The RamC protein is required for the production of spore-forming cells called aerial hyphae in colonies of 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘺𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘳. RamC can be detected during the period between 24 and 48 hours following spore germination however there is a dramatic drop in RamC levels thereafter. This could be explained either by the existence of an active means of RamC removal or by the fact that at later time points in the 𝘚. 𝘤𝘰𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘳 lifecycle non-RamC producing cells vastly outnumber RamC-producing cells. characterized a large number of 𝘣𝘭𝘥 mutants and found that most of them do not produce RamC. In the majority of the 𝘣𝘭𝘥 mutants that do produce RamC, we observed the same pattern of accumulation and loss during colony growth as in wildtype colonies. Furthermore, we identified a small number of mutants that produced RamC such that it persisted at detectable levels for a longer duration or only appeared after a substantial delay relative to the wildtype. None of these RamC-producing 𝘣𝘭𝘥 mutants was complemented by plasmids containing a cloned 𝘣𝘭𝘥𝘔, 𝘣𝘭𝘥𝘕 or 𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘙 gene, mutations in which also cause persistent or delayed RamC production. These results suggest either that there is more than one differentiated cell type within the substrate mycelium or that 𝘚. 𝘤𝘰𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘳 colonies actively rid themselves of RamC once the protein's biological function has passed. / Thesis / Master of Science (MS)

VP16 is an integral element in the HSV-1 strategy to overturn normal cellular functions and use the host machinery for the production of new virus. VP16 enhances the expression of viral immediate-early genes in the nucleus of the infected cell. By binding to the virion host shutoff protein (vhs), VP16 is able to downregulate its activity and prevent destruction of the viral transcripts. Finally, VP16 has an essential but specifically undetermined role in virus assembly. While a null mutation in VP16 correlates to a lethal defect in virus assembly, recent work has revealed that the C-terminal acidic activation domain of VP16 is not essential to virus survival. Viral mutants containing 422 and 379 amino acid tail-deleted derivatives of VP16 are viable. We have constructed a viable viral mutant which encodes a 369 amino acid VP16, revealing that the N-terminal 369 amino acids of VP16 retain a function which is essential to virus survival. The viral mutants encoding truncated VP16 derivatives displayed a characteristic preference for growth on a cell line which supplied full length VP16 in 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴. Furthermore, the preference for growth on the complementing cell line became more apparent as VP16 was progressively truncated from the C-terminus. To determine if full length VP16 was aiding these virtues in attenuating vhs activity or in performing a structural role in the presence of vhs, we constructed double mutant viruses encoding the truncated VP16s and containing an inactivating mutation in the vhs locus (ΔSma). The elimination of vhs activity and/or vhs-VP16 binding alleviated the preference for growth on the complementing cell line in these viruses. Thus, while the acidic activation domain of VP16 is not essential for viral replication in tissue culture, it clearly confers a growth advantage to the virus. The viral mutants constructed here will prove useful in understanding the significance of the interaction between VP16 and vhs. / Thesis / Master of Science (MS)

La cuticule, une matrice lipidique extracellulaire constituée de cires et d’un squelette de cutine, est la barrière de défense la plus externe des plantes face à leur environnement. Elle intervient dans de nombreuses propriétés agronomiques comme la conservation post récolte, les propriétés mécaniques ou bien l’aspect du fruit, dont la brillance. Afin d’isoler des mutants de cuticule, le criblage d’une collection de mutants EMS de tomate a été entrepris, en se basant sur la brillance des fruits, conduisant à la sélection de 24 mutants. Chez ceux-ci, des analyses biochimiques ont montré de fortes variations de charge et de composition de la cuticule, notamment chez les mutants de cutine. La caractérisation de 4 mutants remarquables a été entreprise afin d’identifier les mutations responsables des phénotypes de brillance. Le mutant le plus affecté, présentant une charge en cutine réduite de 85% par rapport au type sauvage, a révélé une mutation du gène SlGDSL2 codant pour une acylhydrolase à motif GDSL, responsable de la polymérisation de la cutine. Afin d’étudier la formation et la régulation de la cutine, la suite du travail a consisté à obtenir et à caractériser des simples et des doubles mutants affectés dans la synthèse des monomères de cutine, le transport apoplastique et la polymérisation de la cutine. / The cuticle, an extracellular lipid matrix consisting of waxes and of a cutin skeleton is the outermost plants protection barrier against their environment. The cuticle is involved in many agronomic traits such as post-harvest storage, biomechanical or fruit appearance properties like surface brightness. In order to isolate cuticle mutants, the screening of an EMS tomato mutants collection has been undertaken, based on fruit brightness, leading to the selection of 24 mutants. Biochemical analyzes have shown wide variations in cuticle loads and compositions, especially in cutin mutants. The characterization of 4 remarkable mutants was undertaken to identify the mutations responsible for brightness phenotypes. The most affected mutant shows a cutin load reduced by 85% compared to the wild type, and is due to a mutation in the SlGDSL2 gene, encoding a GDSL-motive acylhydrolase enzyme, responsible for the cutin polymerization. In order to further study the cutin formation and regulation, the next work was to obtain and characterize single and double mutants affected in cutin monomer synthesis, apoplastic transport and cutin polymerization.

