The cereal seed plays a crucial role in society – both in the “food as medicine” paradigm, but also in food security. It is the starch and proteins present in the seed that lend it importance in these dissimilar anthropomorphic activities. This thesis investigation first characterized the post-translational processing of the potential diabetogen, wheat globulin-3. Globulin-3-like peptides were observed primarily in the embryo. These peptides varied significantly in their molecular masses and isoelectric points, as determined by two dimensional electrophoresis and immunoblotting. Five major polypeptide spots were sequenced by mass spectrometry, allowing for the development of a model of the post-translational events contributing to the globulin-3 processing profile. Three separate investigations of starch granules from different cereal species were performed. In the first series of experiments, pathogen-susceptible maize kernels were injected with either conidia of the fungal pathogen Fusarium graminearum or sterile water controls. Proteins in the desiccated fungal remnants on the surface of the kernels as well as in the endosperm and embryo tissues of the control and infected kernels were isolated and these proteomes were sequenced using tandem mass spectrometry. Approximately 250 maize proteins were identified. These proteins were classified into functional categories. There was an increased representation of defense proteins in the both the embryo and endosperm tissues of infected maize samples. The proteome of the fungal remnants was composed of 18 proteins. Several of these proteins were categorized as being involved in the metabolism of plant-sourced molecules, or in stress response. The second series of experiments detail the investigation of commercially prepared rice and maize starches using tandem mass spectrometry. The majority of identified proteins, in both rice and maize samples, were involved in either carbohydrate metabolism or storage. Markers for seed maturity and for starch mobilization were also documented. Finally, the third series of experiments investigated the non-host proteomes present in commercially-prepared starches. Non-host proteins from a variety of species, including Homarus americanus were found in the starch samples. This documentation of H. americanus proteins in these starch samples may have food safety implications with regards to shellfish allergies.

The recently-emerged field of chemical genomics is centered on the use of small molecules to perturb biological systems as a means of investigating their function. In order to employ this approach for the study of plant-pathogen interactions, I established an assay in which Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings are grown in liquid media in 96-well plates. Inoculation of these seedlings with a virulent strain of the bacterial phytopathogen Pseudomonas syringae resulted in macroscopic bleaching of the cotyledons of these seedlings. This symptom was used as the basis for high-throughput chemical genomic screens aimed at identifying small molecules that protect Arabidopsis seedlings from infection. One of the first chemicals identified through this screen was the sulfanilamide compound sulfamethoxazole (Smex). This compound was later shown to also reduce the susceptibility of both Arabidopsis and wheat to infection by the fungal pathogen Fusarium graminearum, suggesting a broad spectrum of activity. More detailed investigations of Smex indicated that the protective activity of this compound did not derive from antimicrobial effects, and that this activity was not executed through common defence-related signalling pathways. The folate biosynthetic pathway enzyme dihydropteroate synthase is a known target of sulfanilamides, and it does appear to contribute to Smex-induced disease resistance, albeit in a folate-independent manner. In order to identify downstream mediators of Smex activity, I initiated two forward genetic screens intended to recover mutants with altered sensitivity to Smex in a seedling growth assay. Interestingly, while these screens yielded mutants with striking Smex sensitivity phenotypes, disease resistance phenotypes were not altered. Gene expression profiling of Arabidopsis tissues treated with Smex prior to bacterial inoculation suggested that this compound generally affects lipid signalling. Altogether, it is evident that Smex elicits a complex set of responses in Arabidopsis with apparently non-overlapping phenotypic outputs.

The recently-emerged field of chemical genomics is centered on the use of small molecules to perturb biological systems as a means of investigating their function. In order to employ this approach for the study of plant-pathogen interactions, I established an assay in which Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings are grown in liquid media in 96-well plates. Inoculation of these seedlings with a virulent strain of the bacterial phytopathogen Pseudomonas syringae resulted in macroscopic bleaching of the cotyledons of these seedlings. This symptom was used as the basis for high-throughput chemical genomic screens aimed at identifying small molecules that protect Arabidopsis seedlings from infection. One of the first chemicals identified through this screen was the sulfanilamide compound sulfamethoxazole (Smex). This compound was later shown to also reduce the susceptibility of both Arabidopsis and wheat to infection by the fungal pathogen Fusarium graminearum, suggesting a broad spectrum of activity. More detailed investigations of Smex indicated that the protective activity of this compound did not derive from antimicrobial effects, and that this activity was not executed through common defence-related signalling pathways. The folate biosynthetic pathway enzyme dihydropteroate synthase is a known target of sulfanilamides, and it does appear to contribute to Smex-induced disease resistance, albeit in a folate-independent manner. In order to identify downstream mediators of Smex activity, I initiated two forward genetic screens intended to recover mutants with altered sensitivity to Smex in a seedling growth assay. Interestingly, while these screens yielded mutants with striking Smex sensitivity phenotypes, disease resistance phenotypes were not altered. Gene expression profiling of Arabidopsis tissues treated with Smex prior to bacterial inoculation suggested that this compound generally affects lipid signalling. Altogether, it is evident that Smex elicits a complex set of responses in Arabidopsis with apparently non-overlapping phenotypic outputs.

