by the increasing need in agriculture to increase crop productivity while minimizing its impact on the environment. Fertinagro Nutrientes supplied the following six bioestimulants for analyzing its effects on tolerance to abiotic stress in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, providing no (or very limited in some cases) information about its composition: Seaweed extract, Vinacillas, Phosphite, Humic Acid, Amino22 and Potassium fulvate. The broad conservation of metabolic pathways and the molecular mechanisms involved in abiotic stress response between yeast and plants allows the use of S. cerevisiae as a suitable model system for this study. All bioestimulants showed, to a greater or lesser extent, positive effects on yeast tolerance against at least one of the abiotic stresses in study. Seaweed extract improves growth under salt stress. Phosphite and Vinacillas protect against salt stress and heat shock. Humic acid increases tolerance to oxidative stress and heat shock. The two most versatile bioestimulants, Amino22 and Potassium fulvate, were further investigated in order to identify their mechanisms of action. Amino22, which is the most effective biostimulant, considerably improves growth in the absence of stress and under osmotic stress and, to a lesser extent, it also enhances growth under salt stress conditions. Amino22 also provides tolerance against oxidative stress and heat shock. By comparison with an acid casein peptone it was confirmed that the active substance in Amino22 are amino acids. Analysis of global gene expression using DNA microarrays showed that Amino22 treatment represses both Gcn4 regulated genes (which are involved in amino acid and vitamin biosynthesis) and Aft1 regulated genes (which are involved in iron homeostasis). The positive effect of amino acids on growth and stress tolerance is related, at least in part, to the activation of TORC1 pathway and it also requires a partial inhibition of GAAC pathway. By contrast, this positive effect is independent of the Aft1 regulon repression. Following the observation that amino acid treatment represses iron regulon expression, we studied more in depth the relationship between amino acid and iron homeostasis in S. cerevisiae. We suggest a regulation model according to which the activation of GAAC pathway induces nuclear localization of Aft1 and subsequent expression of its target genes, whereas inhibition of this pathway by amino acids may have the opposite effect. Aft1 activity may be controlled through eIF2a phosphorylation and, hypothetically, it would involve regulation Fe/S biosynthesis. Potassium fulvate improves tolerance to osmotic, oxidative and heat stress. Microarray and qRT-PCR expression analysis indicate that Potassium fulvate represses Aft1 regulon. This repression can be explained by an increase in intracellular iron content, whose absorption depends on an oxidoreductase encoded by the FET3 gene. Tolerance to abiotic stress by Potassium fulvate also depends on FET3, therefore it is concluded that the mechanism of action of this biostimulant is based on an increased iron availability, which is accumulated in yeast cells without causing oxidative damage. / [ES] RESUMEN Este trabajo se basa en una colaboración entre el laboratorio del profesor doctor Ramón Serrano y la empresa de fertilizantes Fertinagro Nutrientes y está motivado por la necesidad creciente de incrementar la productividad de los cultivos agrícolas al mismo tiempo que se minimiza el impacto que la agricultura tiene sobre el medio ambiente. Fertinagro Nutrientes facilitó los siguientes seis bioestimulantes para el análisis de sus efectos sobre la tolerancia a estrés abiótico en la levadura Saccharomyces cerevisiae, aportando escasa (o nula en algunos casos) información acerca de su composición: Extracto de algas, Vinacillas, Fosfito, Ácido húmico, Amino22 y Fulvato potásico. La amplia conservación de rutas las metabólicas y de los mecanismos moleculares de defensa frente a estrés abiótico entre levadura y plantas justifican el uso de S. cerevisiae como sistema modelo para este estudio. Todos los bioestimulantes tienen, en mayor o menor medida, efectos positivos sobre la tolerancia de la levadura frente a al menos uno de los tipos de estrés abiótico estudiados. El Extracto de algas mejora el crecimiento en condiciones de estrés salino. El Vinacillas y el Fosfito protegen frente a estrés salino y choque térmico. El Ácido húmico incrementa la tolerancia a estrés oxidativo y choque térmico. Los