Myxococcus xanthus displays social (S) motility, a form of surface motility that is key to the multicellular behaviors of this organism. S motility requires two cellular structures: type IV pili (TFP) and exopolysaccharides (EPS). Previous studies have shown that M. xanthus does not use glucose or any other sugar as a primary carbon source. However, eight monosaccharides, namely glucose, mannose, arabinose, galactose, xylose, rhamnose, N-acetyl-glucosamine, and N-acetyl-mannosamine, are found in M. xanthus EPS. In this study, pathways that M. xanthus could use to produce the activated sugar monomers to form EPS are proposed based on genomic data. Of the eight sugars, pathways for seven were disrupted by mutation and their effects on the EPS-dependent behaviors were analyzed. The results indicate that disruption of the two pathways leading to the production of activated rhamnose (GDP- and TDP-rhamnose) affected fruiting body formation (GDP form only) and dye binding ability (both forms) but not S motility. Disruptions of the xylose, mannose, and glucose pathways caused M. xanthus to lose S motility, fruiting body formation, and dye binding abilities. An interruption in the pathway for galactose production created a mutant with properties similar to a lipopolysaccharide (LPS) deficient strain. This discovery led us to study the phenotypes of all mutant strains for LPS production. The results suggest that all mutants may synthesize defective LPS configurations. Disruption of the UDP-N-acetyl-mannosamine pathway resulted in a wild type phenotype. In addition, it was discovered that interruption of the pathway for N-acetyl-glucosamine production was possible only by supplementing this amino-sugar in the growth medium. In an attempt to determine if other mutants could be recovered by sugar supplementation, it was discovered that the Δpgi mutant can be rescued by glucose supplementation. The Dif chemotaxis-like pathway is known to regulate EPS production in M. xanthus. DifA is the upstream sensor of the pathway. Previous studies had created a NarX-DifA chimeric protein, NafA, that enables the activation of the Dif pathway by nitrate, the signal for NarX. In this study, we constructed a Δpgi difA double mutant containing NafA. This strain was then subjected to various incubations with glucose and/or nitrate to determine whether the point of EPS regulation by the Dif pathway is down- or up-stream of the step catalyzed by Pgi (phosphoglucose isomerase). Preliminary results from this study are inconclusive. / Master of Science

Glycans are macromolecules that contain several classes. Glycans can play an important role in biological activities. Studying the cell surface glycans can provide a very powerful way to understand the fundamental process. Also it could help to regulate expected cell response. Thus it is very necessary to have a method to detect cell- surface glycans efficiently. An efficient method for glycan detection is necessary. Metabolic glycan labeling and chemoenzymatic glycan labeling are most commonly used. Chemoenzymatic glycan labeling is a rapid and sensitive method which also has high specificity. This method can be applied in both vitro and vivo. However the availability of unnatural sugar nucleotides functioned by bioorthogonal groups is the main limitation for chemoenzymatic labeling. In this thesis, UDP-GlcNAc and UDP-GalNAc derivatives were prepared for further chemoenzymatic labeling by using chemoenzymatic synthesis method.

A parede celular de plantas é formada basicamente por celulose, hemicelulose e lignina. A formação dos polímeros de hemicelulose depende do suprimento de precursores chamados de açúcares-nucleotídeos. A biossíntese das diferentes estruturas de hemicelulose da parede celular envolve a participação de enzimas pertencentes às famílias das glicosiltransferases (GTs). Estudos feitos em Arabidopsis thaliana, Brachypodium distachyon, Oryza sativa (arroz) e Zea mays (milho) auxiliaram na descoberta de 11 enzimas da via de interconversão nucleotídeo-açúcar e de enzimas da família das glicosiltransferases (GTs), como as GT2, GT8, GT43, GT47, GT61 e GT75, envolvidas na biossíntese de hemicelulose. O presente trabalho visa a identificação de genes da via de biossíntese de hemicelulose da parede celular de cana-de-açúcar (Saccharum spp.) e análise filogenética entre Arabidopsis thaliana (planta modelo de eudicotiledôneas), Oryza sativa, Brachypodium distachyon, Zea mays, Sorghum bicolor e Saccharum spp. Foram identificados os genes das famílias GT2, GT8, GT43, GT47, GT61, GT75, CSL, Epimerase e UDPG em cana-de-açúcar a partir da busca em sete bibliotecas de RNA-Seq utilizando as sequências de O. sativa, Z. mays e S. bicolor como referência. Os domínios específicos de cada família gênica foram confirmados através do programa PFAM e consequentemente anotados. A identificação e anotação das sequencias possibilitou a construção de bancos de sequências das famílias envolvidas na biossíntese de hemicelulose para as espécies A. thaliana, B. distachyon, O. sativa, Z. mays e S. bicolor. Foram identificadas para cada espécie, respectivamente, um total de 67, 49, 49, 60 e 56 genes bona fides. O