Leptospirose é uma zoonose mundial que acomete várias espécies de mamíferos, incluindo humanos, causada por espécies de bactérias patogênicas do gênero Leptospira. Possui um quadro de manifestação clínico muito variado, podendo apresentar desde sintomas comuns a outras doenças como febre, calafrios, cefaleia, dores musculares, enjoo, vômitos, diarreia e uma forma mais severa da infecção denominada síndrome de Weill. Seguindo a estratégia de genômica funcional, foram selecionados genes de Leptospira interrogans sorovar Copenhageni, LIC10377, LIC11122, LIC11184 e LIC12287, tendo como critério a predição de localização das proteínas na membrana. Os fragmentos referentes aos genes LIC11122 e LIC12287 foram clonados no vetor pGEM-T Easy e subclonados no vetor de expressão pAE. As proteínas avaliadas interagem com laminina e plasminogênio, de forma dose-dependentes e saturáveis, sugerindo atuam nos processos de patogênese da bactéria. A presença de um fator sigma na superfície celular desempenhando um papel secundário, sugere que a rLIC11122 pode ser uma proteína moonlight. / Leptospirosis is a worldwide zoonosis that affects several species of mammals, including humans, caused by species of pathogenic bacteria of the genus Leptospira. It has a very varied clinical manifestation board and may have symptoms from common tropical diseases such as fever, chills, headache, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and a severe syndrome of infection known as Weill syndrome. Following the functional genomics strategy, genes were selected from Leptospira interrogans serovar Copenhageni, LIC10377, LIC11122, LIC11184 and LIC12287, with the criterion of the prediction location of proteins in the membrane. The fragments related to genes LIC11122 and LIC12287 were cloned into pGEM-T Easy vector and subcloned into the expression vector pAE. The evaluated proteins interact with laminin and plasminogen, dose-dependent and saturable manner, suggesting participation in bacterial pathogenesis processes. The presence of a sigma factor on the cell surface plays a secondary role, suggests that performs a moonlight rLIC11122 protein.

Plant microtubules play essential roles in cell processes such as cell division, cell elongation, and organelle organization. Microtubules are arranged in highly dynamic and ordered arrays, but unlike animal cells, plant cells lack centrosomes. Therefore, microtubule nucleation and organization are governed by microtubule-associated proteins, including a microtubule-severing protein, katanin. Mutant analysis and in vitro characterization has shown that the highly conserved katanin is needed for the organization of the microtubule arrays in Arabidopsis and rice as well as in a variety of animal models. Katanin is a protein complex that is part of the AAA+ family of ATPases. Katanin is composed of two subunits, katanin-p60, a catalytic subunit and katanin-p80, a regulatory subunit. Spastin is another MT-severing protein that was identified on the basis of its homology to katanin. In animal cells, spastin is also needed for microtubule organization, but its functionality has not yet been investigated in plants. To initiate an exploration of the function of katanin-p60 and spastin in Zea mays, my research goal was to generate tools for the expression and purification of maize katanin-p60 and spastin proteins in vitro. Plasmids that express katanin-p60 and spastin with N-terminal GST tags were designed and constructed via In-Fusion® cloning after traditional cloning methods were not successful. The constructs were expressed in E. coli, then the recombinant proteins were purified. To determine if the GST-tagged proteins are functional, ATPase activity and tubulin polymerization assays were performed. While both GST-katanin-p60 and GST-spastin hydrolyzed ATP indicating that the ATPase domains are functional, the results of the tubulin polymerization assays were less clear and further experimentation is necessary.

