This study has demonstrated and investigated the expression of a cDNA, coding for the pea seed storage protein vicilin, in the yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The cDNA was contained in the plasmid pLG1.63 and has been characterised and sequenced. The sequence showed that the cDNA coded for a 47KDa type of vicilin with a putative 24 amino-acid signal peptide, a proteolytic cleavage site and one glycosylation signal. The cDNA was cloned into two yeast expression vectors. The first utilised the GALIO promoter rendering expression of the cDNA inducible galactose, the construct was called pDUB2300. The second construct, pDUB2302, placed the cDNA under the control of the PGK promoter, rendering the cDNA constitutively expressed. When transformed into yeast, both constructs produced an immunoreactive vicilin species of M(_r) =49KDa. In the case of pDUB2302 the protein was produced at up to 5.5% of total cell protein. The protein was shown to be associated with a particulate fraction and displayed altered precipitation characteristics when compared with pea vicilin. By using tunicanydn and N-glycosidase, the protein was shown to be unglycosylated. Partial purification and (^35)S-methionine labelling demonstrated that the signal pep tide remained uncleaved. Cell fractionation studies indicated that vicilin was enriched in the yeast microsomal fraction, suggesting that vicilin was located in the EH. This was confirmed electron microscopy of immuno-gold labelled yeast which showed vicilin associated with the ER. The electron micrographs also suggested that a small proportion of the protein might be reaching thecolgi apparatus and the vacuole membrane. The presence of specific cleavage products on some western blots suggested that vicilin possessed a cleavage site for a yeast protease, though whether this was the same site as the pea proteolytic cleavage site was not determined. The pattern and nature of the expression of vicilin from this cDNA was discussed in the context of heterologous protein expression in yeast in general and plant storage protein expression in yeast in particular.

The overarching goal of this research was to investigate the effect of cultivar and environment on the physicochemical and functional properties of pea protein isolates using a structure-function approach. Six pea cultivars (Agassiz, CDC Golden, CDC Dakota, CDC Striker, CDC Tetris, Cooper) were collected from two years (2011, 2012) over two locations in Saskatchewan (Saskatoon and Rosthern) from two field replicates. Pea protein isolates were prepared from defatted flours by alkaline extraction (pH 9.0) followed by isoelectric precipitation (pH 4.5), and then neutralized to pH 7.0 prior to freeze-drying. Samples were evaluated for composition (amino acid profile, legumin/vicilin ratio), surface characteristics (zeta potential, surface hydrophobicity), and functional properties (nitrogen solubility, oil holding capacity, foaming capacity, foam stability, emulsion stability). In addition, samples were assessed for seed weight and colour, and compared against the functional characteristics of six commercially produced protein isolates (whey, wheat, egg, pea, and two soy ingredients). The extracted pea protein isolates had protein contents of ~91% (d.b.), as well as isolate and protein yields of ~18% and ~72%, respectively. Although cultivars exhibited a range of legumin/vicilin ratios from 0.36 (Agassiz) to 0.79 (CDC Golden), such differences were not reflected in their amino acid profiles. Differences amongst cultivars, as well as significant cultivar × environment interactions, were found for only surface hydrophobicity (195-267 a.u.), solubility (63-75%), and foaming capacity (167-244%). No differences in either cultivar or environment were observed in other surface (zeta potential = ~-24 mV) or functional (oil holding capacity = ~3.2 g/g; foam stability = ~75%; emulsion stability = ~96%) properties. All functional properties were significantly correlated with legumin/vicilin ratio and/or surface hydrophobicity. However, such relationships were weak (r = -0.19 to -0.20, and r = 0.17 to 0.32). The strongest correlation was observed between the legumin/vicilin ratio and surface hydrophobicity at r = 0.63 for the pea protein isolates. Meanwhile, zeta potential did not display a significant correlation to any property tested. In comparison to commercial protein isolates, the pea protein isolates behaved most similarly to soy except for solubility. Whey and egg were superior in solubility and the foaming properties, whereas wheat and the commercial pea protein product underperformed in almost all functionality tests. These findings suggest that while inherent protein material source may be important to functional behaviours, the method of extraction could pose even greater effects. This was observed between the laboratory- and commercially-prepared pea protein isolates, which at minimum differed in processing (defatting) and method of drying (freeze- vs. spray-dried). Coupled with the weak correlations between physicochemical and functional properties, findings overall indicate that method of protein isolate production play a more significant role in protein functional characteristics than cultivar, environment, or composition. Findings also suggest that secondary processors may not need to specify either cultivar or environment of their raw materials, thus creating advantages in their feedstock sourcing.

