<p>The Signalosome is a term used to define a putative signalling complex, which assembles near the plasma membrane in response to external signals received at cell surface receptors and then migrates towards downstream effectors. It is proposed to regulate the level of intracellular Ca2+ and subsequent downstream signalling events. To date it has been defined to consist of BTK, BLNK, BCAP, VAV, PLCγ2 and PI3K1-4 in B-Cells.</p><p>This work entailed initiating a new proteomic approach to investigate the nature and extent of Bruton’s tyrosine kinase, Btk, involvement in the signalosome – inherently, the aim was to study multiple interactions of Btk with other molecules. By transfecting host cells with a Btk gene-transfer plasmid, virus particles were produced that were used to up-regulate and analyse the expression of Btk in three haematopoietic cell lines: B-cells, Pre-B-cells and a myeloid cancer cell. The construction of a new gene-transfer vector was successfully carried out by plasmid sub-cloning and it was subsequently found to effectively transfect the host cells and produce virus particles. The recombinant virus particles were employed with success in transducing three haematopoietic cell lines and with immunopurification and subsequent gel separation protein signalosome complexes were obtained ready for analysis by mass spectrometrical fingerprinting (to be carried out as a joint effort in Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, Canada).</p>

<p>The capability to control the progression of the cell cycle, including the means to enter into a stable non-proliferative state, is essential for eukaryotic unicellular and multicellular organisms. A quiescent state similar to G0 of higher eukaryotes can be induced by nitrogen starvation of the fission yeast model organism Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Using high-resolution tiling arrays for genome-wide transcriptional profiling we explore the early transcriptional reprogramming on the route to quiescence. Furthermore, we demonstrate that cells carrying a mutation in the high mobility group (HMG) box of the histone lysine demethylase spLsd1 fail to acquire characteristics of quiescent cells and rapidly lose viability under nitrogen-starved conditions. Since no such defect is seen as a result of catalytic inactivation, the HMG domain of spLsd1 seems to confer a function to the protein that is independent of the histone demethylase activity. We show that the HMG domain of spLsd1 is required for transcriptional activation and repression of a large set of genes, both during vegetative growth and on the route to quiescence. We also confirm that spLsd1 is a repressor of antisense transcription, and that this function is at least partially dependent on the HMG domain of the protein.</p>

<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:HyphenationZone>21</w:HyphenationZone> <w:PunctuationKerning /> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas /> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables /> <w:SnapToGridInCell /> <w:WrapTextWithPunct /> <w:UseAsianBreakRules /> <w:DontGrowAutofit /> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; line-height:150%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;} p.Standardmedluft, li.Standardmedluft, div.Standardmedluft {mso-style-name:"Standard med luft"; margin-top:14.0pt; margin-right:0cm; margin-bottom:0cm; margin-left:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:justify; line-height:150%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:70.85pt 70.85pt 2.0cm 70.85pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> <!--[if gte mso 10]><mce:style><! /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} --><!--[endif]--></p><p>Transvection is a widespread phenomenon affecting chromosomal and gene function. There are many examples of epigenetic machineries controlling gene regulation. Nuclear Lamin proteins could have this function. This project shows <em>zeste</em> dependent transvection<strong> </strong>in loss-of-function<strong> </strong><em>lamin</em> mutants in <em>Drosophila melanogaster</em>.<strong> </strong>The <em>zeste</em> locus<strong> </strong>encodes a regulatory gene product affecting the expression of other loci, e.g. <em>white</em>. No transvection effect in loss-of-function <em>lamin </em>mutants has so far been shown. The effect of homozygosity versus heterozygosity of <em>lamin</em> on <em>zeste</em>-dependent transvection at paired <em>white</em> loci was analysed by crossing fruit flies to get homozygous<em> </em><em>z¹</em>; <em>lam</em>^D395 individuals. Whether or not the <em>zeste (z¹</em>) transvection effect on <em>white</em> was affected by <em>lam</em> ^D395 loss-of-function mutation was determined by comparing the eye colour phenotypes of double mutant <em>z¹</em>; <em>lam</em>^D395 females to that of <em>z¹/Y</em>; <em>lam</em>^D395 males, which were used as an internal negative control since they are hemizygous for <em>zeste</em> that is located on the X chromosome. Females homozygous for <em>z¹</em> and <em>lam</em>^D395 displayed the <em>z¹</em>-characteristic yellow eye colour. The conclusion is that <em>zeste</em>-dependent transvection effect at <em>white</em> also occurs in <em>lamin</em> mutants. Future research on transvection is needed in order to understand the exact mechanisms of gene regulation. Even gene therapies for some human diseases can take advantage of <em>trans</em>-acting sequences to correct gene expression.</p><p> </p>