The remarkable metabolic capacity of the soil-dwelling bacterium Sinorhizobium meliloti is encoded on its three circular replicons: the chromosome and two large megaplasmids, pSymA and pSymB. Despite making up 45% of the genome, the pSymA and pSymB megaplasmids can be cured from S. meliloti. This unique attribute provides an opportunity to study the essentiality of chromosomal genes in the presence or absence of nearly half the genome. By interrogating chromosomal genes via massively parallel transposon insertion sequencing (Tn-seq) in the presence and absence of pSymA and pSymB, we identified 307 genes as being essential for viability regardless of the genomic context and 104 genes as being essential specifically when the megaplasmids are absent. We also found that ten percent of genes encoded on the chromosome genetically interact with genes on pSymA and pSymB. In addition, Tn-seq data were utilized to significantly refine a metabolic model of S. meliloti, facilitating more accurate fitness predictions in user-defined nutrient and genetic contexts. Furthermore, the development of a library of barcoded transposon insertion (BarSeq) mutants has enabled us to identify genes that are essential for robust growth in hundreds of nutrient environments simultaneously. This will greatly assist efforts to assign more specific functions to the ~30% of S. meliloti genes that have remained uncharacterized over the years. S. meliloti has been studied for decades as a model organism for symbiotic communication. Its legume host, Medicago truncatula, provides fixed carbon for the bacteria in order to receive fixed nitrogen in return. The molecular dialogue between S. meliloti and M. truncatula, initiates and controls each stage of symbiotic development. When inside host cells, intracellular bacteria are subjected to an arsenal of plant-derived Nodule-specific Cysteine-Rich (NCR) peptides that induce significant morphological changes prior to nitrogen fixation. It was previously shown that a bacterial peptidase, HrrP, present in about 10% of S. meliloti isolates, could degrade host-derived peptides and give the bacterial symbionts greater fitness at the expense of the host. In a screen through peptidases conserved throughout the core S. meliloti genome, we identified one peptidase (sapA) that, when overexpressed, significantly modulates symbiotic outcome. In a manner similar to HrrP, SapA degrades NCR peptides in vitro. Additionally, expression of sapA seems to occur specifically inside the plant host providing compelling evidence that some rhizobial peptidases may have evolved away from housekeeping and toward symbiotic functions.

Leishmaniases are neglected diseases occurring mainly in developing countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America. However, these diseases are also present in Europe and North America and due to climate changes and human activities they spread to higher latitudes and altitudes. In these theses, we review the current information about the spread of leishmaniases, its vectors and reservoirs in Europe. The risk of Leishmania transmission is closely connected with the host-vector contact. Recently, immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody response to sandfly saliva has been proven as a reliable marker of the host exposure. However, sandfly saliva is a complex mixture of components with different chemical and antigenic properties and it is laborious and expensive to acquire. Therefore, we have focused on preparation of major salivary antigens in the form of recombinant proteins that would be capable to replace the saliva in immunological screenings. We choose two European vectors, Phlebotomus (P.) papatasi and Phlebotomus (P.) perniciosus and identified their major salivary antigens by western blotting and mass spectrometry. We expressed these proteins in the bacterial system and test their antigenicity using ELISA and western blotting with sera of mice and dogs bitten by these sand fly species. The most promising...

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is widespread disease caused by protozoa Leishmania donovani and Leishmania infantum. Human visceral leishmaniasis caused by Le. donovani in India is considered an anthroponosis, however in East Africa, the role of animals as reservoirs remains unclear. The first part of this thesis demonstrated natural Leishmania infection in wild rodents and bats in Ethiopia. Overall, 8.2% rodents and 4.9% bats were positive for Leishmania spp. Subsequent sequencing revealed that 10% of Leishmania-positive rodents were infected by parasites from Le. donovani complex, on the other hand, no Le. donovani DNA was detected in bats. All Le. donovani-positive rodents were captured in the localities of southwest Ethiopia where human VL cases have been reported and potential sand fly vectors occur. Our findings indicate that rodents are likely to play a role in VL transmission in Ethiopia. During blood feeding, sand flies inoculate into the host skin immunogenic salivary proteins which elicit species specific antibody response. Anti-saliva antibodies could be used as a marker of host exposure to sand flies and, in leishmaniasis endemic areas, also as risk markers of Leishmania infection. In order to find out if the domestic animals (dog, goat, cow, and donkey) from north and northwest Ethiopia...

