The apoplastic enzyme, ascorbate oxidase (AO), is a blue copper oxidase that catalyses oxidation of ascorbate (AsA) to monodehydroascorbate (MDHA). In Arabidopsis thaliana, AO is encoded by three genes (At4g39830, At5g21105 and At5g21100) designated AO1, AO2, and AO3 respectively. Since AsA is the most abundant antioxidant in the apoplast and AO is active in this compartment, the regulation of apoplastic AsA redox status by AO and its role in development and environmental perturbations has become a subject of interest. Phylogenetic analysis showed that AO is present in higher plants, pteridophytes, mosses and green algae. Amino acid sequence analysis showed that AO2 and AO3 shared higher sequence identity than AO1. In silico analyses found that AO1 had a distinct expression pattern and subcellular localisation compared to AO2 and AO3, suggesting AO1 might be involved in alternative functions. Consistent with previous studies, AO activity was high in actively growing tissue of wild-type (WT) A. thaliana, supporting a possible role of AO in cell expansion. ao1, ao3 and ao1ao3 T-DNA insertion mutants were characterised. ao1 had similar level of AO activity to WT, while ao3 and ao1ao3 had 10-20% of WT AO activity. Compared with WT, these T-DNA insertion mutants did not show any phenotypic differences under unstressed or stressed (high light and drought) growth conditions. An artificial microRNA construct (amiR-AO) to silence all three AO genes was developed. Also, an overexpression plasmid (35S::AO3) harbouring AO3 gene was constructed. These constructs were used to transform A. thaliana. AO activity was undetectable in the amiR-AO line, while the 35S::AO3 line had 3-fold higher AO activity than the WT. Under unstressed normal growth conditions, the amiR-AO line had bigger rosette size, whereas the 35S::AO3 line exhibited early flowering and smaller number of rosette leaves. The amiR-AO line accumulated more anthocyanin and AsA than WT when acclimated to high light, whereas the 35S::AO3 line accumulated less anthocyanin than WT. In response to drought, the amiR-AO line did not show phenotypic differences compared to WT, while the 35::AO3 line had higher rate of leaf water loss and appeared to have greater sensitivity to drought. These results suggest that AO perturbation could, to some extent, affect the growth and stress response of A. thaliana although the effect is small.

Doctor of Philosophy / Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics / Michael R. Kanost / Typical multicopper oxidases (MCOs) have ten conserved histidines and one conserved cysteine that coordinate four copper atoms, which are required for oxidase activity. During our studies of insect MCOs, we discovered a gene that we named multicopper oxidase-related protein (MCORP). MCORPs share sequence identity with MCOs, but lack many of the copper-coordinating residues. We identified MCORP orthologs in many insect species, but not in other invertebrates or vertebrates. We purified recombinant Tribolium castaneum (red flour beetle) MCORP. As expected, no oxidase activity was detected. We analyzed expression profiles of TcMCORP and Anopheles gambiae (African malaria mosquito) MCORP. They are constitutively expressed at a low level in many tissues, including ovaries. TcMCORP larval RNAi led to 100% mortality before adult stage. These deaths occurred during the larval to pupal and pupal to adult molts. Pharate pupal RNAi resulted in 20% mortality during the pupal to adult molt, and 100% mortality by one month after adult eclosion. In addition, knockdown of TcMCORP in females prevented oocyte maturation, thus greatly decreasing the number of eggs laid. These results indicate that TcMCORP is an essential gene and that its function is required for reproduction. An understanding of the role MCORP plays in insect physiology may help to develop new strategies for controlling insect pests. A multicopper oxidase-1 (MCO1) ortholog has been identified in all insect species examined so far; thus, MCO1 probably has a conserved physiological function in insects. Most of the well-studied MCOs are laccases, ferroxidases, or ascorbate oxidases. Previously we found Drosophila melanogaster MCO1 has ferroxidase activity and we identified three putative iron binding residues in DmMCO1. Our kinetic analysis of recombinant MCO1 from Drosophila melanogaster, Anopheles gambiae, Tribolium castaneum and Manduca sexta showed that MCO1 orthologs are much better at oxidizing ascorbate than laccase substrates or ferrous iron, suggesting that MCO1 orthologs function as ascorbate oxidases. The putative iron binding residues are required for ascorbate oxidase activity but not ferroxidase and laccase activities. Ascorbate oxidases have been identified only in plants. This is the first identification of ascorbate oxidase in insects. Further studies are needed to understand their physiological function in insects.