L'établissement de toute symbiose repose sur un dialogue moléculaire hautement régulé entre les deux partenaires. Une approche par génétique inverse a été utilisée pour identifier des gènes fongiques jouant un rôle clé dans le dialogue moléculaire entre les partenaires de la symbiose ectomycorhizienne. La caractérisation phénotypique et moléculaire d'un mutant non-mycorhizien du champignon Hebeloma cylindrosporum a montré qu'il présente une insertion de l'ADN-T mutagène dans le promoteur de la subtilase HcSbt1. Le fait que ce mutant soit incapable de coloniser les racines de la plante hôte Pinus pinaster, indique que HcSbt1 joue un rôle crucial dans le dialogue moléculaire précoce entre les partenaires de la symbiose ectomycorhizienne. Lors de la formation des mycorhizes, HcSbt1 est réprimé dès le contact avec les racines, avant même la différenciation de toute structure symbiotique. La répression se maintient tant que dure la symbiose. Ceci suggère que HcSbt1 pourrait inhiber le processus symbiotique. Sa répression serait un prérequis à la formation des mycorhizes. L'analyse par Western Blot et séquençage du sécrétome du champignon a montré que HcSbt1 est exocellulaire. Elle pourrait inhiber l'établissement de la symbiose en dégradant/activant/inactivant des protéines exocellulaires de la plante ou/et du champignon. La comparaison des secrétomes de la souche sauvage et de la souche mutante a montré que HcSbt1 peut dégrader de petits peptides exocellulaires. Notre hypothèse est que cette subtilase inhibe l'établissement de la symbiose en dégradant des petits peptides exocellulaires qui seraient des effecteurs / The establishment of any symbiosis relies on a tightly regulated molecular dialogue between symbiotes. A reverse genetic approach was used to identify fungal genes playing a key role in the molecular dialogue between the partners of the ectomycorrhizal symbiosis. A non-mycorrhizal mutant of the fungus Hebeloma cylindrosporum has a single insertion of mutagenic T-DNA in the promoter of the subtilase HcSbt1. This mutant was unable to colonize Pinus pinaster roots, indicating that HcSbt1 plays a crucial role in the early molecular cross-talk between partners of the ectomycorrhizal symbiosis. During symbiotic interaction, HcSbt1 was repressed upon contact with the roots, even before the differentiation of any symbiotic structure. This repression was stable throughout the whole symbiotic process, suggesting that HcSbt1 could inhibit symbiotic structure differentiation. Subsequently, HcSbt1 repression would be a prerequisite for mycorrhiza differentiation. Western Blot analysis together with fungal secretome sequencing showed that HcSbt1 is extracellular. It could inhibit the symbiosis establishment by degrading / activating / inactivating extracellular proteins from plant and/or fungal origin. The comparison of wild-type and mutant secretomes showed that HcSbt1 could degrade small extracellular peptides. Based on this, we hypothesized that this subtilase could inhibit symbiosis establishment by degrading small extracellular peptides that would be effectors