dos bioestimulantes más polivalentes, el Amino22 y el Fulvato potásico, fueron estudiados en mayor profundidad con el objetivo de identificar sus mecanismos de acción. El Amino22, que es el bioestimulante más efectivo de los estudiados, mejora considerablemente el crecimiento en ausencia de estrés y bajo estrés osmótico y, en menor medida, también resulta beneficioso para el crecimiento en condiciones de estrés salino. Asimismo, el Amino22 proporciona tolerancia frente a estrés oxidativo y choque térmico. Mediante la comparación con una peptona de caseína ácida se comprobó que el principio activo responsable del efecto del Amino22 son los aminoácidos que contiene. El análisis del efecto del Amino22 sobre la expresión global de genes empleando micromatrices de DNA muestra que el bioestimulante reprime tanto genes regulados por Gcn4 e involucrados en la biosíntesis de aminoácidos y vitaminas como genes regulados por Aft1, implicados en la homeostasis de hierro. El efecto positivo de los aminoácidos sobre el crecimiento y tolerancia a estrés está relacionado, en parte al menos, con la activación de la ruta TORC1 y, además, requiere la inhibición parcial de la ruta GAAC. En cambio, dicho efecto positivo es independiente de la represión del regulón de Aft1. A raíz de la observación de que los aminoácidos reprimen el regulón de hierro, se profundizó en el estudio de la relación entre la homeostasis de aminoácidos y la de hierro en S. cerevisiae llegando a un modelo de regulación según el cual la activación de la ruta GAAC induciría la localización nuclear de Aft1 y la consiguiente expresión de sus genes diana, mientras que la inhibición de dicha ruta por la presencia de aminoácidos tendría el efecto contrario. La actividad de Aft1 sería controlada a través del estado de fosforilación de eIF2a e, hipotéticamente, implicaría la regulación de la formación de complejos Fe/S. El Fulvato potásico mejora la tolerancia a estrés osmótico, oxidativo y térmico. Los análisis de expresión mediante micromatrices y qRT-PCR indican que el tratamiento con Fulvato potásico reprime el regulón de Aft1. Esta represión se puede explicar por un aumento en el contenido intracelular de hierro, cuya entrada depende de la oxidorreductasa codificada por el gen FET3. La tolerancia a estrés abiótico que proporciona el Fulvato potásico también depende de FET3, por lo que se concluye que el mecanismo de acción de este bioestimulante se basa en un incremento de la disponibilidad de hierro, el cual se acumula en las células sin producir daño oxidativo extra. / [CAT] RESUM Aquest treball es basa en una col·laboració entre el laboratori del professor doctor Ramón Serrano i l'empresa de fertilitzants Fertinagro Nutrientes i està motivat per la necessitat creixent d'incrementar la productivitat dels cultius agrícoles al mateix temps que es minimitza l'impacte de l'agricultura sobre el medi ambient. Fertinagro Nutrientes va facilitar els següents sis bioestimulants per a l'anàlisi dels seus efectes sobre la tolerància a estrés abiòtic en el llevat Saccharomyces cerevisiae, aportant escassa (o nul·la en alguns casos) informació sobre la seua composició: Extracte d'algues, Vinacillas, Fosfit, Àcid húmic, Amino22 i Fulvat potàssic. L'àmplia conservació de les rutes metabòliques i dels mecanismes moleculars de defensa front a l'estrés abiòtic entre llevat i plantes justifiquen l'ús de S. cerevisiae com a sistema model per a este estudi. Tots els bioestimulants tenen, en major o menor mesura, efectes positius sobre la tolerància del llevat front a almenys un dels tipus d'estrés abiòtic estudiats. L'Extracte d'algues millora el creixement en condicions d'estrés salí. El Vinacillas i el Fosfit protegeixen front a l'estrés salí i xoc tèrmic. L'Àcid húmic incrementa la tolerància a estrés oxidatiu i xoc tèrmic. Els dos bioestimulants més polivalents, l'Amino22 i el Fulvat potàssic, van ser estudiats en major profunditat amb l'objectiu d'identificar els seus mecanismes d'acció. L'Amino22, que és el bioestimulant més efectiu dels estudiats, millora considerablement el creixement en absència d'estrés i baix estrés osmòtic i, en menor mesura, també resulta beneficiós per al creixement en condicions d'estrés salí. Així mateix, l'Amino22 proporciona tolerància front a l'estrés oxidatiu i xoc tèrmic. Mitjançant la comparació amb una peptona de caseïna àcida es va comprovar que el principi actiu responsable de l'efecte de l'Amino22 són els aminoàcids que conté. L'anàlisi de l'efecte de l'Amino22 sobre