The cereal seed plays a crucial role in society – both in the “food as medicine” paradigm, but also in food security. It is the starch and proteins present in the seed that lend it importance in these dissimilar anthropomorphic activities. This thesis investigation first characterized the post-translational processing of the potential diabetogen, wheat globulin-3. Globulin-3-like peptides were observed primarily in the embryo. These peptides varied significantly in their molecular masses and isoelectric points, as determined by two dimensional electrophoresis and immunoblotting. Five major polypeptide spots were sequenced by mass spectrometry, allowing for the development of a model of the post-translational events contributing to the globulin-3 processing profile. Three separate investigations of starch granules from different cereal species were performed. In the first series of experiments, pathogen-susceptible maize kernels were injected with either conidia of the fungal pathogen Fusarium graminearum or sterile water controls. Proteins in the desiccated fungal remnants on the surface of the kernels as well as in the endosperm and embryo tissues of the control and infected kernels were isolated and these proteomes were sequenced using tandem mass spectrometry. Approximately 250 maize proteins were identified. These proteins were classified into functional categories. There was an increased representation of defense proteins in the both the embryo and endosperm tissues of infected maize samples. The proteome of the fungal remnants was composed of 18 proteins. Several of these proteins were categorized as being involved in the metabolism of plant-sourced molecules, or in stress response. The second series of experiments detail the investigation of commercially prepared rice and maize starches using tandem mass spectrometry. The majority of identified proteins, in both rice and maize samples, were involved in either carbohydrate metabolism or storage. Markers for seed maturity and for starch mobilization were also documented. Finally, the third series of experiments investigated the non-host proteomes present in commercially-prepared starches. Non-host proteins from a variety of species, including Homarus americanus were found in the starch samples. This documentation of H. americanus proteins in these starch samples may have food safety implications with regards to shellfish allergies.

The cereal seed plays a crucial role in society – both in the “food as medicine” paradigm, but also in food security. It is the starch and proteins present in the seed that lend it importance in these dissimilar anthropomorphic activities. This thesis investigation first characterized the post-translational processing of the potential diabetogen, wheat globulin-3. Globulin-3-like peptides were observed primarily in the embryo. These peptides varied significantly in their molecular masses and isoelectric points, as determined by two dimensional electrophoresis and immunoblotting. Five major polypeptide spots were sequenced by mass spectrometry, allowing for the development of a model of the post-translational events contributing to the globulin-3 processing profile. Three separate investigations of starch granules from different cereal species were performed. In the first series of experiments, pathogen-susceptible maize kernels were injected with either conidia of the fungal pathogen Fusarium graminearum or sterile water controls. Proteins in the desiccated fungal remnants on the surface of the kernels as well as in the endosperm and embryo tissues of the control and infected kernels were isolated and these proteomes were sequenced using tandem mass spectrometry. Approximately 250 maize proteins were identified. These proteins were classified into functional categories. There was an increased representation of defense proteins in the both the embryo and endosperm tissues of infected maize samples. The proteome of the fungal remnants was composed of 18 proteins. Several of these proteins were categorized as being involved in the metabolism of plant-sourced molecules, or in stress response. The second series of experiments detail the investigation of commercially prepared rice and maize starches using tandem mass spectrometry. The majority of identified proteins, in both rice and maize samples, were involved in either carbohydrate metabolism or storage. Markers for seed maturity and for starch mobilization were also documented. Finally, the third series of experiments investigated the non-host proteomes present in commercially-prepared starches. Non-host proteins from a variety of species, including Homarus americanus were found in the starch samples. This documentation of H. americanus proteins in these starch samples may have food safety implications with regards to shellfish allergies.