La séparation de deux énantiomères est un procédé d’intérêt pour l’industrie pharmaceutique. En effet, souvent un seul des énantiomères exerce l'activité biologique requise. Cette problématique est abordée ici par l'utilisation d'enzymes énantiosélectives qui est une alternative intéressante aux méthodes conventionnelles (chromatographie chirale, synthèse asymétrique ou cristallisation). Cette approche a été mise en oeuvre pour les molécules de la famille des profènes (l’Ibuprofène, le Kétoprofène ou le Naproxène par exemple) qui sont des acides 2- arylpropioniques et constituent une classe importante de médicaments anti-inflammatoires non stéroïdiens. Tout d’abord, un travail de recherche dans le domaine de la catalyse enzymatique et de l’ingénierie d’enzymes a été effectué. Des enzymes aux potentialités prometteuses, issues de la levure Yarrowia lipolytica, pour la résolution de ces trois anti-inflammatoires ont été identifiées. S’appuyant sur la modélisation moléculaire, l’ingénierie moléculaire a été utilisée pour accéder à des enzymes performantes tant du point de vue de la sélectivité que de l’activité. Les réactions ont été réalisées conventionnellement dans un système diphasique phase aqueuse/décane car les profènes et les esters associés sont des substrats hydrophobes et très faiblement solubles dans l'eau, la réaction doit donc être effectuée dans un solvant apolaire en contact avec une phase aqueuse où l'enzyme libre est dissoute. Ce mode opératoire permet d'éviter une immobilisation de l'enzyme. Une enzyme pour chaque substrat avec une énantiosélectivité suffisante a pu être développée, à savoir Lip2p V232A pour l’ibuprofène, V235S pour le naproxène et V232F pour le kétoprofène. Les lipases de Candida rugosa se sont également avérées intéressantes pour la résolution des profènes mais moins que les lipases précédemment évoquées. Le deuxième aspect de cette thèse s’est intéressé à la mise oeuvre de cette technique de résolution enzymatique dans un procédé innovant de Chimie Verte où le dioxyde de carbone supercritique (CO2SC) remplace le décane. En effet, les solvants organiques tels que le décane peuvent être toxiques mais aussi difficiles à éliminer, à la fin du processus, ce qui conduit à des étapes fastidieuses et coûteuses de purification. Dans un premier temps l’étude a porté sur la résolution de l’acide 2-bromo phényl acétique par l’hydrolyse de son ester octylique (ester + eau <=> acide (profène) + alcool). L'acidification de la phase aqueuse en contact avec CO2SC (formation d'acide carbonique) s’est montrée préjudiciable pour obtenir des conversions élevées. Cet inconvénient a été atténué en utilisant des concentrations assez élevées de sels (Na2HPO4 et KH2PO4) pour tamponner la phase aqueuse. Une étude spécifique en cellule haute pression utilisant des sondes solvatochromiques a permis d’établir que l’utilisation de concentrations élevées de sels (de l’ordre de 1000 mmol/L) permettait de maintenir un pH de l‘ordre de 6. Dans ces conditions, des conversions élevées ont pu être obtenues pour des temps de réactions de l’ordre de 100 h. Cependant la cinétique s’est avérée plus lente par rapport à celle observée avec le décane. L’explication de cette différence n’est pas encore totalement élucidée mais deux pistes ont été privilégiées : la formation de carbamates dues aux interactions entre le CO2SC et les acides aminés composant l’enzyme ou une mauvaise ouverture du volet moléculaire qui recouvre le site actif de l’enzyme liée à la moindre hydrophobicité du CO2SC hydraté. Cette résolution énantiomérique a également été mise en oeuvre dans un système sans phase aqueuse en utilisant l‘enzyme sous sa forme immobilisée sur support solide en utilisant la réaction réverse, l’estérification. Utilisant les mêmes approches, la résolution énantiomérique de l’ibuprofène a également été réalisée. Les meilleurs résultats