l'expressió global de gens emprant micromatrius de DNA mostra que el bioestimulant reprimeix tant gens regulats per Gcn4 i involucrats en la biosíntesi d'aminoàcids i vitamines com gens regulats per Aft1, implicats en l'homeòstasi del ferro. L'efecte positiu dels aminoàcids sobre el creixement i tolerància a estrés està relacionat, en part almenys, amb l'activació de la ruta TORC1 i, a més, requereix la inhibició parcial de la ruta GAAC. En canvi, aquest efecte positiu és independent de la repressió del reguló de Aft1. Arran de l'observació que els aminoàcids reprimeixen el reguló de ferro, es va aprofundir en l'estudi de la relació entre l'homeòstasi d'aminoàcids i la de ferro en S. cerevisiae arribant a un model de regulació segons el qual l'activació de la ruta GAAC induiria la localització nuclear de Aft1 i la consegüent expressió dels seus gens diana, mentre que la inhibició d'aquesta ruta per la presència d'aminoàcids tindria l'efecte contrari. L'activitat de Aft1 seria controlada a través de l'estat de fosforilació d' eIF2a i, hipotèticament, implicaria la regulació de la formació de complexos Fe/S. El Fulvat potàssic millora la tolerància a estrés osmòtic, oxidatiu i tèrmic. Les anàlisis d'expressió mitjançant micromatrius i qRT-PCR indiquen que el tractament amb Fulvat potàssic reprimeix el reguló de Aft1. Aquesta repressió es pot explicar per un augment en el contingut intracel·lular de ferro, l'entrada del qual depén de la oxidorreductasa codificada pel gen FET3. La tolerància a estrés abiòtic que proporciona el Fulvat potàssic també depén de FET3, per la qual cosa es conclou que el mecanisme d'acció d'aquest bioestimulant es basa en un increment de la disponibilitat de ferro, el qual s'acumula en les cèl·lules sense produir dany oxidatiu extra. / Caballero Molada, M. (2016). Estudio de efectos protectores y mecanismos de acción frente a estrés abiótico de bioestimulantes de fertilizantes en Saccharomyces cerevisiae [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/67390 / TESIS

Php4 is a subunit of the CCAAT-binding protein complex that has a negative regulatory function during iron deprivation in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Under low iron conditions, Php4 fosters the repression of genes encoding iron using proteins. In contrast, under iron-replete conditions, Php4 is inactivated at both transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. Our group has already described that Php4 is a nucleo-cytoplasmic shuttling protein, which accumulates into the nucleus during iron deficiency. On the contrary, Php4 is exported from the nucleus to the cytoplasm in response to iron abundance. Php4 possesses a leucine-rich NES (93LLEQLEML100) that is necessary for its nuclear export by the exportin Crm1. Our current study aims at understanding the mechanism by which Php4 is imported in the nucleus during iron starvation. Through microscopic analyses using different mutant strains, we showed that the nuclear localization of Php4 is independent of the other subunits of the CCAAT-binding core complex namely Php2, Php3 and Php5. Deletion mapping analysis of Php4 identifies two putative nuclear localization sequences (NLSs) in Php4 (171KRIR174 and 234KSVKRVR240). Using chimeric proteins that consist of GFP fused to Php4, we engineered substitutions of the basic amino acid residues 171AAIA174 and 234ASVAAAA240 and analyzed the functionality of both NLSs. We observed that both monopartite NLSs play critical role for Php4 nuclear localization. We also observed that mutant strains of cut15+, imp1+ or sal3+ exhibited defects in nuclear targeting of Php4, revealing that nuclear accumulation of Php4 is dependent on two karyopherin α (Imp1 and Cut15) and one karyopherin β (Sal3) receptors. Consistently, the Php4-mediated repression activity is abolished in the absence of two functional NLSs. Moreover, loss of Imp1, Cut15 or Sal3 resulted in increased expression of isa1+, which is a target gene of Php4. Co-immunoprecipitation assay (Co-IP) reveals physical interaction of Php4 with Imp1, Cut15 and Sal3 in vitro. Collectively, our results demonstrate that Php4 has two distinct NLS regions responsible for its nuclear localization. Furthermore, karyopherin α and β receptors play a role in the nuclear import of Php4. Because Php4 is essential for growth under low iron conditions, the presence of two NLSs would ensure the protein to reach its nuclear destination when cells undergo a transition from iron-sufficient to iron-limiting conditions.