presente trabalho, além da identificação de genes nas diferentes espécies, permitiu a identificação e seleção de 27 genes candidatos envolvidos na biossíntese de hemicelulose em cana-de-açúcar e possivelmente envolvidos na recalcitrância da parede celular nas diferentes bibliotecas de RNA-Seq de cana-de-açúcar. / The plant cell wall is mainly composed of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. The formation of hemicellulose polymers lies on the supply of the so-called sugar-nucleotide precursors. The diverse hemicellulose structures biosynthesis of cell wall involves the participation of enzymes belonging to the families of glycosyltransferases (GTs). Studies in Arabidopsis thaliana, Brachypodium distachyon, Oryza sativa (rice) and Zea mays (corn) aid the discovery of 11 enzymes of the nucleotide sugar interconversion pathway and enzymes of the GT family, as GT2, GT8, GT43, GT47, GT61 e GT75, involved in the hemicelluloses biosynthesis. This study aims to the identification of hemicellulose biosynthesis pathway genes from the cell wall of sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) and phylogenetic analysis of Arabidopsis thaliana (eudicotyledonous plant model), Oryza sativa, Brachypodium distachyon, Zea mays, Sorghum bicolor and Saccharum spp. The genes of the GT2, GT8, GT 43, GT47, GT61, GT75, CSL, epimerase and UDPG families were identified in sugarcane from a search in seven RNA-Seq libraries using the sequences of O. sativa, Z. mays and S. bicolor as reference. The specific domains of each gene family have been confirmed through the PFAM program and consequently noted. The identification and annotation of the sequences enabled the construction of sequences banks of the families involved in hemicellulose biosynthesis in the species A. thaliana, B. distachyon, O. sativa, Z. mays and S. bicolor. It was identified for each species, respectively, a total of 67, 49, 49, 60 and 56 bona fides genes. This work, in addition to the identification of genes in different species, allowed the identification and selection of 27 candidate genes involved in the biosynthesis of hemicelluloses in sugarcane and possibly involved in cell wall recalcitrance in the different sugarcane RNA-Seq libraries.

A parede celular de plantas é formada basicamente por celulose, hemicelulose e lignina. A formação dos polímeros de hemicelulose depende do suprimento de precursores chamados de açúcares-nucleotídeos. A biossíntese das diferentes estruturas de hemicelulose da parede celular envolve a participação de enzimas pertencentes às famílias das glicosiltransferases (GTs). Estudos feitos em Arabidopsis thaliana, Brachypodium distachyon, Oryza sativa (arroz) e Zea mays (milho) auxiliaram na descoberta de 11 enzimas da via de interconversão nucleotídeo-açúcar e de enzimas da família das glicosiltransferases (GTs), como as GT2, GT8, GT43, GT47, GT61 e GT75, envolvidas na biossíntese de hemicelulose. O presente trabalho visa a identificação de genes da via de biossíntese de hemicelulose da parede celular de cana-de-açúcar (Saccharum spp.) e análise filogenética entre Arabidopsis thaliana (planta modelo de eudicotiledôneas), Oryza sativa, Brachypodium distachyon, Zea mays, Sorghum bicolor e Saccharum spp. Foram identificados os genes das famílias GT2, GT8, GT43, GT47, GT61, GT75, CSL, Epimerase e UDPG em cana-de-açúcar a partir da busca em sete bibliotecas de RNA-Seq utilizando as sequências de O. sativa, Z. mays e S. bicolor como referência. Os domínios específicos de cada família gênica foram confirmados através do programa PFAM e consequentemente anotados. A identificação e anotação das sequencias possibilitou a construção de bancos de sequências das famílias envolvidas na biossíntese de hemicelulose para as espécies A. thaliana, B. distachyon, O. sativa, Z. mays e S. bicolor. Foram identificadas para cada espécie, respectivamente, um total de 67, 49, 49, 60 e 56 genes bona fides. O presente trabalho, além da identificação de genes nas diferentes espécies, permitiu a identificação e seleção de 27 genes candidatos envolvidos na biossíntese de hemicelulose em cana-de-açúcar e possivelmente envolvidos na recalcitrância da parede celular nas diferentes bibliotecas de RNA-Seq de cana-de-açúcar. / The plant cell wall is mainly composed of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. The formation of hemicellulose polymers lies on the supply of the so-called sugar-nucleotide precursors. The diverse hemicellulose structures biosynthesis of cell wall involves the participation of enzymes belonging to the families of glycosyltransferases (GTs). Studies in Arabidopsis thaliana, Brachypodium distachyon, Oryza sativa (rice) and Zea mays (corn) aid the discovery of 11 enzymes of the nucleotide sugar interconversion pathway and enzymes of the GT family, as GT2, GT8, GT43, GT47, GT61 e GT75, involved in the hemicelluloses biosynthesis. This study aims to the identification of hemicellulose biosynthesis pathway genes from the cell wall of sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) and phylogenetic analysis of Arabidopsis thaliana (eudicotyledonous plant model), Oryza sativa, Brachypodium distachyon, Zea