A partição e purificação de ascorbato oxidase de abóbora (Cucurbita maxima) por extração líquido-líquido em sistema de duas fases aquosas (SDFA), pelos processos descontínuos e contínuos, utilizando coluna de discos rotativos perfurados (PRDC), foram estudadas. Foram utilizados planejamentos estatísticos para selecionar as variáveis significativas no processo descontínuo de purificação, e as variáveis estudadas foram massa molar e concentração do polietileno glicol (PEG), concentração de citrato, pH, concentração de NaCl, fator de diluição e massa total do sistema. Os melhores resultados (coeficiente de partição 1,72, recuperação 90,8% e aumento de pureza 3,12) foram obtidos nas seguintes condições: massa molar do PEG 20000 (g/mol), pH 6,0, concentração de PEG 25% (m/m) e concentração de citrato 10% (m/m). No valor de pH 6,0 e temperatura 35°C a ascorbato oxidase apresentou seus maiores valores de atividade, e manteve a estabilidade na faixa de pH 5,0 a 9,0 durante 36 horas e a temperaturas de até 40°C durante 1 hora. Experimentos também foram realizados para estimar as principais propriedades cinéticas e termodinâmicas da atividade e estabilidade da ascorbato oxidase, e esse estudo revelou que a enzima foi estável nas condições testadas. A PRDC mostrou um bom desempenho para extração da ascorbato oxidase em modo contínuo utilizando SDFA. A melhor condição operacional selecionada neste estudo foi selecionada com o auxílio de planejamentos estatísticos, sendo selecionadas as seguintes condições: massa molar do PEG 20000 (g/mol), concentração de PEG 20% (m/m), concentração de citrato 10% (m/m), velocidade de rotação dos discos de 80 rpm e velocidade da fase dispersa de 2 mL/min. Os melhores resultados em valores médios foram: coeficiente de partição 3,36, recuperação 152%, aumento de pureza 2,31, coeficiente de transferência de massa 0,045, eficiência de separação 43,7% e hold up 0,33. Os dados experimentais demonstram o potencial da aplicação do sistema de duas fases aquosas PEG/citrato para purificar a ascorbato oxidase utilizando coluna de discos rotativos perfurados. / The partition and purification of ascorbate oxidase from pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima) by liquid-liquid extraction in aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) by discontinuous and continuous process, using perforated rotating disc contactor (PRDC) was studied. Experimental designs were used to choose the significant variables for discontinuous process, and polyethylene glycol (PEG) molar mass and concentration, citrate concentration, pH, NaCl concentration, dilution factor and total mass of the system, were the variables studied. The better results (partition coefficient 1.72, recovery 90.8% and purification factor 3.12) were obtained with following conditions: PEG molar mass of 20000 g/mol, pH 6.0, PEG concentration of 25% (w/w) and citrate concentration of 10% (w/w). In the pH 6.0 and temperature of 35?C the ascorbate oxidase showed their high activity values and the enzyme was stable in the pH range of 5.0 to 9.0 during 36 hours and temperatures up to 40?C for 1 hour. Experiments were also conducted to estimate the main kinetic and thermodynamic properties of ascorbate oxidase activity and stability, and this study revealed the interesting stability of this enzyme. The PRDC showed a good performance for extracting in continuous mode using aqueous two-phase systems. The best operating condition was selected in this study for the extraction of ascorbate oxidase in the PRDC, and it was obtained with PEG molar mass of 20000 g/mol, PEG concentration of 20% (w/w) and citrate concentration of 10% (w/w), the disc rotational speed of 80 rpm and dispersed phase flowrate of 2 mL/min. The results in mean values were: partition coefficient 3.36, recovery 152%, purification factor 2.31, mass transfer coefficient 0.045, separation efficiency 43.7% and Hold up 0.33. The experimental data showed the potential application of aqueous two-phase systems PEG/citrate to purification ascorbate oxidase using perforated rotating disc contactor.

