Os ácidos graxos polinsaturados atuam no organismo humano em diversos processos fisiológicos e metabólicos, além de serem importantes na nutrição infantil. A quantificação dos ácidos graxos polinsaturados, devido à presença de vários sítios reativos na molécula, deve envolver processos de extração da gordura em condições amenas. Este trabalho teve como objetivos a comparação dos métodos analíticos para determinação de lipídios totais e ácidos graxos polinsaturados (ácido linoléico, ácido α-linolênico, ácido araquidônico e ácido docosahexaenóico) em fórmula infantil, a quantificação dos ácidos graxos polinsaturados nas fórmulas infantis comerciais e o acompanhamento da estabilidade destes ácidos graxos neste alimento. Foram analisadas 15 amostras, sendo uma amostra da Nacional Institute of Standards and Techonology (NIST 1849) e 14 fórmulas infantis comercializadas no Estado de São Paulo. Os métodos analíticos comparados para extração de lipídios foram: gravimétricos (Bligh Dyer, Roese Gottlieb e hidrólise ácida AOAC 963.15) e por cálculo (AOAC 996.06 e método direto adaptado de Golay et al. (2006)). Para a preparação dos ésteres metílicos de ácidos graxos utilizaram-se metodologias descritas pela IUPAC, Hartman e Lago e método direto adaptado de Golay et al. (2006). Compararam-se diferentes padrões interno, sendo estes dos ésteres metílicos de ácidos graxos 13:0, 21:0 e 23:0 e fatores de resposta para quantificação dos ácidos graxos polinsaturados em relação aos ácidos graxos 16:0, 18:0 e 23:0. O estudo de estabilidade durou 8 meses, e as análises foram realizadas nos meses de março, abril, julho e outubro de 2008. Os melhores resultados, para gordura total e para ácidos graxos polinsaturados, foram obtidos pelo método oficial (Roese Gottilieb). Quanto ao cálculo dos ácidos graxos polinsaturados, o uso do padrão interno 23:0 e o fator de resposta de correção teórico em relação ao 23:0 revelam resultados mais satisfatórios. Das fórmulas infantis comerciais analisadas, 85,7% apresentaram pelo menos um analito em desacordo com a informação nutricional e 100% com relação à legislação brasileira e o Codex Alimentarius. Em relação à estabilidade dos ácidos graxos polinsaturados, apenas três fórmulas infantis não apresentaram diferença estatisticamente significativa (p>0,05) nos teores de ácido graxos no período de 8 meses. / Long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids are involved in several physiological and metabolic process of human organism. The quantification of polyunsaturated fatty acid, must involve the fat extraction in mild conditions, due the reactive sites in the molecule. This work had as objective the comparison of the analytical methods for determination of polyunsaturated fatty acid (linoleic acid, α-linolenic acid, arachidonic acid and docosahexaenoic acid) and lipids in infant formula, quantification of polyunsaturated fatty acids in commercial infant formulas and polyunsaturated fatty acids stability evaluation in these foods. A 15 samples of infant formulas were analyzed, these one from NIST and 14 commercial infant formulas. The analytical methods to lipids extraction were: Bligh and Dyer, Roese Gottlieb, acid hydrolyze AOAC 963.15, acid hydrolyze AOAC 996.06 and direct method adapted from Golay et al. (2006). To prepared esters metilics fatty acids utilized the methods: IUPAC, Hartman and Lago and direct method. The quantization of polyunsaturated fatty acid was realized with different standards internal, like fatty acid methyl ester 13:0, 21:0 and 23:0, and flame ionization detector response factors of correction in relation fatty acids 16:0, 18:0 and 23:0. The stability study during 8 months and analysis were analyzed in the months March, April, July and October. The best results, for lipids and polyunsaturated fatty acid, were obtained by the official method, Roese Gottlieb and metilation followed Hartman and Lago. In accordance with the present study the internal standard 23:0, and the theoretical correction factors with relation 23:0 showed satisfactory trueness and precision for calculation of polyunsaturated fatty acid. Among of commercial infant formula analyzed, 85.7% had at least one analyte in disagreement with the nutritional label facts and 100% with respect to Brazilian Legislation and the Codex Alimentarius. Regarding polyunsaturated fatty acids stability, three infant formulas showed no statistically significant difference (p > 0.05) in levels of these fatty acids during the period of analysis (8 months).