Patients with Graves´ Disease (GD) have a higher risk of developing more severe and prolonged hypocalcaemia after total thyroidectomy (TT) than patients who undergo surgery for benign atoxic goitre. Since TT is the most effective treatment for GD, it is crucial to identify mechanisms for postoperative hypocalcaemia. The aim of this thesis was to study the mechanisms of calcium metabolism in patients with GD. It is safe to operate on GD patients with TT. Results in Paper I showed fewer recurrences and equal complication rates compared to patients who underwent subtotal thyroidectomy (ST). The transient lowering of PTH seen in the hypocalcaemic patients was fully restored one month after surgery (Papers II and V). The calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) is crucial for maintaining plasma calcium, and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the gene may alter the sensing function. Thus, we analysed SNPs in CaSR in GD patients (Paper II) and showed that they had a more left-shifted calcium-PTH set-point compared to controls, implicating higher sensitivity. This is also supported by the results in the group of postoperatively hypocalcaemic patients. They already had lower plasma calcium preoperatively (Papers II, IV and V) and lacked the T/G G/A G/C, a haplotype shown in Paper III to have a close relationship to higher p-calcium levels. Moreover, a lack of the T allele in rs1801725 was seen in the group of patients needing permanent treatment with calcium and vitamin D, i.e. &gt; 12 months, (paper V). Patients who became hypocalcaemic (p-calcium &lt; 2.00 mmol/L) on day one postoperatively, had lower preoperative levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and higher levels of  T3, this was also applied to the patient groups requiring temporary or permanent postoperative treatment (Papers II and V). In addition, hypocalcaemic patients treated for less than six months with anti-thyroid drugs had higher levels of bone metabolism markers CTX and P1NP than normocalcaemic patients (Paper V). In conclusion, the postoperative period of hypocalcaemia seen in patients with GD is a complex medical condition, caused by a combination of surgical trauma, different SNPs in CaSR, and high bone metabolism related to preoperative thyroid metabolism.

Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Metabolic systems are open systems continually subject to changes in the surrounding environment that cause uctuations in the state variables and perturbations in the system parameters. However, metabolic systems have mechanisms to keep them dynamically and structurally stable in the face of these changes. In addition, metabolic systems also cope with large changes in the uxes through the pathways, not letting metabolite concentrations vary wildly. Quantitative measures have previously been proposed for "metabolic regulation", using the quantitative framework of Metabolic Control Analysis. However, the term "regulation" is so loosely used so that its content is mostly lost. These di erent measures of regulation have also not been applied to a model and comparably investigated prior to this study. Hence, this study analyses the usefulness of the di erent quantitative measures in answering di erent types of regulatory questions. Thus, the aim of this study was to distinguish the above mentioned aspects of metabolic regulation and to nd appropriate quantitative measures for each, namely dynamic stability, structurally stability, and homeostasis. Dynamic stability is the property of a steady state to return to its original state after a perturbation in a metabolite in the system, and can be analysed in terms of self and internal-response coe cients. Structural stability is concerned with the change in steady state after a perturbation of a parameter in the system, and can be analysed in terms of concentration-response coe cients. Furthermore, it is shown that control patterns are useful in understanding which system properties determine structural stability and to what degree. Homeostasis is de ned as the change in the steady-state concentration of a metabolite relative to the change in the steady-state ux through the metabolite pool following a perturbation in a system parameter, and co-response coe cients are proposed as quantitative measures of homeostasis. More speci cally, metabolite-ux coresponse coe cients allow the de nition of an index that quanti es to which degree a metabolite is homeostatically regulated. A