The encysted embryos (cysts) of the crustacean Artemia franciscana have several molecular mechanisms to enable anhydrobiosis – life without water. This study examines the function of group 1 Late Embryogenesis Abundant (LEA) proteins, hydrophilic unstructured proteins which accumulate in the stress-tolerant cysts of A. franciscana. Group 1 LEA proteins were knocked down in cysts using RNA interference. Cysts without group 1 LEA proteins exhibited low survival following desiccation and/or freezing, suggesting a role for these proteins in tolerance of low water conditions. In contrast, cysts with or without group 1 LEA proteins responded similarly to hydrogen peroxide exposure , indicating little to no function in reducing damage due to oxidative stress. This is the first in vivo functional study of group 1 LEA proteins in an animal, and may have applied significance in aquaculture, where Artemia is an important feed source, and in the cryopreservation of cells for therapeutic applications.

L'astringence résulte de l'interaction des tanins, polyphénols abondants dans les végétaux, avec les protéines salivaires et plus particuliÈrement les protéines salivaires riches en proline (PRP), appartenant à la famille des protéines peu structurées. Les tanins participent aux mécanismes de défense des végétaux et présentent des effets antinutritionnels dus à leur capacitè à inhiber les enzymes digestives. La synthÈse de PRP salivaires constitue un mècanisme d'adaptation à la consommation d'aliments riches en tanins. Ce travail vise à caractèriser les complexes ètablis en solution entre les PRP et les tanins, par une approche basèe sur la spectromètrie de masse (MS). Pour cela, les protèines salivaires humaines IB5, PRP basique, et II-1, PRP glycosylèe, ont ètè produites par voie hètèrologue. AprÈs purification, les deux protèines ont ètè caractèrisèes par MS avec une source d'electronèbullisation (ESI-MS) et avec une source MALDI (Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionisation). L'ètude des interactions par ESI-MS a confirmè la prèsence en solution de complexes non-covalents IB5tanin et permis de prèciser leurs stchiomètries. Des expèriences de compètition entre diffèrents tanins et de dissociation des complexes IB5tanin ont mis en èvidence l'influence des principales caractèristiques structurales des tanins sur cette interaction. L'ètude structurale des èdifices IB5tanin, par diffèrentes techniques de MS/MS (Collision Induced Dissociation, Electron Capture Dissociation et photodissociation) et par mobilitè ionique couplèe à la MS, a mis en èvidence la prèsence de plusieurs sites d'interaction sur IB5 ainsi que des changements conformationnels liès à l'interaction / Astringency is an important organoleptic property of plant-based food. It is attributed to interactions of tannins, which are polyphenolic compounds, with salivary proteins and especially proline rich proteins (PRPs), which belong to the group of intrinsically unstructured protein (IUP). Tannins play an important part in plant defence mechanisms. Indeed, they have an antinutritional effect as they inhibit digestive enzymes. Production of salivary PRP is thus an adaptation process to tannin-rich diets. The purpose of this work is to provide a closer look at PRPtannin supramolecular edifices in solution, using a mass spectrometry (MS) approach. The human salivary proteins IB5, a basic PRP, and II-1, a glycosylated PRP, have been produced by heterologous expression. After purification, both proteins have been characterized by MS using electrospray (ESI) and Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionisation (MALDI) sources. The study of the interaction between IB5 and model tannins by ESI-MS confirmed the presence of IB5tannin non covalent complexes in solution and provided new information on their stoichiometries. Competitive interaction experiments between IB5 and two tannins, along with IB5tannin complexes dissociation studies revealed the impact of the main tannin chemical features on this interaction. Structural studies performed on IB5tanin edifices by Collision induced dissociation (CID), Electron Capture Dissociation (ECD) and photodissociation MS/MS experiments and by ion mobility coupled with MS showed the presence of several interaction sites on IB5 and conformational changes arising from the interaction.