<p>Peptide bond formation and translational termination on the ribosome have been simulated by molecular mechanics, free energy perturbation, empirical valence bond (MD/FEP/EVB) and automated docking methods. Recent X-ray crystallographic data is used here to calculate the entire free energy surface for the system complete with substrates, ribosomal groups, solvent molecules and ions. A reaction mechanism for peptide bond formation emerges that is found to be catalyzed by the ribosome, in agreement with kinetic data and activation entropy measurements. The results show a water mediated network of hydrogen bonds, capable of reducing the reorganization energy during peptidyl transfer. The predicted hydrogen bonds and the structure of the active site were later confirmed by new X-ray structures with proper transition states analogs. </p><p>Elongation termination on the ribosome is triggered by binding of a release factor (RF) protein followed by rapid release of the nascent peptide. The structure of the RF, bound to the ribosomal peptidyl transfer center (PTC), has not been resolved in atomic detail. Nor is the mechanism known, by which the hydrolysis proceeds. Using automated docking of a hepta-peptide RF fragment, containing the highly conserved GGQ motif, we identified a conformation capable of catalyzing peptide hydrolysis. The MD/FEP/EVB calculations also reproduce the slow spontaneous release when RF is absent, and rationalize available mutational data. The network of hydrogen bonds, the active site structure, and the reaction mechanism are found to be very similar for both peptidyl transfer and termination. </p><p>New structural data, placing a ribosomal protein (L27) in the PTC, motivated additional MD/FEP/EVB simulations to determine the effect of this protein on peptidyl transfer. The simulations predict that the protein N terminus interacts with the A-site substrate in a way that promotes binding. The catalytic effect of L27 in the ribosome, however, is shown to be marginal and it therefore seems valid to view the PTC as a ribozyme. Simulations with the model substrate puromycin (Pmn) predicts that protonation of the N terminus can reduce the rate of peptidyl transfer. This could explain the different pH-rate profiles measured for Pmn, compared to other substrates.</p>

The present thesis honors contemporary molecular dynamics simulation methodologies which provide powerful means to predict data, interpret observations and widen our understanding of the dynamics, structures and interactions of carbohydrate systems. With this as starting point my thesis work embarked on several cutting edge problems summarized as follows. In my first work the thermal response in crystal cellulose Iβ was studied with special emphasis on the temperature dependence of the crystal unit cell parameters and the organization of the hydrogen bonding network. The favorable comparison with available experimental data, like the phase transition temperature, the X-ray diffraction crystal structures of cellulose Iβ at room and high temperatures, and temperature dependent IR spectra supported our conclusions on the good performance of the GLYCAM06 force field for the description of cellulose crystals, and that a cautious parameterization of the non-bonded interaction terms in a force field is critical for the correct prediction of the thermal response in cellulose crystals. The adsorption properties of xyloglucans on the cellulose Iβ surface were investigated in my second paper. In our simulations, the interaction energies between xyloglucan and cellulose in water were found to be considerably lower than those in vacuo. The van der Waals interactions played a prevailing role over the electrostatic interactions in the adsorption. Though the variation in one side chain did not have much influence on the interaction energy and the binding affinity, it did affect the structural properties of the adsorbed xyloglucans. The interaction of the tetradecasaccharide XXXGXXXG in complex with the hybrid aspen xyloglucan endo-transglycosylase PttXET16-34 was studied in the third paper. The effect of the charge state of the “nucleophile helper” residue Asp87 on the PttXET16-34 active site structure was emphasized. The results indicate that the catalysis is optimal when the catalytic nucleophile is deprotonated, while the “helper” residue and general acid/base residue are both protonated. In my forth paper, the working mechanism for a redox-responsive bistable [2]rotaxane based on an α-cyclodextrin ring was investigated. The umbrella sampling technique was employed to calculate the free energy profiles for the shuttling motion of the α-cyclodextrin ring between two recognition sites on the dumbbell of the rotaxane. The calculated free energy profiles verified the binding preferences observed experimentally. The driving force for the shuttling movement of the α-cyclodextrin ring was revealed by the analysis of the free energy components. / QC 20110513