Screening of expression constructs suitable for protein pharmaceuticals is often done in batch cultivations. But the production of the recombinant protein is made during fed-batch cultivations. The two types of cultivations are different and therefore may good expression constructs that grow poorly in batch cultivations but good in fed-batch cultivations be rejected. Therefore would it be desirable to develop a fed-batch method that can be used in shake flasks. Biosilta has developed a method where starch is broken down into glucose by an enzyme creating fed-batch conditions. This method has been tried out and analyzed during this project. It is shown that the cells grown under these conditions can be glucose limited. However, at a later stage of the cultivation the cells produce a large amount of acetate and pH is not stable. The system builds on a booster tablet which content is unknown. If the booster is not added to the cultivations the cells stop growing, this indicates that there is some other limitation than just glucose. It is also seen that the amount of protein that is produced during this fed-batch mimic cultivation is much lower than that is produced during normal batch cultivations. I would therefore not recommend EnBase as a screening method. / Screening av nya rekombinanta proteiner som ska användas till läkemedel sker oftast i batch-odling. Men själva odlingen av proteinläkemedlet sker sedan under fed-batch förhållanden. Dessa två typer av odling är olika och då cellerna växer olika kan detta leda till att fel, eller den inte mest lämpade kandidaten väljs. Därför vore det önskvärt att ta fram en fed-batch liknande metod i skakkolvar. Biosilta har tagit fram en metod där ett enzym bryter ned stärkelse till glukos som påminner om fed-batch. Denna metod har testats och undersökts i detta examensarbete. Det har visat sig att cellerna som växer under dessa förhållanden är begränsade på glukos men producerar stora mängder ättiksyra under den senare fasen av odlingen och att pH varierar mycket. Systemet bygger mycket på att en booster-tablett tillsätts, vad denna tablett innehåller är okänt. Men om tabletten inte tillsätts slutar cellerna att växa, detta tyder på att det finns någon mer begränsning än glukos. Det visade sig även att protein produktionen blev mycket lägre än vid odling i batch-fas. Det skulle av anledning av ovanstående inte vara bra att använda sig av EnBase som en screening metod.

Infections by human schistosomes, in particular Schistosoma mansoni, account for significant morbidity and mortality every year in tropical and sub-tropical areas. The eggs of the parasite induce pathological changes in the infected host; in chronic and heavy infections, these changes may lead to death. A well-designed anti-schistosomal vaccine, alone or in concert with existing control measures such as chemotherapy, may prove to be a safe, inexpensive and effective means of reducing the occurrence of severe disease and death in S. mansoni infection. Previous studies have demonstrated the importance of the syncytial layer containing the apical plasma membrane (APM) of S. mansoni in both the survival of the parasite in the mammalian host and as a potential source of immunogens which may be utilized as vaccine candidates. In this paper we present evidence for the protective capacity of several schistosomal antigen preparations, including a calcium binding protein of the APM, S. mansoni calpain (GenBnnk accession no. M74233). We have constructed and characterized expression of a recombinant baculovirus expressing the large subunit of S. mansoni calpain, Sm-p80. This recombinant Sm-p80 is recognized by IgA, IgM, IgG1, and IgG3 isotype antibodies found in S. mansoni-infected human sera and partially-purified recombinant Sm-p80 provided a 29-39% reduction in worm burden in immunized mice challenged with S. mansoni. Our data indicate that Sm-p80 may be a useful vaccine antigen for the reduction of the morbidity associated with S. mansoni infections of mammalian hosts.

The corn grain biofactory was used to produce Cel7A, an exo-cellulase (cellobiohydrolase I) from Hypocrea jecorina. The enzymatic activity on small molecule substrates was equivalent to its fungal counterpart. The corn grain-derived enzyme is glycosylated and 6 kDa smaller than the native fungal protein, likely due to more sugars added in the glycosylation of the fungal enzyme. Our data suggest that corn seed-derived cellobiohydrolase (CBH) I performs as well as or better than its fungal counterpart in releasing sugars from complex substrates such as pre-treated corn stover or wood. This recombinant protein product can enter and expand current reagent enzyme markets as well as create new markets in textile or pulp processing. The purified protein is now available commercially.