As culturas da soja e milho são de grande importância econômica mundial e também para o Brasil, onde a área cultivada com essas duas culturas está estimada em 45.855.900 mil hectares, distribuídas em todos estados produtores conforme suas características. A estimativa da safra mundial de soja em 2015/16 apresentou uma redução na produção global da oleaginosa para 319,0 milhões de ton, volume 1,1 milhão de ton inferior ao levantamento de dezembro de 2015. Ainda assim, trata-se de um volume recorde. Para o milho, a produção global foi de 967,9 milhões de ton, com uma redução no volume de 5,9 milhões de ton em relação ao levantamento realizado em dezembro de 2015. Nessas duas culturas são comumente utilizadas bactérias fixadoras de nitrogênio (BFN), reduzindo ou até mesmo, eliminando a aplicação de adubos nitrogenados. Estudos apontam que a simbiose entre BFN e as culturas soja e milho pode ser otimizada mediante a coinoculação com rizobatérias promotoras de crescimento de plantas (RPCP). Apesar de promissora, o estudo da utilização de BFN em associação com RPCPs é incipiente no Brasil. Assim, o presente trabalho teve como objetivo monitorar, a partir da marcação bacteriana, a interação entre a linhagem de Burkholderia ambifaria (RZ2MS16), uma rizobactéria proveniente do guaranazeiro e previamente descrita como promotora de crescimento em soja e milho e linhagens das espécies Bradyrhizobium japonicum (SEMIA5079), Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens (SEMIA5080) e Azospirillum brasilense (Ab-v5 e Ab-v6) que são comercialmente utilizadas como bioinoculantes nessas culturas respectivamente. Os efeitos sinergisticos da interação entre RZ2MS16 e bioinoculantes comercias foram avaliados em experimento de casa de vegetação. Também foi avaliado o efeito da coinoculação de bioinculantes com outra rizobactéria proveniente do guaranazeiro, Bacillus sp. (RZ2MS9). As linhagens foram inoculadas separadamente e coinoculadas, sendo melhores resultados observados com a coinoculação das linhagens. As linhagens marcadas com genes de fluorescência selecionadas para estudo de interação foram RZ2MS16, Ab-v5 e SEMIA5080, sendo essa interação observada por microscopia de fluorescência, com também pelo reisolamento das linhagens marcadas. As linhagens RZ2MS16:pNKGFP e Ab-v5: pWM1013 e SEMIA5080:pWM1013 colonizaram todos os nichos avaliados em milho e soja, respectivamente, sendo também caracterizadas como endofíticos. Assim se observa que estudos desta natureza são de grande importância para um melhor entendimento da interação entre bactéria planta e o efeito da coinoculação no melhor desenvolvimento de plantas comercialmente utilizadas. / The soybean and corn are of great global economic importance and also to Brazil, where the area cultivated with these two crops is estimated at 45.8559 billion hectares, distributed in all producing states according to their characteristics. The estimate of the global soybean crop in 2015/16 showed a reduction in global production of oilseeds to 319.0 million tons, volume 1.1 million tons lower than the survey of December 2015. Still, it is a record volume. For corn, the total production was 967.9 million tons, with a reduction in volume of 5.9 million tons compared to the survey conducted in December 2015. In these two crops are nitrogen fixing bacteria commonly used (BFN), reducing or even eliminating the application of nitrogenous fertilizers. Studies show that the symbiosis between BFN and cultures soy and corn can be optimized by coinoculation with rhizobacteria promoting plant growth (PGPR). Although promising, the study of the use of BFN in association with RPCPs is incipient in Brazil. Thus, this study aimed to monitor, from the bacterial marking the interaction between the strain of Burkholderia ambifaria (RZ2MS16) a rhizobacteria from the guarana and previously described as a growth promoter in soybean and corn and strains of the species Bradyrhizobium japonicum (SEMIA5079), Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens (SEMIA5080) and Azospirillum brasilense (Ab-v5 and