Homing endonucleases are rare-cutting enzymes that cleave DNA at a site near their own location, preferentially in alleles lacking the homing endonuclease gene (HEG). By cleaving HEG-less alleles the homing endonuclease can mediate the transfer of its own gene to the cleaved site via a process called homing, involving double strand break repair. Via homing, HEGs are efficiently transferred into new genomes when horizontal exchange of DNA occurs between organisms. Group I introns are intervening sequences that can catalyse their own excision from the unprocessed transcript without the need of any proteins. They are widespread, occurring both in eukaryotes and prokaryotes and in their viruses. Many group I introns encode a HEG within them that confers mobility also to the intron and mediates the combined transfer of the intron/HEG to intronless alleles via homing. Bacteriophage T4 contains three such group I introns and at least 12 freestanding HEGs in its genome. The majority of phages besides T4 do not contain any introns, and freestanding HEGs are also scarcely represented among other phages. In the first paper we looked into why group I introns are so rare in phages related to T4 in spite of the fact that they can spread between phages via homing. We have identified the first phage besides T4 that contains all three T-even introns and also shown that homing of at least one of the introns has occurred recently between some of the phages in Nature. We also show that intron homing can be highly efficient between related phages if two phages infect the same bacterium but that there also exists counteracting mechanisms that can restrict the spread of introns between phages. In the second paper we have looked at how the presence of introns can affect gene expression in the phage. We find that the efficiency of splicing can be affected by variation of translation of the upstream exon for all three introns in T4. Furthermore, we find that splicing is also compromised upon infection of stationary-phase bacteria. This is the first time that the efficiency of self-splicing of group I introns has been coupled to environmental conditions and the potential effect of this on phage viability is discussed. In the third paper we have characterised two novel freestanding homing endonucleases that in some T-even-like phages replace two of the putative HEGs in T4. We also present a new theory on why it is a selective advantage for freestanding, phage homing endonucleases to cleave both HEG-containing and HEG-less genomes.

The use of transformed bacteria to stop or kill disease-causing agents in the gut of vector insects is called paratransgenics. Two of the major steps in creating a paratransgenic Anopheles mosquito, unable to spread the Plasmodium parasites that cause malaria, are to find a bacterium suitable for the purpose and a way to introduce the transformed bacterium into mosquitoes in the field. In this project, bacteria associated with malaria mosquitoes have been identified by phylogenetic analysis of their 16S rRNA genes. First, the midgut flora of field-caught Anopheles mosquitoes was examined using two pathways, one culture dependent and one culture independent. Second, six bacterial species from an An. gambiae laboratory colony, and third, ten isolates from Anopheles oviposition sites have been identified. Altogether, 32 bacterial species, representing 16 families, seven classes and four phyla were identified. Interestingly, several of them are related to bacteria known to be symbionts in other insects. Two possible ways of introducing bacteria into mosquitoes in the field in a paratransgenic approach were investigated in a laboratory setting. It was shown that sugar solutions with or without bacteria are equally attractive to An. gambiae mosquitoes and that the mosquitoes were able to take up bacteria from the water they emerged from. These results show that it may be possible to use sugar-baits and oviposition sites for distribution of genetically modified bacteria in the field. To facilitate the distribution of the modified bacteria mosquito attractants should be used. We investigated whether the bacterial isolates identified in this project produce attractants affecting mosquito sugar-feeding or oviposition site selection. While no responses were observed from the mosquitoes towards bacteria-containing sugar solutions, seven of the 19 isolates examined mediated positive oviposition responses. In total, 13 putative oviposition attractants were identified among the volatiles emitted by the attractive bacteria.

Homing endonuclease genes (HEGs) are selfish genetic elements that mediate their own super-Mendelian inheritance. This is mediated by the homing endonuclease cleavage of a HEG- allele followed by recombination-repair with a HEG+ allele. The majority of the HEGs are encoded in intervening sequences (IVSs). The insertion of the IVS interrupts the endonuclease recognition site, making the genome with the IVS resistant to further cleavage by homing endonucleases with specificity for that particular sequence, but susceptible for homing endonucleases with a target not affected by the IVS insert. In 39 studied strains of the Bacillus cereus group, 28 IVSs were found in the nrdIEF operon. Phylogenetic studies of these sequences showed a scattered distribution of the IVSs, indicating a frequent horizontal gene transfer and that there might be competition between the different IVSs in the nrdIEF operon in the Bacillaceae family. One novel group I intron was shown to encode a functional homing endonuclease with a GIY-(X)8-YIG motif, expanding the family motif to GIY-(X)8-11-YIG. Interestingly, by studying the known insertion sites for IVSs in the ribonuclotide reductase genes, we show that the majority of the insertions are at conserved motifs, indicating that conservation is important for IVS survival. Most freestanding HEGs in bacteriophage T4 cleave both HEG+ and HEG- alleles, possibly providing a competitive advantage for the host organism when two phages infect the same bacterium. Two novel freestanding HEGs replace two putative HEGs in T4 in some T-even-like phages. The characterisation of these HEGs showed that both cleave double stranded DNA. SegH was shown to promote homing of its gene. Hef showed no homing, possibly due to general exclusion of other phages. The mobE putative HEG was shown to be homing proficient and showed strong general DNA degradation when expressed in Escherichia coli.