computational model of a simple linear metabolic sequence subject to feedback inhibition with di erent sets of parameters provided a test-bed for the quantitative analysis of metabolic regulation. Log-log rate characteristics and parameter portraits of steady-state variables, as well as response and elasticity coe cients were used to analyse the steady-state behaviour and control properties of the system. This study demonstrates the usefulness of generic models based on proper enzyme kinetics to further our understanding of metabolic behaviour, control and regulation and has laid the groundwork for future studies of metabolic regulation of more complex core models or of models of real systems. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Metaboliese sisteme is oop sisteme wat gedurig blootgestel word aan `n uktuerende omgewing. Hierdie uktuasies lei tot veranderinge in beide interne veranderlikes en parameters van metaboliese sisteme. Metaboliese sisteme besit egter meganismes om dinamies en struktureel stabiel te bly. Verder verseker hierdie meganismes ook dat die konsentrasies van interne metaboliete relatief konstant bly ten spyte van groot veranderinge in uksie deur die metaboliese pad waarvan hierdie metaboliete deel vorm. Kwantitatiewe maatstawwe is voorheen voorgestel vir "metaboliese regulering", gebaseer op die raamwerk van Metaboliese Kontrole Analise. Die onkritiese gebruik van die term "regulering" ontneem egter hierdie konsep van sinvolle betekenis. Voor hierdie studie is die voorgestelde maatstawwe van regulering nog nie toegepas op 'n model ten einde hulle met mekaar te vergelyk nie. Die huidige studie ondersoek die toepaslikheid van die verskillende maatstawwe om verskillende tipe vrae oor regulering te beantwoord. Die doelwit van hierdie studie was om aspekte van metaboliese regulering, naamlik dinamiese stabiliteit, strukturele stabiliteit en homeostase, te onderskei, asook om 'n gepaste maatstaf vir elk van die verskillende aspekte te vind. Dinamiese stabiliteit is 'n eienskap van 'n bestendige toestand om terug te keer na die oorspronklike toestand na perturbasie van die konsentrasie van 'n interne metaboliet. Hierdie aspek van regulering kan in terme van interne respons en self-respons koeffi siente geanaliseer word. Strukturele stabiliteit van 'n bestendige toestand beskryf die mate van verandering van die bestendige toestand nadat 'n parameter van die sisteem geperturbeer is, en kan in terme van konsentrasie-responskoeffisiente geanaliseer word. Verder wys hierdie studie dat kontrole patrone van nut is om vas te stel watter eienskappe van 'n sisteem die strukturele stabiliteit bepaal en tot watter mate. Homeostase word gede finieer as die verandering in die konsentrasie van 'n interne metaboliet relatief tot die verandering in die uksie deur daardie metaboliese poel nadat 'n parameter van die sisteem verander het. Vir die analise van hierdie aspek van regulering word ko-responskoe ffisiente as 'n maatstaf voorgestel. Meer spesi ek kan metaboliet- uksie ko-responskoeff siente gebruik word om `n indeks te de nieer wat meet tot watter mate 'n metaboliet homeostaties gereguleer word. 'n Rekenaarmatige model van 'n eenvoudige lineere metaboliese sekwens wat onderhewig is aan terugvoer inhibisie is gebruik om die verskillende aspekte van metaboliese regulering kwantitatief te analiseer met vier verskillende stelle parameters. Dubbel-logaritmiese snelheidskenmerke en parameter portrette van bestendige toestandsveranderlikes, asook van respons- en elastisiteit koeffisente is gebruik om die bestendige toestandsgedrag en kontrole eienskappe van die sisteem te analiseer. Hierdie studie demonstreer die nut van generiese modelle wat op korrekte ensiemkinetika gebaseer is om ons verstaan van metaboliese gedrag, kontrole en regulering te verdiep. Verder dien hierdie studie as grondslag vir toekomstige studies van metaboliese regulering van meer ingewikkelde kernmodelle of modelle van werklike sisteme. / National Research Foundation