A partição e purificação de ascorbato oxidase de abóbora (Cucurbita maxima) por extração líquido-líquido em sistema de duas fases aquosas (SDFA), pelos processos descontínuos e contínuos, utilizando coluna de discos rotativos perfurados (PRDC), foram estudadas. Foram utilizados planejamentos estatísticos para selecionar as variáveis significativas no processo descontínuo de purificação, e as variáveis estudadas foram massa molar e concentração do polietileno glicol (PEG), concentração de citrato, pH, concentração de NaCl, fator de diluição e massa total do sistema. Os melhores resultados (coeficiente de partição 1,72, recuperação 90,8% e aumento de pureza 3,12) foram obtidos nas seguintes condições: massa molar do PEG 20000 (g/mol), pH 6,0, concentração de PEG 25% (m/m) e concentração de citrato 10% (m/m). No valor de pH 6,0 e temperatura 35°C a ascorbato oxidase apresentou seus maiores valores de atividade, e manteve a estabilidade na faixa de pH 5,0 a 9,0 durante 36 horas e a temperaturas de até 40°C durante 1 hora. Experimentos também foram realizados para estimar as principais propriedades cinéticas e termodinâmicas da atividade e estabilidade da ascorbato oxidase, e esse estudo revelou que a enzima foi estável nas condições testadas. A PRDC mostrou um bom desempenho para extração da ascorbato oxidase em modo contínuo utilizando SDFA. A melhor condição operacional selecionada neste estudo foi selecionada com o auxílio de planejamentos estatísticos, sendo selecionadas as seguintes condições: massa molar do PEG 20000 (g/mol), concentração de PEG 20% (m/m), concentração de citrato 10% (m/m), velocidade de rotação dos discos de 80 rpm e velocidade da fase dispersa de 2 mL/min. Os melhores resultados em valores médios foram: coeficiente de partição 3,36, recuperação 152%, aumento de pureza 2,31, coeficiente de transferência de massa 0,045, eficiência de separação 43,7% e hold up 0,33. Os dados experimentais demonstram o potencial da aplicação do sistema de duas fases aquosas PEG/citrato para purificar a ascorbato oxidase utilizando coluna de discos rotativos perfurados. / The partition and purification of ascorbate oxidase from pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima) by liquid-liquid extraction in aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) by discontinuous and continuous process, using perforated rotating disc contactor (PRDC) was studied. Experimental designs were used to choose the significant variables for discontinuous process, and polyethylene glycol (PEG) molar mass and concentration, citrate concentration, pH, NaCl concentration, dilution factor and total mass of the system, were the variables studied. The better results (partition coefficient 1.72, recovery 90.8% and purification factor 3.12) were obtained with following conditions: PEG molar mass of 20000 g/mol, pH 6.0, PEG concentration of 25% (w/w) and citrate concentration of 10% (w/w). In the pH 6.0 and temperature of 35?C the ascorbate oxidase showed their high activity values and the enzyme was stable in the pH range of 5.0 to 9.0 during 36 hours and temperatures up to 40?C for 1 hour. Experiments were also conducted to estimate the main kinetic and thermodynamic properties of ascorbate oxidase activity and stability, and this study revealed the interesting stability of this enzyme. The PRDC showed a good performance for extracting in continuous mode using aqueous two-phase systems. The best operating condition was selected in this study for the extraction of ascorbate oxidase in the PRDC, and it was obtained with PEG molar mass of 20000 g/mol, PEG concentration of 20% (w/w) and citrate concentration of 10% (w/w), the disc rotational speed of 80 rpm and dispersed phase flowrate of 2 mL/min. The results in mean values were: partition coefficient 3.36, recovery 152%, purification factor 2.31, mass transfer coefficient 0.045, separation efficiency 43.7% and Hold up 0.33. The experimental data showed the potential application of aqueous two-phase systems PEG/citrate to purification ascorbate oxidase using perforated rotating disc contactor.