All metazoans possess an epithelial barrier that protects them from their environment and prevents loss off body fluid. Insects, which have an open circulatory system, depend on fast mechanism to seal wounds to avoid excessive loss of body fluids. As in vertebrates, and non-insect arthropods such as horseshoe crab and crustaceans, insects form a clot as the first response to tissue damage. Insect hemolymph coagulation has not been characterized extensively at the molecular level before, and the aim of my studies was to gain more knowledge on this topic. Morphological characterization of the Drosophila hemolymph clot showed that it resembles the clots previously described in other larger bodied insects, such as Galleria mellonella. The Drosophila clot is a fibrous network of cross-linked proteins and incorporated blood cells. The proteins building up the clot are soluble in the hemolymph or released from hemocytes upon activation. Since bacteria are caught in the clot matrix and thereby prevented from spreading it is likely that the clot serves as a first line of defense against microbial intruders. The bacteria are not killed by the clot. What actually kills the bacteria is not known at this point, although the phenoloxidase cascade does not seem to be of major importance since bacteria died in the absence of phenoloxidase. We identified and characterized a new clot protein which we named gp150 (Eig71Ee). Eig71Ee is an ecdysone-regulated mucin-like protein that is expressed in salivary glands, the perithophic membrane of the gut and in hemocytes, and can be labeled with the lectin peanut agglutinin (PNA). Eig71Ee was found to interact with another clot protein (Fondue), and the reaction was catalyzed by the enzyme transglutaminase. This is the first direct functional confirmation that transglutaminase acts in Drosophila coagulation. A protein fusion construct containing Fondue tagged with GFP was created. The fusion construct labeled the cuticle and the clot, and will be a valuable tool in future studies. Functional characterization of the previously identified clotting factor Hemolectin (Hml) revealed redundancy in the clotting mechanism. Loss of Hml had strong effects on larval hemolymph clotting ex vivo, but only minor effects, such as larges scabs, in vivo when larvae were wounded. An immunological role of Hml was demonstrated only after sensitizing the genetic background of Hml mutant flies confirming the difficulty of studying such processes in a living system. Hemolectin was previously considered to contain C-type lectin domains. We reassessed the domain structure and did not find any Ctype lectin domains; instead we found two discoidin domains which we propose are responsible for the protein’s lectin activity. We also showed that lepidopterans, such as Galleria mellonella and Ephestia kuehniella, use silk proteins to form clots. This finding suggests that the formation of a clot matrix evolved in insects by the co-option of proteins already participated in the formation of extracellular formations.

Peptide bond formation and translational termination on the ribosome have been simulated by molecular mechanics, free energy perturbation, empirical valence bond (MD/FEP/EVB) and automated docking methods. Recent X-ray crystallographic data is used here to calculate the entire free energy surface for the system complete with substrates, ribosomal groups, solvent molecules and ions. A reaction mechanism for peptide bond formation emerges that is found to be catalyzed by the ribosome, in agreement with kinetic data and activation entropy measurements. The results show a water mediated network of hydrogen bonds, capable of reducing the reorganization energy during peptidyl transfer. The predicted hydrogen bonds and the structure of the active site were later confirmed by new X-ray structures with proper transition states analogs. Elongation termination on the ribosome is triggered by binding of a release factor (RF) protein followed by rapid release of the nascent peptide. The structure of the RF, bound to the ribosomal peptidyl transfer center (PTC), has not been resolved in atomic detail. Nor is the mechanism known, by which the hydrolysis proceeds. Using automated docking of a hepta-peptide RF fragment, containing the highly conserved GGQ motif, we identified a conformation capable of catalyzing peptide hydrolysis. The MD/FEP/EVB calculations also reproduce the slow spontaneous release when RF is absent, and rationalize available mutational data. The network of hydrogen bonds, the active site structure, and the reaction mechanism are found to be very similar for both peptidyl transfer and termination. New structural data, placing a ribosomal protein (L27) in the PTC, motivated additional MD/FEP/EVB simulations to determine the effect of this protein on peptidyl transfer. The simulations predict that the protein N terminus interacts with the A-site substrate in a way that promotes binding. The catalytic effect of L27 in the ribosome, however, is shown to be marginal and it therefore seems valid to view the PTC as a ribozyme. Simulations with the model substrate puromycin (Pmn) predicts that protonation of the N terminus can reduce the rate of peptidyl transfer. This could explain the different pH-rate profiles measured for Pmn, compared to other substrates.