published_or_final_version / abstract / Physiology / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Widespread antibiotic resistance is a major public health concern, and plants represent an emerging antibiotic exposure route. Recent studies indicate that crop plants fertilized with antibiotic-laden animal manure accumulate antibiotics, however, the molecular mechanisms of antibiotic entry and subcellular partitioning within plant cells remain unknown. Here we report that mutations in the Arabidopsis locus Multiple Antibiotic Resistance (MAR1) confer resistance, while MAR1 overexpression causes hypersensitivity to multiple aminoglycoside antibiotics. Resistance is highly specific for aminoglycosides and does not extend to antibiotics of other classes, including the aminocyclitol, spectinomycin. Yeast expressing MAR1 are hypersensitive to the aminoglycoside, G418, but not to chloramphenicol or cycloheximide. MAR1 encodes a protein with 11 putative transmembrane domains with low similarity to ferroportin1 from Danio rerio. A MAR1:YFP fusion protein localizes to the chloroplast, and chloroplasts from plants overexpressing MAR1 accumulate more of the aminoglycoside, gentamicin, while mar1-1 mutant chloroplasts accumulate less than wild type. MAR1 overexpression lines are slightly chlorotic, and this chlorosis is rescued by application of exogenous iron. MAR1 expression is also downregulated by low iron. Taken together, these data suggest that MAR1 is a plastid transporter that is likely to be involved in cellular iron homeostasis, and allows opportunistic entry of multiple antibiotics into the chloroplast. mar1 mutants represent an interesting example of plant antibiotic resistance that is based on the restriction of antibiotic entry into a subcellular compartment. Knowledge about this process – and other processes of antibiotic entry – could enable the production of crop plants that are incapable of antibiotic accumulation, aid in development of phytoremediation strategies for decontamination of water and soils polluted with antibiotics, and further the development of new plant-based molecular markers. The work described here also contributes to our understanding of how plants interact with the antibiotics they encounter, both in the laboratory (where aminoglycosides such as kanamycin are used heavily to select for transgenics) and in the natural environment. / text

Although the processes used for temporarily storing and manipulating neural information have been extensively studied at the synaptic level far less attention has been given to the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms that contribute to change in the intrinsic excitability of neurons. More importantly, how do these mechanisms of plasticity integrate with ongoing mechanisms of regulation of neural intrinsic excitability and, in turn, homeostasis of entire neural circuits? In this dissertation I describe the underlying mechanisms that contribute to persistent neural activity and, more globally, sensorimotor adaptation using weakly electric fish as my model system. Weakly electric fish have evolved a behavior adaptation known as the jamming avoidance response (JAR), and it is this adaptation that allows the organism to elevate its own electrical discharge in response to intraspecific interactions and subsequent distortions of the animal’s electric field. The elevation operates over a wide range and in vivo can last tens of hours upon cessation of a jamming stimulus. I demonstrate that the underlying mechanisms of the adaptation are mediated by calcium-dependent signaling in the pacemaker nucleus and that calcium-mediated phosphorylation plays an important role in the regulation of the long-term frequency elevation (LTFE). I demonstrate using an in vitro brain slice preparation from the weakly electric fish, Apteronotus leptorhynchus that the engram of memory formation depends on the cooperativity of calcium-dependent protein kinases and protein phosphatases. In addition, I show that the memory formation (in the form of LTFE) does not depend on the continued flux of calcium, but rather the phosphorylation events downstream of NMDA receptor activation. Moreover, I describe the differences in the expression of protein phosphatases and protein kinases as they relate to species-specific differences in sensorimotor adaptation. It is important to note that this is the first time that the cooperativity between different isoforms of protein kinase C (PKC) have been shown to play a role in graded long-term change in neuronal activity and, in turn, providing the neural basis of species-specific behavior. The neural adaptation of the electromotor system in weakly electric fish provides an excellent model system to study the underlying cellular and molecular events of vertebrate memory formation. / text