v6-Ab) that are commercially used as inoculant these cultures respectively. The synergistic effects of the interaction between RZ2MS16 and commercial inoculant were evaluated in a greenhouse experiment. It was also evaluated the effect of coinoculation of inoculant with other rhizobacteria from the guarana, Bacillus sp. (RZ2MS9). The strains were inoculated separately and coinoculated, with best results seen with coinoculation lineages. The lines marked with fluorescence genes selected for study interactions were RZ2MS16, Ab-v5 and SEMIA5080, this interaction being observed by fluorescence microscopy with also by reisolation of the marked strains. Strains RZ2MS16: pNKGFP and Ab-v5: pWM1013 and SEMIA5080: pWM1013 colonizing all niches evaluated in corn and soybeans, respectively, also being characterized as endophytes. Thus it is observed that such studies are of great importance for a better understanding of the interaction between plant and bacteria coinoculation the effect of the improved development of plants used commercially.

Pour développer un hodoscope de faisceau en hadronthérapie, capable de localiser les ions dans le plan transverse et de les étiqueter en temps avec une précision de 1 nc et un taux de comptage de 100 000 000 HZ, nous avons mené des études de conception d'ASICs (Aplication Specific Integrated Circuits) de lecture à associer à des photomultiplicateurs multi-anode. Un front-end ASIC 16 voies en technologieAMS BiCMOS 0,35 µm a été conçu, fabriqué et testé. Il intégre, sur chaque voie, un convoyeur de courant avec deux sorties en étage d'entrée, et deux étages de sortie séparés qui sont respectivement un comparateur en courant et un préamplificateur de charge. Il réalise à la fois la détection d'évènements et la quantification de signal détecté. L'étude de conception a apporté des performances optimisées sur la dynamique d'entrée, la consommation d'énergie, la rapidité, le bruit. Le fonctionnement du circuit de lecture incorporé dans un système de test a aussi été vérifié par une expérimentation en faisceau. D'autre part, nous avons conçu un ASIC d'étiquetage en temps utilisant la technologie AMS CMOS 0,35 µm. Il est à base d'une boucle à verrouillage de délai analogique avec la mise en oeuvre de la méthode de mesure du "temps de vol", et dispose d'un mode d'entrée d'horloge LVDS (Low Voltage Differential Singaling) et d'une sortie de 5 bits en code Gray. Il fonctionne avec une résolution temporelle de 200 ps selon les résultats de tests. Ces études nous ont permis de lancer un nouveau projet de conception : intégrer sur une puce les fonctions électroniques que nous avons réalisées et validées. / To develop a beam hodoscope in hadrontherapy, able to localize the beam position and to get a time tagging with a accuracy of ~ 1ns at a count rate of 100 000 000 HZ, we have studied and designed read-out ASICs' (Application Specific Intergrated Circuits) to be associated with multi-anode photomultiplier. One of 16-channel front-end ASIC in 0,35 µm AMS BICMOS process ahs been designed, fabraicated and tested. Each channel consists to a current coveyor (with two current outputs) as an input stage, and two separat output stages wich are a current comparator and a charge-sensitive amplifier (CSA) respectively. It performs both signal-event detection and signal charge quantification. The design work includes optimization of circuit performances such as input dynamic range, power dissipation; speed and noise. The circuit has also ben incorporated in a test system and its opration has been verified by beam experimentation. On the other hand, we have also designed another ASIC in a 0.35 µm AMS CMOS process. Itn is based on an analog DLL (Delay Locked Loop) with implementation of the TOF (Time Of Flight) measuring method. It has a LVDS (Low Voltage Differential Signaling) clock input mode and a 5-bit Gray-code output. It operates with 200-ps timing rsolution according to test results. These studies have led us to launch a new design project: integrating the studied and validated electronic functions on a single chip.