obtenus en système diphasique phase aqueuse/CO2SC permettent en 75 heures une résolution quasi-totale. / The separation of the two enantiomers (or enantiomeric resolution) is a process of interest to the pharmaceutical industry. Indeed, very often, only one of the enantiomers has the required biological activity. This issue is addressed here by the use of enantioselective enzymes which is an interesting alternative to conventional methods (chiral chromatography, asymmetric synthesis, crystallization). This approach has been implemented for separation of molecules of the profens family (Ibuprofen, Naproxen or Ketoprofen for example) that are 2-arylpropionic acids and are an important class of anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). One first aspect of this work was to use molecular modeling and molecular engineering to identify enzymes, from the yeast Yarrovia lipolytica, with promising potential from the point of view of selectivity and activity. Reactions were carried out conventionally in a biphasic aqueous phase/decane system since the profens and related esters are hydrophobic substrates and very sparingly soluble in water so that the reaction must be carried out in an apolar solvent in contact with an aqueous phase where the enzyme is dissolved. This procedure avoids immobilization of the enzyme. An enzyme with good enantioselectivity for each substrate was developed, namely Lip2p V232A for ibuprofen, V235S for naproxen and V232F for ketoprofen. Lipases of Candida rugosa also proved useful for the resolution of ibuprofen, naproxen and ketoprofen but were less efficient than the lipases mentioned above. The second aspect of this thesis focused to the implementation of this enzymatic resolution technology in an innovative process for Green Chemistry where decane was replaced by supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2).Indeed, organic solvents such as decane may be toxic but also difficult to remove at the end of the process, which leads to cumbersome and costly purification steps. Initially the study focused on enzymatic resolution of 2- bromo phenyl acetic acid by hydrolysis of its octyl ester (ester + water <=> acid (profen) + alcohol). Acidification of the aqueous phase in contact with scCO2 (formation of carbonic acid) proved to be detrimental to obtain high conversions. This disadvantage was mitigated by using relatively high concentrations of salts (1000 mmol/L) to buffer the aqueous phase. A specific study in a high pressure cell using solvatochromic probes showed that the use of high concentrations of salts allowed maintaining a pH of about 6. In these conditions, high conversions could be obtained for reaction times of 100 hours. However kinetics proved to be slower compared to those observed using decane as the organic phase. The explanation for this difference is not yet fully understood but two hypotheses can be evoked: formation of carbamates due to interactions between the scCO2 and amino acids or a bad opening of the "lid" that covers the active site related to a lower hydrophobicity of hydrated scCO2. This enantiomeric resolution was also implemented in a non-aqueous phase system using the enzyme in its immobilized form on a solid support, using the reverse reaction: esterification of profen. Using the same approach, the enantiomeric resolution of ibuprofen was also carried out. Best results using aqueous phase/scCO2 system allowed total resolution within 75 hours.

No description available.