During this PhD project three technical platforms were either improved or newly established in order to identify interesting genes involved in SNF, validate their expression and functionally characterise them. An existing 5.6K cDNA array (Colebatch et al., 2004) was extended to produce the 9.6K LjNEST array, while a second array, the 11.6K LjKDRI array, was also produced. Furthermore, the protocol for array hybridisation was substantially improved (Ott et al., in press). After functional classification of all clones according to the MIPS database and annotation of their corresponding tentative consensus sequence (TIGR) these cDNA arrays were used by several international collaborators and by our group (Krusell et al., 2005; in press). To confirm results obtained from the cDNA array analysis different sets of cDNA pools were generated that facilitate rapid qRT-PCR analysis of candidate gene expression. As stable transformation of Lotus japonicus takes several months, an Agrobacterium rhizogenes transformation system was established in the lab and growth conditions for screening transformants for symbiotic phenotypes were improved. These platforms enable us to identify genes, validate their expression and functionally characterise them in the minimum of time.<br> The resources that I helped to establish, were used in collaboration with other people to characterise several genes like the potassium transporter LjKup and the sulphate transporter LjSst1, that were transcriptionally induced in nodules compared to uninfected roots, in more detail (Desbrosses et al., 2004; Krusell et al., 2005). Another gene that was studied in detail was LjAox1. This gene was identified during cDNA array experiments and detailed expression analysis revealed a strong and early induction of the gene during nodulation with high expression in young nodules which declines with the age of the nodule. Therefore, LjAox1 is an early nodulin. Promoter:gus fusions revealed an LjAox1 expression around the nodule endodermis. The physiological role of LjAox1 is currently being persued via RNAi.<br> Using RNA interference, the synthesis of all symbiotic leghemoglobins was silenced simultaneously in Lotus japonicus. As a result, growth of LbRNAi lines was severely inhibited compared to wild-type plants when plants were grown under symbiotic conditions in the absence of mineral nitrogen. The nodules of these plants were arrested in growth 14 post inoculation and lacked the characteristic pinkish colour. Growing these transgenic plants in conditions where reduced nitrogen is available for the plant led to normal plant growth and development. This demonstrates that leghemoglobins are not required for plant development per se, and proves for the first time that leghemoglobins are indispensable for symbiotic nitrogen fixation. Absence of leghemoglobins in LbRNAi nodules led to significant increases in free-oxygen concentrations throughout the nodules, a decrease in energy status as reflected by the ATP/ADP ratio, and an absence of the bacterial nitrogenase protein. The bacterial population within nodules of LbRNAi plants was slightly reduced. Alterations of plant nitrogen and carbon metabolism in LbRNAi nodules was reflected in changes in amino acid composition and starch deposition (Ott et al., 2005). These data provide strong evidence that nodule leghemoglobins function as oxygen transporters that facilitate high flux rates of oxygen to the sites of respiration at low free oxygen concentrations within the infected cells. / Pflanzen der Ordnung der Leguminosen sind von weltweiter Bedeutung für Landwirtschaft und die allgemeine Nährstoffzusammensetzung von Böden. Die physiologische Besonderheit der Leguminosen liegt in ihrer Fähigkeit begründet, zusammen mit Bakterien, den sogenannten Rhizobien, eine Symbiose einzugehen, im Zuge derer es möglich wird, molekularen Luftstickstoff zu binden. Dieser biochemische Prozess findet in neu gebildeten Pflanzenorganen, den sogenannten Wurzelknöllchen statt.