Les objectifs de mes travaux de thèse étaient de développer de nouvelles méthodes d’identification, de caractérisation et de quantification de protéines, mieux adaptées à la diversité des études en protéomique, ce dont la biologie a besoin aujourd’hui. L’analyse protéomique par spectrométrie de masse est apparue comme un outil précieux et pertinent pour évaluer la qualité de l’isolement d’un complexe spécifique, et pour guider les biologistes dans les choix de la stratégie à adopter. La stratégie de marquage de N-terminomique développée a permis de caractériser un processus de maturation biologique en déterminant précisément les sites d’activation de la protéine Perséphone par marquage spécifique des extrémités N-terminales. Ce travail a permis d’élucider un nouveau mécanisme fin de régulation dans l’immunité innée chez la drosophile. De nouveaux modes de marquages ont été mis au point et les familles chimiques des réactifs de marquage étudiés permettront d’adapter au mieux les études de quantifications protéomiques à la nature et aux contraintes des études biologiques à mener. / The aim of this work was to develop new methods for the identification, characterization and quantification of proteins best suited to a large diversity of proteomics studies, which is nowadays essential to biology. Our work has shown that proteomic analysis based on mass spectrometry can be a valuable and relevant tool to evaluate the isolation strategy efficiency set up for a specific complex and thus guide the biologists in their choice. The N-terminomic labeling strategy developed allowed us to describe a biological maturation process by determining precisely the Persephone protein activation sites using specific labeling of the successively generated N-terminal extremities. This work allowed elucidating a new regulation mechanism in the Drosophila innate immunity system. New chemical labeling reagents to target specific amino acids (cysteine, tyrosine and tryptophan) have been set up for fast mass-spectrometry based proteomics. These labeling strategies combined with proteomic tools will allow developing a robust and quantitative approach essential for biological studies.

Proteins are the most abundant biomolecules within a cell and are involved in all biochemical cellular processes ultimately determining cellular function. Therefore, to develop a complete understanding of cellular processes, obtaining knowledge about protein function and interaction at a molecular level is critical. Consequently, the investigation of proteins in their native environment or in partially purified mixtures is a major endeavour in modern life sciences. Due to their high chemical similarity, the inherent problem of studying proteins in complex mixtures is to specifically differentiate one protein of interest from the bulk of other proteins. Site-specific protein functionalisation strategies have become an indispensable tool in biochemical- and cell biology studies. This thesis presents the development of a new enzymatic site-specific protein functionalisation strategy that is based on the reversible covalent phosphocholination of short amino acid sequences in intact proteins. A synthetic strategy has been established that allows access to functionalised CDP-choline derivatives carrying fluorescent reporter groups, affinity tags or bioorthogonal handles. These CDP-choline derivatives serve as co-substrates for the bacterial phosphocholinating enzyme AnkX from Legionella pneumophila, which transfers a phosphocholine moiety to the switch II region of its native target protein Rab1b during infection. We identified the octapeptide sequence TITSSYYR as the minimum recognition sequence