<p>Mutations in the gene SHANK2, which encodes a synaptic scaffolding protein, have been shown to cause a spectrum of neuropsychiatric disorders including: intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), bipolar disorder (BD), and schizophrenia. However, many aspects of SHANK2 including the array of isoforms expressed, the expression pattern of the protein, biochemical and regulatory mechanisms, and in vivo protein function remain elusive. This body of work aims to uncover the function of the SHANK2 gene and its role in neuropsychiatric disorders using in vitro and in vivo experimental systems.</p> <p>Using a molecular genetics approach, I revealed the transcript architecture of the mouse Shank2 gene including characterization of promoters, isoforms and protein domains. I then outlined the temporal and spatial pattern of the Shank2 isoform expression throughout development. To further explore the protein’s function, we sought to identify novel SHANK2 interacting proteins using a yeast-2-hybrid screen and characterized the interacting proteins. Lastly, in order to understand how Shank2 deficiencies alter brain function we generated and characterized both Shank2 conventional (∆e24) and conditional mutant mice (e24floxed) by deleting or floxing exon 24 that encodes the Homer binding site and has nonsense mutations in human patients with neuropsychiatric disorders.</p> <p>Collectively, these studies 1) provide insight into the transcriptional regulation of Shank2 during brain development; 2) support the value of using Shank2 to further dissect the pathophysiology and circuitry mechanism underlying manic and autism like behaviors; 3) offers a novel mechanistic link between ubiquitination-mediated protein modification and SHANK2 function that may elucidate the molecular basis underlying SHANK2-related neuropsychiatric disorders. Ultimately, these findings may lead to the development of new therapeutic interventions for SHANK2-related neuropsychiatric disorders.</p> / Dissertation

A series of mutant strains of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae that are sensitive to osmotic stress and also have a defect in vacuolar biogenesis have been isolated (M. Latterich, PhD Thesis 1992). The mutations that cause this pleiotropic phenotype are termed ssv, for salt sensitive vacuolar mutants. Complementation analysis has revealed that ssv mutations fall into one of 18 complementation groups. A MAP kinase related signal transduction pathway, termed the HOG pathway for High Osmolarity Glycerol, has been identified in yeast. This pathway senses osmotic stress and invokes the cellular response, one aspect of which is the accumulation of intracellular glycerol (Brewster et. al, 1993). Mutations in the HOG pathway often cause an osmosensitive phenotype similar to that shown by ssv mutations. This work sets out to characterise several ssv strains for defects in the HOG pathway. These strains were subjected to osmotic stress and the intracellular and extracellular glycerol determined and compared to control strains and conditions. Many of the strains showed reduced, or even elevated in one case, glycerol levels compared to wild-type strains. No correlation could be made between these glycerol levels and the activity of the rate-limiting enzyme, glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) determined in an independent study. Transcription of the GPDH gene is under the control of the HOG pathway. In a separate study, the nucleotide sequence of a short region of yeast chromosome VII was determined. Approximately 11,000 bases of DNA from the right sub-telomeric region was sequenced. Analysis of the DNA sequence showed four potential open reading frames. One of these encoded the YORl gene and another a protein related to PAU1 The remaining two ORFs, termed ORFl and ORF2, encoded potential proteins of unknown function. Disruption cassettes containing the LEU2 selectable marker were constructed for both ORFl and ORF2. Successful disruption of ORFl was achieved, but no viable transformants were ever recovered after attempted disruption of 0RF2..ORFl gene knockouts are viable and show no observable phenotype under a range of growth conditions. Subsequent analysis of ORFl and 0RF2 after the completion of the Yeast Genome Project, shows that both ORFl and 0RF2 are members of different sub- telomeric associated gene families. 0RF2 encodes a putative Y' protein.

Kir channels serve diverse and important roles throughout the human body and malfunctions of these channels are implicated in various channelopathies. Specific inhibitors for different subtypes of Kir channels are not available. However, Tertiapin-Q (TPNQ), a polypeptide isolated from honey bee venom, differentially inhibits certain subtypes of Kir channels with nanomolar affinity: ROMK1 (Kir1.1) and GIRK1/GIRK4 (Kir3.1/Kir3.4). Modification of TPNQ to increase selectivity for target channels bears great therapeutic potential. The in silico studies based on TPNQ-docked channel models, ROMK1_IRK2 (Kir1.1_Kir2.2) and GIRK2 (Kir3.2), predicted specific paired residue interactions and were experimentally validated here. In ROMK1 E123A mutant, the TPNQ sensitivity was decreased by ~2-fold while GIRK2 E127A mutant reduced the TPNQ sensitivity by greater than 10-fold. Also, we could observe the additional effect, ~ 18 fold, of GIRK1 subunits, ~1.7 fold, and E127A mutation, ~10 fold, on the TPNQ sensitivity in the heteromeric mutant channel, GIRK1/GIRK2 E152D_E127A as compared with the homomeric GIRK2 E152D. Finally, we introduced the Kir3.2 E152D mutant as a good representative of wild-type behavior particularly for the TPNQ study. Overall, this type of structure-function studies suggests an efficient and cost effective way toward design and development of specific Kir channel blockers by targeting on specific paired interactions between TPNQ and the Kir channels.

Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is a type of non-melanoma skin cancer that is the 4th most common cancer registration in Scotland after BCC, lung and breast cancer. Over 30,000 cSCC incidences are reported each year in the United Kingdom. In addition, around 1 in 4 skin cancer deaths in the UK are due to cSCCs. Amongst those highly prone to developing cSCCs include organ transplant recipient, immunosuppressed, recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB) and Xeroderma Pigmentosum (XP) patients. cSCC patients that display regional metastasis have a 5-year survival rate of 25-50%, whilst this rate is close to 0% in RDEB patients with multiple cSCCs. Wild-type p53 (wt-p53) has been shown to prevent cSCC development and induce tanning and sunburn responses in skin cells. However, TP53 mutations are found in over half of all human cancers and cSCC is no exception as TP53 mutational frequency in cSCCs is around 64-87.5% (Durinck et al, 2011; South et al, 2014). The majority of TP53 mutations in cSCCs are UV-signature missense mutations, highlighting UV-radiation as one of the main risk factors for cSCC development. Mutant p53 proteins can lose wt-p53 functions, have dominant-negative effects against wt-p53 and acquire gain of function (GOF) activities. Mutant p53 GOF activity is induced by the accumulation of mutant p53 in tumour cells. Mutant p53 accumulation is not due to intrinsic properties of the mutants but requires other cellular events, possibly those known to stabilise wt-p53 under cellular stress. It is known that the TP53 mutations and mutant p53 accumulation are early steps in cSCC development. This makes skin an excellent system to investigate the early changes to p53. We have investigated the potential of targeting mutant p53 for cSCC therapy and mechanisms that promote mutant p53 accumulation in cSCCs. We selected low-passage cSCC cell lines that express hotspot mutant p53 proteins, in cSCCs and in general, by analysing TP53 mutational data from the IARC database and next generation sequencing studies performed on cSCC primary tumours by Dr South at Ninewells Hospital, Dundee. cSCC cell lines were generated from immunocompetent, transplant and RDEB patients by Dr South’s group at Ninewells Hospital, Dundee. We found that: 1. PRIMA-1MET, a small molecule reported to restore wt-p53 activity, lacked tumour selectivity as it is able to reduce cell viability in both normal skin and cSCC cells with similar potency. cSCC cell lines are relatively resistant to PRIMA-1MET compared to cell lines derived from other tumour types. 2. Mutant p53 knockdown studies performed on cSCC cell lines suggest that some p53 mutants play a pro-proliferative role. However, there is no evidence for a pro-migratory role of mutant p53 in cSCC. 3. There are no clear alterations in DNA-damage response pathways or the general ubiquitin proteasome system that could contribute to mutant p53 stabilisation in cSCC. 4. Heat shock factor 1 (HSF-1) is upregulated in cSCC compared to normal human keratinocytes (NHK). HSP90 inhibitors, 17-AAG and 17-DMAG, reduce mutant p53 protein levels suggesting that HSP90 plays a role in stabilising mutant p53 in cSCCs. 5. PR-619, a broad range deubiquitinating enzyme (DUB) inhibitor, reduces mutant p53 protein levels in a range of cSCC cell lines. This is rescued by the addition of bortezomib suggesting that DUBs can play a role in protecting mutant p53 from proteasomal degradation. Expression of HAUSP and USP10, which have been shown to stabilise wild-type p53, is generally elevated in cSCC compared to NHK. However, knockdown of these DUBs does not reduce protein levels of mutant p53 in cSCC cell lines. 6. A potential isoform of MDMX (51 kDa) is strongly upregulated in all cSCC cell lines examined. There is an association between the ability of MDMX siRNAs to deplete the 51 kDa protein and reduce mutant p53 protein levels and stability. Furthermore we show that the protein can form complexes with MDM2 in vitro and in cSCC cells. We propose that the MDMX isoform is able to stabilise mutant p53 in cSCC cells through this interaction with MDM2.