<br> In den Pflanzenwissenschaften werden Gene, die im Zuge der Infektion von Leguminosen mit Rhizobien reguliert werden und für den Entwicklungsprozess der Knöllchen eine wichtige Rolle zu spielen scheinen, als Noduline bezeichnet. Mit Hilfe von sogenannten Hochdurchsatzverfahren ist es in den letzten Jahren möglich geworden, die differentielle Expression von Tausenden von Genen gleichzeitig zu beobachten. Zu diesen Verfahren gehören sogenannte cDNA Arrays. Im Zuge dieser Doktorarbeit wurden die weltweit zweitgrößten cDNA Arrays für die Modell-Leguminose Hornklee (Lotus japonicus), der in unserer Gruppe als Untersuchungsobjekt verwendet wird, entwickelt. Mit Hilfe dieser Methode ist es uns möglich, die Regulation von etwa 15.000 Genen gleichzeitig zu untersuchen. Im Zuge von Untersuchungen, die sich mit der Entwicklung von Wurzelknöllchen in Lotus japonicus beschäftigten wurde ein Nodulin, dessen Existenz früher schon einmal beschrieben wurde, noch einmal bestätigt und die Funktion dieses Genes genauer untersucht. Es kodiert für das Enzym Vitamin C Oxidase, das unter Verwendung von molekularem Sauerstoff reduziertes Vitamin C zu einer anderen Form, dem Dehydroascorbat, oxidiert. Dabei wird Wasserstoffperoxid gebildet. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass sich die Transkription dieses Gens in infizierten Wurzeln kontinuierlich im Verlauf der Symbiose erhöht, jedoch ist die Transkription in jungen Wurzelknöllchen höher als in alten. Darüber hinaus ist es in nur einer Zellschicht der Wurzelknöllchen, die sehr wichtig für die Entwicklung und tatsächliche Funktion der Knöllchen ist, aktiv. Aus den Beobachtungen kann geschlossen werden, dass dieses Gen eine wichtige Funktion in der Entwicklung der Knöllchen zu spielen scheint und vermutlich zur Zellstreckung und Zellteilung in dieser speziellen Zellschicht beiträgt. In einem zweiten Teil der Arbeit wurde sich einem zweiten und dem wohl wichtigsten Nodulin der Leguminosen, dem Leghämoglobin, gewidmet. Leghämoglobin ist dem menschlichen Blutbestandteil Hämoglobin sehr ähnlich und erfüllt dieselbe Aufgabe: es bindet Sauerstoff. Dieser Prozess ist für Leguminosen von erheblicher Bedeutung, da die bereits beschriebene Fixierung von molekularem Luftstickstoff durch ein bakterielles Enzym katalysiert wird, das extrem sauerstoffempfindlich ist. Leghämoglobine gelten unbestritten als die am besten charakterisierten Einweiße aus Wurzelknöllchen und Wissenschaftler behaupten seit fast 40 Jahren, dass sie essentiell für die Funktion der Knöllchen sind. Doch dies wurde bis jetzt nie bewiesen.<br> Mit Hilfe einer neuen Methode, die die spezifische Bildung von Eiweißen verhindert, war es uns möglich, die Synthese von Leghämoglobin in Lotus japonicus vollkommen zu unterdrücken. In Folge dessen zeigen die transgenen Pflanzen deutliche Nährstoffmangelerscheinungen, wenn sie ohne zusätzlichen Stickstoff aber zusammen mit Rhizobien angezogen werden. Sie können zwar Wurzelknöllchen bilden, jedoch sind diese kleiner und haben nicht die charakteristische rötliche Farbe, die bei unveränderten Pflanzen gefunden wird. Der Phänotyp dieser transgenen Pflanzen wird ganz eindeutig durch ihre Unfähigkeit hervorgerufen, Luftstickstoff fixieren zu können. Der Grund dafür ist das Fehlen des bakteriellen Enzyms, das für die Fixierung verantwortlich ist. Dieser Verlust wird durch erhöhte Sauerstoffgehalte in den Knöllchen verursacht. Außerdem konnten durch weitere Untersuchungen eine der vermuteten Funktionsmechanismen von Leghämoglobin bestätigt werden. Diese hier präsentierten Untersuchungen beweisen erstmalig die jahrzehnte alte Hypothese, dass Leghämoglobine essentiell für die Stickstofffixierung in Leguminosen sind.