required to direct the AnkX catalysed phosphocholination and demonstrated the functionalisation of proteins of interest carrying this recognition tag at the N- or C-terminus as well as in internal loop regions. Moreover, this covalent modification can be hydrolytically reversed by the action of the Legionella enzyme Lem3, which makes the labeling strategy the first example of a covalent and reversible approach that is fully orthogonal to current existing methodologies. Thus, the here presented protein functionalisation approach holds the potential to increase the scope of possible labeling strategies in complex biological systems. In addition to the labeling of tagged target proteins, a CDP-choline derivative equipped with a biotin affinity-tag was synthesised and used in pull-down experiments to investigate the substrate scope of AnkX and to elucidate the role of protein phosphocholination during Legionella pneumophila infection. / Proteiner utgör huvudbeståndsdelen av alla biomolekyler i en cell. Dessa är involverade i alla cellulära processer som bestämmer cellens egenskaper. För att förstå de cellulära processerna är det nödvändigt att förstå proteinernas funktion på molekylär nivå. Att studera proteiner i deras naturliga omgivning, det vill säga inuti en cell eller i ett cellextrakt, är en stor utmaning i dagens livsvetenskaper. Eftersom proteiner är kemiskt lika varandra så är det svårt att skilja ett från tusentals andra. Att specifikt märka proteiner för att skilja ut dem från bakgrunden har blivit ett viktigt arbetssätt i modern biokemi och cellbiologi. Avhandlingen beskriver utvecklandet av en ny metod för reversibel och kovalent enzymatisk märkning baserat på fosfokolinering/defosfokolinering av en kort aminosyrasekvens i intakta proteiner. En syntesmetod för att framställa onaturliga CDP-kolinderivat har etablerats vilket tillåter oss att framställa CDP-kolin som bär en funktionalitet, vilket kan vara ett färgämne eller en affinitetstagg. Dessa onaturliga CDP-kolinderivat accepteras som co-substrat av enzymet AnkX från Legionella pneumophila vilket transfererar den funktionaliserade delen av CDP-kolinderivatet till en kort aminosyrasekvens baserad på AnkX’s naturliga substrat vid infektion, det lilla GTPaset Rab1. Under avhandlingsarbetets gång identifierades den kortaste aminosyrasekvensen som känns igen av AnkX, endast de åtta aminosyrorna TITSSYYR är nödvändiga för igenkänning av AnkX. Dessa åtta aminosyror kan genetiskt infogas i början, slutet eller mitt i ett protein för igenkänning och funktionalisering via AnkX och våra syntetiska CDP-kolinderivat. Vid Legionellainfektion i eukaryota celler klyvs fosfokolineringen efter en viss tid, eftersom Legionella pneumophila producerar ett fosfodiesteras, Lem3, som tar bort de fosfokolineringar som AnkX har installerat när de inte längre behövs. Vi har använt Lem3 för att ta bort märkning i sekvensen TITSS(PC)YYR, vilket gör vår strategi helt reversibel. Vi har kunnat demonstrera att AnkX-Lem3 systemet accepterar ett brett spektrum av CDP-kolinderivat, vilket gör metoden till den första av sitt slag, eftersom den är fullt reversibel. Vi har vidare undersökt vilka proteiner AnkX reagerar med inuti celler, vi använde oss av ett CDP-kolinderivat funktionaliserat med biotin, vilket har tillåtit oss att fiska ut alla de proteiner som fosfokolineras av AnkX. Förutom de små GTPaserna i Rab-familjen så identifierade vi även IMPDH2, ett enzym som reglerar det hastighetsbestämmande steget i syntesen av guanosin-nukleotider. Detta är mycket intressant, eftersom det leder till frågan ifall Legionella pneumophila manipulerar sin värdcell genom att förändra mängden GTP i förhållande till ATP.