<p><em>Eutrema salsugineum</em> is an extremophile plant native to the Yukon Territory and coastal China. As an extremophile, Yukon <em>Eutrema</em> is tolerant to highly saline, drought conditions and cold temperatures while Shandong <em>Eutrema</em> can survive in highly saline conditions (Griffith et al., 2007; Guevara et al., 2012; Inan et al., 2004). The disease resistance responses of the Yukon and Shandong accessions of <em>Eutrema</em> were investigated to understand how an abiotic stress-tolerant plant responds to biotic stress. A pathosystem was developed using <em>Pseudomonas</em> <em>syringae</em> pv. <em>tomato</em> DC3000 (<em>Pst</em>) to examine <em>Eutrema</em> defense responses. Compared to <em>Arabidopsis </em>(Col-0), both <em>Eutrema</em> accessions exhibited resistance to <em>Pst,</em> with Shandong <em>Eutrema</em> displaying greater resistance than Yukon <em>Eutrema</em>. Resistance to <em>P. syringae</em> pv. <em>maculicola</em> (<em>Psm</em>) was also observed in both accessions. Furthermore, both <em>Eutrema</em> accessions displayed a differential capacity for effector-triggered immunity (ETI). RNA-Seq data of uninoculated Shandong vs. Yukon <em>Eutrema</em> revealed an overrepresentation of defense genes including <em>PR1</em> (<em>pathogenesis-related1</em>; Champigny et al., 2013). Expression of the <em>Eutrema</em> <em>PR1</em> ortholog in uninoculated Shandong leaves combined with enhanced resistance to <em>Pst</em> compared to Yukon <em>Eutrema</em> or Col-0 <em>Arabidopsis</em> suggests that Shandong plants exist in a defense-primed state. Resistance to other pathogens such as <em>Pectobacterium</em> <em>carotovorum</em> ssp. <em>wasabiae</em> (<em>Pcw</em>) further supported the hypothesis that Shandong <em>Eutrema</em> is primed for pathogen tolerance. The <em>Eutrema</em>-<em>P. syringae</em> pathosystem will facilitate future studies to understand how <em>Eutrema</em> deals with multiple or concurrent stresses and this knowledge will contribute to efforts to improve tolerance to both abiotic and biotic stress in crop plants.</p> / Master of Science (MSc)

About 6% of all angiosperms are dioecious. This separation of sexual function to male and female individuals, and the fundamentally different patterns of reproductive resource allocation that follows that separation, are thought to have important ecological and evolutionary consequences for plant enemy interactions.  I have studied whether intersexual differences in susceptibility to natural enemies can be explained by intersexual differences in resource allocation. In cases when sexual dimorphic traits form the target resource of a particular enemy I expected the enemy to select the best resource. The study system is the perennial dioecious herb, Silene dioica (Caryophyllaceae) and three of its specialist natural enemies, two insect herbivores the fly Delia criniventris (Anthomyiidae) and the twirler moth Caryocolum viscariella (Gelechiidae) and one systemic anther smut fungus Microbotryum violaceum. All three share the same food recourse, the floral stems, of their host plant. I studied the interaction on nine islands in a rising Bothinan archipelago over seven consecutive years. Both herbivores attacked female plants more than male plants (D. criniventris, 32.8% females, 30.7% males; C. viscariella, 4% females, 2% males). This attack pattern was consistent over years and islands and also correlated with a number of sexually dimorphic traits suggesting that females offer the better resource. Herbivore attack had no effect on plant survival but a significant effect on re-flowering the following year. Non-attacked females had an estimated mean re-flowering rate of 30.2%, and non-attacked males of 31%. Herbivore-attacked females had an estimated re-flowering rate of 46% compared with 38.4% for males. Females showed a stronger compensatory response to attack and tended to re-flower more often than males. Attack rates differed markedly in the different stages of primary succession. They were consistently higher in the youngest zone and decreased in parallel to progressing succession. This zonal pattern of decreasing attack rates correlated with several plant attributes, a decrease in plant size and nitrogen content, and an increased content of secondary compounds, but not to host plant density. We failed to come up with a simple explanation for the spatial structure with chronic high attack rates in the younger zones. However, the consistent patterns in attack rate suggest that a suite of abiotic and biotic factors interact and reinforce the strength and direction of selection. In general females were more frequently diseased by the anther smut Microbotryum violaceum than males with two exceptions. Disease frequencies were male biased on islands with low disease levels and in one of the seven study years. The change in disease frequencies from male to female bias confirm earlier studies suggesting that the relative contribution of the two components of infection risk, disease encounter and per contact infection probability can vary with population disease level. The change in the proportions of diseased males and females that was observed in one of the study years, followed a year of extreme weather conditions (prolonged drought). Both sexes showed a similar decline in flowering but diseased females decreased more than diseased males. This difference in response can be explained if considering that disease is more resource demanding in females than in males. Except for resources needed for mycelial growth and spore production, in females resources are also needed to restructure their sex expression and produce anthers. My study shows (i) that in dioecious species traits that are sexually dimorphic are of great importance for understanding the outcome of interactions with natural enemies, (ii) that the strengths and directions of enemy-host plant interactions are strongly shaped by both biotic and abiotic conditions.