Capripoxviruses are of particular interest as live recombinant vectors for use in the veterinary field, since their host-range is restricted to cattle, goats and sheep. The work presented in this thesis is a preliminary study undertaken on the South African Neethling vaccine strain of lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV). As a departure point towards the eventual identification of strong promoter areas in the 143 kb genome of LSDV, a portion of its genome was cloned. Three methods for purification of LSDV DNA were compared, to determine which yielded the best quality DNA for cloning. DNA extracted directly from infected cells was excessively contaminated with bovine host-DNA, complicating the cloning of LSDV DNA. The use of pulsed field gel electrophoresis solved the contamination problem, by separating viral DNA from bovine DNA. However, insufficient amounts of viral DNA for cloning purposes, could be recovered from the gel. Sufficient amounts of good quality LSDV DNA was obtained by extraction from purified virions. Purified LSDV DNA was digested with various restriction enzymes to identify those which yielded several 4-1 0 kb fragments, for cloning into the Bluescribe plasmid transcription vector. Enrichment for large fragments (8-1 0 kb) was achieved by sucrose density centrifugation. Cloned fragments were analysed by Southern blot hybridisation to verify their viral origin. Hybridisation studies indicated that several unique regions of the LSDV genome were cloned as Pst I and Bam HI fragments respectively, i.e. the cloned fragments contained no overlapping regions. In total, 71.25 kb of the DNA of the LSDV Neethling vaccine strain has been cloned, representing approximately 50% of the viral genome. The availability of these clones now paves the way for further molecular investigations of the LSDV Neethling genome, including identification of promoter regions. A trial gene, which will be cloned and expressed in LSDV, namely the cloned VPS-gene of bluetongue virus serotype 4, was prepared and its nucleotide sequence determined. Homopolymer sequences present at the terminal ends of the gene as a result of the original cloning strategy, are known to interfere with expression and were removed by means of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The nucleotide sequence of the resulting PCR-tailored BTV4 VPS-genewas determined and used to deduce the amino acid sequence of the protein. The gene is 1638 bp in length and encodes a protein of 526 aa. Conserved sequences, 6 bp in length and unique to the 5'- and 3'terminal ends of all BTV genes, were detected at the termini of the tailored gene, confirming that the original clone was a full-length copy of the gene. Amplification by PCR did not mutate the open reading frame (OAF) of the gene, since it was of similar length to that reported for 5 other BTV serotypes. With a view to future investigations, including the identification of promoter sequences in the LSDV genome, a preliminary investigation of LSDV protein synthesis was undertaken, to acquire some knowledge of the growth cycle of the virus. Eighteen putative virus-specific proteins were identified by radio-labelling infected cells with [³⁵S]-methionine. By pulse-labelling infected cells with [³⁵S]methionine at various times post infection (p.i.), viral proteins were first detected at 16 hr p.i. It is, however, unlikely that the early phase of viral replication commences as late as 16 hr p.i. and these results might be attributed to various problems, such as the low multiplicity of infection used and that host protein shut-down was inefficient, thus masking the presence viral proteins. In conclusion, this investigation resulted in the cloning of 71,25 kb of the LSDV genome, the tailoring and sequencing of the BTV4 VPS gene and the identification of 18 putative LSDV proteins. This now paves the way for further research to develop LSDV as a vaccine vector.

Two major hurdles face the production of recombinant spider silk protein (rSSp) based materials. First, the production of sufficient quantities of rSSp has proven difficult due to their highly repetitive nature and protein size (>250kDa). Secondly, rSSp and native silks are practically insoluble in water based solutions, necessitating the use of harsh organic solvents that can remain in the material after production. While others are working on solving production problems, this dissertation demonstrates a novel aqueous solubilization method that is rapid (<1 minute) and results in near 100% solubilization of the rSSp. From this new solubilization method films, foams, gels (hydrogels and lyogels), adhesives, coatings and fibers have been produced as well as the previously unreported sponge. All of these novel materials were derived from entirely aqueous solutions with and without minor additives to influence the final physical state of the rSSp.