mays, Sorghum bicolor and Saccharum spp. The genes of the GT2, GT8, GT 43, GT47, GT61, GT75, CSL, epimerase and UDPG families were identified in sugarcane from a search in seven RNA-Seq libraries using the sequences of O. sativa, Z. mays and S. bicolor as reference. The specific domains of each gene family have been confirmed through the PFAM program and consequently noted. The identification and annotation of the sequences enabled the construction of sequences banks of the families involved in hemicellulose biosynthesis in the species A. thaliana, B. distachyon, O. sativa, Z. mays and S. bicolor. It was identified for each species, respectively, a total of 67, 49, 49, 60 and 56 bona fides genes. This work, in addition to the identification of genes in different species, allowed the identification and selection of 27 candidate genes involved in the biosynthesis of hemicelluloses in sugarcane and possibly involved in cell wall recalcitrance in the different sugarcane RNA-Seq libraries.

A parede celular vegetal, estrutura essencial para as plantas, é extremamente importante para a economia humana, já que apresenta diversas utilidades, como por exemplo, fabricação de papel, fibras de vestuário, construção civil, entre outras. A maior parte da parede celular vegetal primária (aproximadamente 90%), é formada por polissacarídeos como celulose, hemiceluloses e pectinas. Os monossacarídeos, unidades formadoras dos polissacarídeos, são sintetizados, nas plantas, a partir de diferentes açúcares nucleotídeos, sendo que, o suprimento desses, pode afetar a biossíntese dos polissacarídeos da parede celular. Visando analisar o impacto da alteração do fluxo metabólico do carbono na composição da parede celular, o presente projeto de pesquisa teve como objetivo alterar a composição dos polissacarídeos da parede celular de Nicotiana tabcum, através da modulação da expressão do gene uxs, responsável pela codificação da enzima UDP-D-glucuronato descarboxilase (UDPGlcADC, EC 4.1.1.35) que converte UDP-D-glucuronato em UDP-D-xilose, importante açúcar nucleotídeo, precursor do monossacarídeo xilose. Para isso, após a clonagem do gene uxs de ervilha, foram obtidas plantas transgênicas de tabaco superexpressando esse gene. Diversas análises foram realizadas para determinação da composição química da parede celular primária e secundária dessas plantas. Pela análise de FTIR da parede celular primária, verificou-se que três linhagens transgênicas apresentaram espectrotipos consistentes, indicando uma redução na quantidade de pectinas e ligações ésteres carboxílica nessas linhagens transgênicas. Apesar de não terem sido detectadas alterações na proporção dos monossacarídeos ramnose, xilose, arabinose, manose e galactose, e na quantidade de celulose, na parede celular primária das plantas transgênicas, foram observadas diferenças na proporção de galactose não esterificada, nas linhagens que apresentaram espectrotipo. Com relação à parede celular secundária, observou-se que algumas linhagens transgênicas apresentaram maior concentração de lignina solúvel relacionada a uma redução no conteúdo de lignina insolúvel. / The plant cell wall is not only an essential structure for plants, but also an extremely important raw material in human economy. The plant cell wall has diverse utilities, for example, papermaking, textile fiber, civil construction. Polysaccharides, such as cellulose, hemicelluloses and pectins, are the major components of the primary plant cell wall (approximately 90%). These polysaccharides are formed by monosaccharides, which are synthesized in the plant from different nucleotide sugars. The suppliment of the nucleotide sugars can affect plant cell wall polysaccharides biosynthesis. Aiming at analyzing the impact of the alteration in the metabolic carbon flux on cell wall composition, the objective of this research project was to alterate the plant cell wall polysaccharides composition by the modulation of the uxs gene. This gene encodes the UDP-D-glucuronic acid decarboxylase enzyme (UDPGlcADC, EC 4.1.1.35) that promotes the conversion of UDP-D-glucuronic acid to UDP-D-xylose, an important sugar nucleotide precursor of xylose monosaccharide. To achieve this goal, the pea uxs gene was cloned and transgenic tobacco plants overexpressing this gene were obtained. Several analyses were performed to determinate the primary and secondary cell wall composition of those transgenic plants. The primary cell wall analysis by FTIR identified three transgenic lines that show different spectrotypes compared to wild type and those transgenic spectrotypes had the same features. The results indicate a reduction of pectin and ester carbonyl binding in the transgenic plants. No alterations were detected in the monosaccharide (rhamnose, xylose, arabinose, manose and galactose) proportions and the amount of cellulose in the primary cell wall of the transgenic plants. Nevertheless, differences in the proportion of unesterified galactose were observed in the same transgenic lines that showed spectrotypes. With regard to secondary cell wall, some transgenic lines showed an increase in soluble lignin which is related to a reduction in insoluble lignin.