Abstract Ischemic heart disease is one of the leading cause of death in the Western world. There is convincing evidence that stem cell therapy improves cardiac function and reduces the scar formation following an acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The mechanisms involved in the recovery remain partly unknown. Direct injection of stem cells into myocardium is a widely used transplantation technique though there are few details available about the behavior of cells after transplantation. A cardiac explant culture model simulating tissue stress was developed in this study to examine in detail the properties of the stem cells after their transplantation. The migration range in myocardium and the number of adherent stem cells increased with time. In vitro and in vivo studies revealed that after their administration, the stem cells became localized in the slit-like spaces, such as in the capillaries. Even though the study outcomes regarding the impact of stem cell therapy in recovery after AMI have been largely promising, the results of the clinical studies have proved to be more controversial. If one wishes to evaluate the true contribution of the stem cell therapy to the recovery, it is essential to devise a reliable study method for cell targeting. Here, iron labeled stem cells in combination with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were used. The MRI data corresponded to the histological results. Thus, it is concluded that MRI is a feasible method for monitoring the effectiveness of cell targeting. Stem cell treatment was shown to increase cardiac function at three weeks after AMI. If there was a high number of stem cells in cardiac tissue after transplantation, this predicted a greater improvement in cardiac function. Improper stem cell injection may lead to leakage of the stem cells out of the myocardium, leading to unreproducible study results. Inflammation modulating factors secreted by the stem cells are considered as key mechanisms in the recovery after AMI. There were differences in the cytokine levels between the stem cell treated and control groups in a clinical and in vivo animal study i.e. stem cell therapy exerted a balancing effect on the inflammatory process, a crucial component in the optimal recovery after AMI. The present study reveals many properties of stem cells, importance of cell targeting and the influence of stem cell therapy on cytokine levels after AMI. / Tiivistelmä Iskeeminen sydänsairaus on yksi yleisimmistä kuolinsyistä länsimaissa. Tutkimusten mukaan kantasoluterapia parantaa sydämen toimintakykyä ja pienentää akuutin sydäninfarktin jälkeen sydämeen muodostuvan arpikudoksen määrää. Paranemiseen liittyvät mekanismit ovat edelleen osittain tuntemattomia. Kantasolujen ruiskutus suoraan sydämeen on paljon käytetty menetelmä, vaikka solujen käyttäytymistä ei tunneta tarkkaan.Tutkimuksessa kehitetyn kudoksen stressitilaa simuloivan sydänkudoksen kasvatusmenetelmän avulla tutkittiin siirrettyjen kantasolujen toimintaa yksityiskohtaisesti. Kantasolujen vaeltaman matkan sydänkudoksessa ja kiinnittyneiden kantasolujen lukumäärä havaittiin kasvavan ajan kuluessa. In vitro ja in vivo tutkimuksissa havaittiin kantasolujen sijaitsevan ruiskutuksen jälkeen rakomaisissa paikoissa kuten pienissä verisuonissa. Vaikka tutkimustulokset kantasoluterapian hyödyistä paranemisen suhteen ovat pääosin lupaavia, kliinisten tutkimusten tulokset ovat ristiriitaisia. Todellisen kantasoluhoidon vaikutuksen arvioimiseksi tarvitaan luotettava menetelmä varmistamaan kantasolujen hakeutuminen vaurioalueelle. Tässä tutkimuksessa rautaleimattujen kantasolujen paikantamisessa käytetty magneettikuvantaminen vastasi histologisia löydöksiä. Magneettikuvantaminen todettiin käyttökelpoiseksi menetelmäksi solujen paikallistamisessa. Kantasoluhoidon osoitettiin parantavan sydämen toimintakykyä kolme viikkoa akuutin sydäninfarktin jälkeen. Suuri kantasolumäärä sydänkudoksessa siirron jälkeen ennusti parempaa toipumista. Puutteellisesti suoritettu kantasoluruiskutus voi johtaa kantasolujen vuotamiseen pois sydänkudoksesta aiheuttaen vaihtelevuutta tutkimustuloksiin. Kantasolujen erittämiä tulehdusta sääteleviä tekijöitä pidetään tärkeimpänä mekanismina paranemisprosessissa. Tutkimus osoitti eroavaisuuksia kantasoluhoidetun ja kontrolliryhmän välillä. Kliinisessä ja koe-eläintutkimuksessa kantasolusiirrolla todettiin tulehdusreaktiota tasapainottava vaikutus, mikä on tärkeää optimaalisen sydänlihaskudoksen paranemisen kannalta akuutin sydäninfarktin jälkeen. Tutkimus toi esiin monia kantasolujen ominaisuuksia, solujen paikantamisen tärkeyden ja kantasoluhoidon vaikutuksen sytokiinipitoisuuksiin akuutin sydäninfarktin jälkeen.

No description available.