The interactions between Medicago truncatula and Phytophthora medicaginis were examined using skl, a mutant blocked in ethylene perception, and a range of wild accessions of this plant species. P. medicaginis infection of M. truncatula plants resulted in compatible responses, whereas the mutant genotype was found to be hyper-susceptible to the pathogen. Phytophthora reproduction and colonization rates of Medicago tissues supported this conclusion. Infection of skl with different pathogens reinforced this observation. Ethylene production in infected A17 and skl roots showed reduced ethylene evolution in the mutant and suggested that a positive feedback loop, known as autocatalytic ethylene production, amplified the ethylene signal. To complement the study, expression analyses of defense response genes in this interaction were studied by real time RTPCR of Phytophthora-infected and mock-infected roots. The genes analyzed were PAL, CHS, IFR, ACC oxidase, GST, and PR10. The sequences needed for the analysis were found through the scrutiny of the M. truncatula EST database employing phylogenetics and bio-informatics tools. In A17 all the genes studied were up-regulated, although the specific gene expression patterns differed. The comparison of gene expression between A17 and skl genotypes allowed the differentiation between ethylene-dependent and ethylene-independent responses. Discrete results showed that ACC oxidase homologues were downregulated in the ethylene perception mutant, corroborating the ethylene observations. However, the expression of genes involved in the phenylpropanoid metabolism was increased in skl relative to A17, suggestive of an antagonism between the ethylene perception pathway and the regulation of the phenylpropanoid pathway. This result implied that Medicago phytoalexins accumulate in the disease interaction, but raised questions about their role in resistance to Phytophthora infection. This study establishes a link between mechanisms that regulate symbiotic infection and the regulation of disease resistance to Oomycete pathogens, especially P. medicaginis. The results served to identify a series of Phytophthora-induced genes, which remain pathogen-responsive even in the absence of a functional ethylene perception pathway. While it is possible that the products of these genes are involved in resistance to P. medicaginis, the present results demonstrate that ethylene perception is required for resistance.

Resumo: O cancro cítrico está entre as principais doenças que afetam a produção de laranjas no Brasil e é causado pela bactéria fitopatogênica gram-negativa Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri (Xac). O presente trabalho teve por objetivo analisar a expressão diferencial de proteínas secretadas pela bactéria selvagem e por um mutante (02H02) assintomático, que teve a proteína HrpB4, que participa de seu sistema de secreção tipo III (SSTT) inativada, em condição de cultivo em meio rico CN e em meio XAM1 indutor de hipersensibilidade e patogenicidade (genes hrp). As proteínas secretadas em meio de cultura foram extraídas pela ação do ácido tricloroacético (TCA) e identificadas através de espectrometria de massas. Tais análises identificaram 55 proteínas diferentes secretadas em ambos os meios de cultura, tanto para Xac quanto para 02H02, de modo que 13 destas proteínas são comuns entre a Xac e seu mutante cultivados em XAM1 e 14 são exclusivas para Xac cultivada em XAM1, as quais deixaram de ser secretadas no 02H02. Proteínas relacionadas aos genes reguladores do SSTT foram detectadas em condição infectante para ambas as bactérias, demonstrando a eficácia do meio de cultura XAM1 em induzir Hrp. Foi observado que diversas proteínas secretadas pelo sistema de secreção tipo II (SSTD) em condição infectante para Xac e seu mutante possuem um papel ativo na degradação das paredes celulares do hospedeiro e podem ser reguladas por proteínas controladoras do SSTT. Fatores de sinalização difusíveis produzidos por Xac aparentemente sofreram alteração em sua secreção no mutante devido à inativação do pilus do SSTT, demonstrando a relação dessa molécula com o SSTT. A não detecção de proteínas secretadas diretamente pelo SSTT denota que as mesmas podem estar sendo secretadas no interior de vesículas lipídicas de membrana externa, assim como ocorre em Xanthomonas campestris / Abstract: Citrus canker is among the major diseases which affect citrus production in Brazil and is caused by the gram-negative phytopathogenic bacterium Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri (Xac). This work aimed to analyze the differential expression of secreted proteins by the wild bacterium and by an asymptomatic mutant (02H02), lacking the type III secretion system (TTSS) protein HrpB4, in rich cultivation medium NB and in the hrp inducing medium XAM1. The proteins secreted in all culture media have been extracted by trichloroacetic acid based protocols (TCA) and identified using mass spectrometry. The analysis identified 55 different proteins secreted in both culture medium for Xac and 02H02, of which 13 are common among Xac and its mutant cultivated in XAM1 and 14 proteins are exclusively secreted by Xac cultivated in XAM1. Proteins related to the TTSS regulatory genes have been detected in infecting condition in both bacteria, showing the effectiveness of XAM1 hrp inducing medium. It has been observed that several type II secretion system's secreted proteins showed an active role in host cell wall degradation and may be regulated by type III secretion system's proteins in Xac and 02H02 in infecting condition. Diffusible signal factors produced by wild Xac apparently suffered an altered secretion in the mutant due the inactivation of the type three secretion system's pilus, showing the relationship of this molecule with this secretion system. The lack of detection of proteins secreted by the TTSS denote that these proteins may be secreted in the interior of outer membrane lipid vesicles, just like it was verified in Xanthomonas campestris / Orientador: Jesus Aparecido Ferro / Coorientador: Julio Cezar Franco de Oliveira / Banca: Maria Teresa Marques Novo / Banca: Leandro Márcio Moreira / Mestre