A parede celular vegetal, estrutura essencial para as plantas, é extremamente importante para a economia humana, já que apresenta diversas utilidades, como por exemplo, fabricação de papel, fibras de vestuário, construção civil, entre outras. A maior parte da parede celular vegetal primária (aproximadamente 90%), é formada por polissacarídeos como celulose, hemiceluloses e pectinas. Os monossacarídeos, unidades formadoras dos polissacarídeos, são sintetizados, nas plantas, a partir de diferentes açúcares nucleotídeos, sendo que, o suprimento desses, pode afetar a biossíntese dos polissacarídeos da parede celular. Visando analisar o impacto da alteração do fluxo metabólico do carbono na composição da parede celular, o presente projeto de pesquisa teve como objetivo alterar a composição dos polissacarídeos da parede celular de Nicotiana tabcum, através da modulação da expressão do gene uxs, responsável pela codificação da enzima UDP-D-glucuronato descarboxilase (UDPGlcADC, EC 4.1.1.35) que converte UDP-D-glucuronato em UDP-D-xilose, importante açúcar nucleotídeo, precursor do monossacarídeo xilose. Para isso, após a clonagem do gene uxs de ervilha, foram obtidas plantas transgênicas de tabaco superexpressando esse gene. Diversas análises foram realizadas para determinação da composição química da parede celular primária e secundária dessas plantas. Pela análise de FTIR da parede celular primária, verificou-se que três linhagens transgênicas apresentaram espectrotipos consistentes, indicando uma redução na quantidade de pectinas e ligações ésteres carboxílica nessas linhagens transgênicas. Apesar de não terem sido detectadas alterações na proporção dos monossacarídeos ramnose, xilose, arabinose, manose e galactose, e na quantidade de celulose, na parede celular primária das plantas transgênicas, foram observadas diferenças na proporção de galactose não esterificada, nas linhagens que apresentaram espectrotipo. Com relação à parede celular secundária, observou-se que algumas linhagens transgênicas apresentaram maior concentração de lignina solúvel relacionada a uma redução no conteúdo de lignina insolúvel. / The plant cell wall is not only an essential structure for plants, but also an extremely important raw material in human economy. The plant cell wall has diverse utilities, for example, papermaking, textile fiber, civil construction. Polysaccharides, such as cellulose, hemicelluloses and pectins, are the major components of the primary plant cell wall (approximately 90%). These polysaccharides are formed by monosaccharides, which are synthesized in the plant from different nucleotide sugars. The suppliment of the nucleotide sugars can affect plant cell wall polysaccharides biosynthesis. Aiming at analyzing the impact of the alteration in the metabolic carbon flux on cell wall composition, the objective of this research project was to alterate the plant cell wall polysaccharides composition by the modulation of the uxs gene. This gene encodes the UDP-D-glucuronic acid decarboxylase enzyme (UDPGlcADC, EC 4.1.1.35) that promotes the conversion of UDP-D-glucuronic acid to UDP-D-xylose, an important sugar nucleotide precursor of xylose monosaccharide. To achieve this goal, the pea uxs gene was cloned and transgenic tobacco plants overexpressing this gene were obtained. Several analyses were performed to determinate the primary and secondary cell wall composition of those transgenic plants. The primary cell wall analysis by FTIR identified three transgenic lines that show different spectrotypes compared to wild type and those transgenic spectrotypes had the same features. The results indicate a reduction of pectin and ester carbonyl binding in the transgenic plants. No alterations were detected in the monosaccharide (rhamnose, xylose, arabinose, manose and galactose) proportions and the amount of cellulose in the primary cell wall of the transgenic plants. Nevertheless, differences in the proportion of unesterified galactose were observed in the same transgenic lines that showed spectrotypes. With regard to secondary cell wall, some transgenic lines showed an increase in soluble lignin which is related to a reduction in insoluble lignin.