Eco-labeling is an important matter in the modern world, because of its relationship to the significant issues of the society, i.e. environmental and health care. More and more people pay great attention to the ‘green’ aspect of their lives. Many researchers, in their turn, unveil the topic devoted to the eco-labeling strategies in their academic papers.  However, there is a certain knowledge gap in the existing literature, which allowed the researchers of this paper to focus the study on consumers' preferences towards eco-labeled products and purchase intention in the context of cultural diversity. Cultural aspect might have the crucial effect and predetermine consumers’ behavior to some extent. Thus, for companies’ management it is highly important to be aware of cultural context of the country they are already operating in or only going to internationalize into. Prior to empirical data collection a literature review on eco-labeling, cultural diversity, and purchase intention were conducted, followed by the integration of gained information into the theoretical model. The theoretical model, developed by the authors, presents the research of the perceived association between consumers’ preferences, as presented by own health care and environmental care, and purchase intention under the impact of the moderating effect of national culture. In order to test the hypotheses formulated on the literature and model bases, primary data from respondents from three different countries (namely, the USA, Sweden, and Russia) and secondary data from existing literature were collected, the integration of which allowed getting some relevant conclusions and results. After the data collection and all the statistical process analyzing it, the researchers concluded that culture has an impact on the association of consumers' preferences and purchase intention of eco-labeled products, but this moderating effect varies in terms of the context of consumers' preferences and different cultural dimensions.

A natural phenomenon characterized by dense aggregations of unicellular photosynthetic marine organisms has been termed colloquially as red tides because of the vivid discoloration of the water. The dinoflagellate Karenia brevis is the cause of the Florida red tide bloom. K. brevis produces the brevetoxins, a potent suite of neurotoxins responsible for substantial amounts of marine mammal and fish mortalities. When consumed by humans, the toxin causes Neurotoxic Shellfish Poisoning (NSP). The native function of brevetoxin within the organism has remained mysterious since its discovery. There is a need to identify factors which contribute to and regulate toxin production within K. brevis. These toxins are produced and retained within the cell implicating a significant cellular role for their presence. Localization of brevetoxin and identification of a native receptor may provide insight into its native role as well as other polyether ladder type toxins such as the ciguatoxins, maitotoxins, and yessotoxins. In higher organisms these polyether ladder molecules bind to transmembrane proteins with high affinity. We anticipated the native brevetoxin receptor would also be a transmembrane protein. Photoaffinity labeling has become increasingly popular for identifying ligand receptors. By attaching ligands to these photophors, one is able to activate the molecule after the ligand binds to its receptor to obtain a permanent linkage between the two. Subsequent purification provides the protein with the ligand directly attached. A molecule that is capable of fluorescence is a fluorophore, which upon excitation is capable of re-emitting light. Fluorescent labeling uses fluorophores by attaching them covalently to biologically active compounds. The synthesis of a brevetoxin photoaffinity probe and its application in identifying a native brevetoxin receptor will be described. The preparation of a fluorescent derivative of brevetoxin will be described and its use in localizing the toxin to an organelle within K. brevis. In addition, the general utility of a synthesized photoaffinity label with other toxins having similar functionality will be described. An alternative synthetic approach to a general photoaffinity label will also be discussed whose goal was to accelerate the preparation and improve the overall synthetic yields of a multifunctional label.