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:26:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2009-11-05Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:33:53Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 ferreira_rm_me_jabo.pdf: 510263 bytes, checksum: 543073ee3d6f55d77bb1607889dc966f (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / O cancro cítrico está entre as principais doenças que afetam a produção de laranjas no Brasil e é causado pela bactéria fitopatogênica gram-negativa Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri (Xac). O presente trabalho teve por objetivo analisar a expressão diferencial de proteínas secretadas pela bactéria selvagem e por um mutante (02H02) assintomático, que teve a proteína HrpB4, que participa de seu sistema de secreção tipo III (SSTT) inativada, em condição de cultivo em meio rico CN e em meio XAM1 indutor de hipersensibilidade e patogenicidade (genes hrp). As proteínas secretadas em meio de cultura foram extraídas pela ação do ácido tricloroacético (TCA) e identificadas através de espectrometria de massas. Tais análises identificaram 55 proteínas diferentes secretadas em ambos os meios de cultura, tanto para Xac quanto para 02H02, de modo que 13 destas proteínas são comuns entre a Xac e seu mutante cultivados em XAM1 e 14 são exclusivas para Xac cultivada em XAM1, as quais deixaram de ser secretadas no 02H02. Proteínas relacionadas aos genes reguladores do SSTT foram detectadas em condição infectante para ambas as bactérias, demonstrando a eficácia do meio de cultura XAM1 em induzir Hrp. Foi observado que diversas proteínas secretadas pelo sistema de secreção tipo II (SSTD) em condição infectante para Xac e seu mutante possuem um papel ativo na degradação das paredes celulares do hospedeiro e podem ser reguladas por proteínas controladoras do SSTT. Fatores de sinalização difusíveis produzidos por Xac aparentemente sofreram alteração em sua secreção no mutante devido à inativação do pilus do SSTT, demonstrando a relação dessa molécula com o SSTT. A não detecção de proteínas secretadas diretamente pelo SSTT denota que as mesmas podem estar sendo secretadas no interior de vesículas lipídicas de membrana externa, assim como ocorre em Xanthomonas campestris / Citrus canker is among the major diseases which affect citrus production in Brazil and is caused by the gram-negative phytopathogenic bacterium Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri (Xac). This work aimed to analyze the differential expression of secreted proteins by the wild bacterium and by an asymptomatic mutant (02H02), lacking the type III secretion system (TTSS) protein HrpB4, in rich cultivation medium NB and in the hrp inducing medium XAM1. The proteins secreted in all culture media have been extracted by trichloroacetic acid based protocols (TCA) and identified using mass spectrometry. The analysis identified 55 different proteins secreted in both culture medium for Xac and 02H02, of which 13 are common among Xac and its mutant cultivated in XAM1 and 14 proteins are exclusively secreted by Xac cultivated in XAM1. Proteins related to the TTSS regulatory genes have been detected in infecting condition in both bacteria, showing the effectiveness of XAM1 hrp inducing medium. It has been observed that several type II secretion system’s secreted proteins showed an active role in host cell wall degradation and may be regulated by type III secretion system’s proteins in Xac and 02H02 in infecting condition. Diffusible signal factors produced by wild Xac apparently suffered an altered secretion in the mutant due the inactivation of the type three secretion system’s pilus, showing the relationship of this molecule with this secretion system. The lack of detection of proteins secreted by the TTSS denote that these proteins may be secreted in the interior of outer membrane lipid vesicles, just like it was verified in Xanthomonas campestris