Development of the adult form requires coordinated growth and patterning of multiple traits in response to local gene activity as well as global endocrine and physiological effectors. In recent years the zebrafish has been utilized as a favorable animal model as a step towards dissecting and better understanding these postembryonic developmental processes. One of the more powerful methods utilized in zebrafish has been the identification of new gene functions through the use of mutant screens. The nutria mutant was recovered from one such screen to identify postembryonic defects in pigment pattern, growth and metamorphosis. These mutants exhibited a pigment cell defect, touch unresponsiveness and severe growth retardation. Here I will discuss my work towards dissecting the underlying developmental processes governing the phenotypic changes in nutria mutants. I characterize gross alterations in skeletal development in nutria mutants that lead to accelerated endochondral ossification but delayed intramembranous ossification. I show that the nutria phenotype results from mutations in trpm7, which encodes a transient receptor potential (TRP) family member that functions as both a cation channel and a kinase. I find trpm7 expression in the fish-specific, ion homeostasis-regulating gland known as the corpuscles of Stannius (CS), and in the mesonephric kidney. I show that mutants also develop kidney stones. Together these results suggest a role for trpm7 activity in regulation of physiological ion homeostasis. Next I confirm that role by identifying late-embryonic and early larval defects in the CS and the kidney, two organs that regulate physiological ion homeostasis. I demonstrate the early larval detection of kidney stones in trpm7 mutants and show that their appearance is presaged by decreased levels of total calcium and magnesium. Furthermore I establish a link between trpm7 function in the CS and stanniocalcin1 (stc1), a potent molecular regulator of calcium homeostasis. Finally, using transgenic overexpression and morpholino-oligonucleotide knockdown, I demonstrate that stc1 modulates calcium and magnesium levels in trpm7 mutant and wild-type backgrounds. Together these analyses establish postembryonic roles for trpm7 function in growth, skeletogenesis, kidney function, and physiological ion homeostasis. / text

Wnt proteins are crucial for development/homeostasis by controlling cell fate including apoptosis (Moon RT et al. 1997). Three humanWnt13 isoforms were identified: the secreted Wnt13A, mitochondrial Wnt13B, and nuclear Wnt13C forms; and nuclear Wnt13 had an increased sensitivity to LPS/TNF-induced apoptosis in primary endothelial cells (EC); both Wnt13B and C mRNA contain two start codons (AUG+1 and +74), but the same protein encoded from AUG+74 by Wnt13C was expressed lower than Wnt13B (Struewing IT et al.2006). We hypothesize that during EC apoptosis, the nuclear Wnt13C expression is regulated translationally; nuclear Wnt13 favors apoptosis through regulating the activity/expression of apoptosis-related factors; Wnt13 isoforms may have differential effects on EC apoptosis and apoptosis-related factors. 1. The protein levels, but not the mRNA levels of Wnt13C were induced by apoptosis-inducers. And the Myc-tag insertion at the AUG+1 in Wnt13C mRNA inhibited its expression, indicating the RNA sequences/structures are critical. Therefore, nuclear Wnt13C is regulated during apoptosis at translational levels. 2. Nuclear Wnt13 increased caspase-3/7 expression with/without LPS, followed by an increase in LPS-induced caspase-3/7 cleavage; and nuclear Wnt13 upregulated the pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 family member Bim expression, suggesting that nuclear Wnt13 increased caspase activation through upregulating caspase and Bim expression. Wnt13 isoforms increased EC apoptosis with different strengths: nuclear > mitochondrial > secreted forms. 3. Both caspase-3 and Bim are FOXO target genes; and nuclear Wnt13 increased the nuclear localization of FOXOs, suggesting increased FOXO activity. Nuclear Wnt13 also upregulated SOD2, another FOXO target gene related to oxidative stress-resistance. Nuclear Wnt13 did not increase FOXO activity at the SOD2 promoter, but increased the SOD2-intron 2 element luciferase activity upon LPS, where a novel putative FOXO site was found, implying intron 2 may be responsible for enhanced SOD2 transcription by nuclear Wnt13. Altogether, our results pinpoint the interplay between the expression and functions of Wnt13 forms during EC apoptosis, forming a positive cycle further facilitating the apoptotic program completion, which is important for EC homeostasis.