Une méthode permettant de caractériser l’ensemble du métabolome secondaire de moisissures a été appliquée à la caractérisation des métabolomes de Penicillium nordicum, Penicillium verrucosum et Fusarium graminearum. Le substrat représentant l’unique source de carbone et d’azote des moisissures, chacun des champignons ont été mis en culture sur trois types de grains de blé: (i) grains naturels, (ii) grains marqués à 97% de 13C, et (iii) grains marqués à 53% 13C et 97% de 15N. Les extraits ont été analysés par HRMS. Les métabolites secondaires ont été spécifiquement détectés et leurs formules brutes ont été caractérisées. La caractérisation de nouveaux métabolites secondaires a ensuite été assistées par la génération de réseaux moléculaires de similarités MS/MS. L’étude de P. verrucosum et P. nordicum a permis de détecter 98 et 92 métabolites secondaires respectivement. Parmi eux, 80% étaient inconnus. La génération de réseaux moléculaires a permis de mettre en évidence un groupe de 25 composés se fragmentant de manière similaire. Seize de ces composés ont été identifiés comme étant des dérivés de fungisporines, des métabolites suspectés d’intervenir dans la croissance aérienne des champignons. Des analyses structurales ont permis de caractériser de nouveaux composés potentiellement impliqués dans l’infestation des denrées alimentaires. Le marquage du métabolome de F. graminearum par des isotopes stables a permis de mettre en évidence la production de 37 métabolites secondaires dont 29 inconnus lorsque le champignon se développe in vitro. Des analyses par MSn ont permis d’élucider les structures des fusaristatines C et D. / Characterization of fungal secondary metabolomes became a great challenge in the last decades due to both the emergence of fungal threats, and the industrial interest of many natural products; In view of this, we recently developed an analytical strategy for fungal secondary metabolome characterization (Cano P. et al. Anal. Chem. (2013) 85:8412) based on untargeted MS metabolomics applied to labeled samples. This strategy has been here validated by application to the analysis of the complex secondary metabolomes of Penicillium verrucosum and Penicillium nordicum. HRMS acquisitions performed on specific isotopically labelled samples, MS/MS experiments and in-silico emerging tools such as molecular networks, allowed to characterize 181 metabolites, including 80% of new compounds, and the structural determination of seven potential new mycotoxins. Penicillium verrucosum (NRRL 5571) and Penicillium nordicum (NRRL 6062) were grown on wheat grains (Triticum aestivum) presenting different isotopic enrichments: (i) naturally enriched grains, (ii) 97% 13C, and (iii) 53% 13C / 97% 15N. Extracts of each culture were analyzed by HPLC coupled to a LTQ-Orbitrap mass spectrometer equipped with electrospray ionization, operating in the positive or the negative mode. Metabolites were then specifically detected according to the specific isotopic pattern of their respective isotopic enrichments. Known secondary metabolites were annotated using the Antibase database, then identified by comparison with standard compounds when available. Unknown secondary metabolites were annotated using molecular networks of MS/MS similarities (Watrous J. et al.; PNAS (2012) 109 E1743). Wheat grains representing the only source of carbon and nitrogen for fungal growth, the produced fungal secondary metabolites were either unlabeled (naturally enriched cultures), singly labeled (13C cultures) or doubly labeled (13C/15N cultures). This feature allowed discrimination of fungal metabolites against non-fungal compounds which remained unlabeled in the three substrates. Fungal origin was further confirmed by analysis of a control 12C wheat extract (without fungus). Furthermore, the comparison of m/z ratios of a same metabolite detected in the three different cultures, led to the unambiguous determination of the number of carbon and nitrogen atoms and therefore to the unambiguous characterization of its chemical formula. This approach previously developed and validated on a well characterized fungus, has been here successfully applied to the characterization of the complex and unknown secondary metabolomes of P. verrucosum and P. nordicum. Analyses of the two studied fungal strains allowed the detection of 181 secondary metabolites. Interestingly, only 20% of them are suspected to match known metabolites according to databases, meaning that 80% of this metabolome is unknown. To enhance unknown identification efficiency, a molecular network of MS/MS similarities has been generated from our data. A group of 24 metabolites with highly similar MS/MS spectra was highlighted on P. nordicum and P. verrucosum. Fifteen of them were identified as cyclic tetrapeptides from the fungisporin family. Tandem mass spectrometry experiments were performed to characterize the structure of these secondary metabolites. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time these molecules are pointed out on these Penicillium species. More interestingly, seven of the other metabolites display some similarities with fungisporins, but have never been detected on fungal metabolomes. Furthermore, although the two studied strains are genetically close, these new metabolites seem to be strain specific.