Proteiner spelar en avgörande roll i människokroppen och det är därför viktigt att inta tillräckligt med essentiella aminosyror genom kosten. Tidigare har animaliska källor varit kända för att vara rika på dessa aminosyror, men nu förtiden räcker det inte för att tillfredsställa den globala behov. Dessutom väcker den animaliska proteiner allvarliga frågor om klimatförändringar och etik. Ärtor innehåller en essentiell profil av aminosyror och har många andra fördelar, såsom tillgänglighet, kostnadseffektivitet och förmåga att växa i låga temperaturer. Tidigare studier har visat att regelbunden intag av ärtprotein kan minska risken för hjärt-kärlsjukdomar och diabetes. Studier visade att Naturliga djupa eutektiska lösningsmedel (NADES) kan lösa upp proteiner utan att denaturera de, vilket är ett problem med traditionella lösningsmedel som kan påverka proteinstrukturer. Dessutom är NADES icke-toxiska och biologiskt nedbrytbara lösningar, vilket gör dem mer hållbara och miljövänliga än vanliga vätskor som används vid proteinextraktion. Syftet med studien var att använda NADES för att utveckla en ny metod för att extrahera proteiner från gula ärtor och jämföra denna med etablerade metoder. Dessutom skulle skillnader i proteinutbyte och strukturella förändringar uppskattas genom användning av Size Exclusion Chromatography (SEC) och Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate PolyAcrylamide Gel Elektrofores SDS-PAGE. Tre varianter av NADES framställdes från kolinklorid, citronsyra och olika vattenhalter. NADES 20% användes för extraktion, eftersom det har visat sig vara en lämplig metod för detta ändamål. Resultaten visade att extraktion med NADES är mer komplicerad än referensmetoderna för att proteinerna utfölls vid olika steg under extraktion process. SEC-kromatogram visade proteindenaturering där en tydlig topp erhölls vid senare elueringsvolym. SDS-PAGE analys genomfördes för att identifiera toppar men inge resultat kunde erhålla på grund av låg proteinkoncentration. Från ett optimistiskt perspektiv kan de denaturerade proteinerna fortfarande användas inom livsmedelsindustrin eller NADES kan användas som en pre-extraktionsmetod för att avlägsna föroreningar innan den verkliga extraktionsprocessen påbörjas. Det skulle vara användbart för framtida studier att prova att extrahera med en lägre vattenhalt i NADES eller med en annan typ av NADES. / Protein plays a crucial role in the human body, making it essential to consume sufficient amounts of essential amino acids through diet. Traditionally, animal sources have been known to be rich in these amino acids, but this is not sufficient to meet global demand. Additionally, this raises serious questions about climate change and ethics. Peas have been found to contain an essential profile of amino acids and have many other advantages, such as availability, cost-effectiveness, and the ability to grow in low temperatures. Previous studies have shown that regular consumption of pea protein can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Studies have shown that Natural Deep Eutectic Solvents (NADES) can dissolve proteins without denaturing them, which is a problem with traditional solvents that can affect protein structures. In addition, NADES are non-toxic and biodegradable solutions, making them more sustainable and environmentally friendly than common liquids used in protein extraction. The aim of the study was to use NADES to develop a new protein extraction method from yellow peas and compare this with established methods. In addition, differences in protein yield and structural changes were estimated using Size Exclusion Chromatography (SEC) and Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate PolyAcrylamide Gel Elektrofores SDS-PAGE. Three variants of NADES were prepared from choline chloride, citric acid, and different water contents. NADES 20% was used for extraction as it has been found to be a suitable method for this purpose. The results showed that extraction with NADES is more complicated than the reference methods because the proteins precipitated at different stages during the extraction process. SEC chromatogram showed protein denaturation where a clear peak was obtained at later elution volumes. SDS-PAGE analysis was performed to identify peaks, but no results could be obtained due to low protein concentration. From an optimistic perspective, the denatured proteins can still be used in the food industry, or NADES can be used as a pre-extraction method to remove impurities before the actual extraction process begins. It would be useful for future studies to try extracting with a lower water content in NADES or with a different type of NADES.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:03:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 LeonardoLPM.pdf: 466570 bytes, checksum: 827ec94d9844ad03ef852080e819058f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-09-21 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / The fruit fly Ceratitis capitata is considered the most destructive pest of the world fruitculture. Many pest management practices, mainly based on agrochemicals, have been developed to allow the world-wide commerce of fruit. Solutions to decrease the use of synthetic insecticides in agriculture are based on the development of new target-specific compounds which cause less damage to the environment, especially vegetal proteins with insecticidal effects. The aim of this work was to evaluate the deleterious effect of a purified vicilin of E. velutina (EvV) seeds to C. capitata larvae and adult insects and to investigate the mechanisms involved in these effects. EvV was purified, characterized and its deleterious effect was tested in bioassay systems. EvV mechanism of action was determined by immunodetection techniques and fluorescence localization in chitin structures that are present in C. capitata digestory system. EvV is a glycoprotein with affinity to chitin. Its molecular weight, of 216,57 kDa, was determined by gel filtration chromatography in FPLC system. Using SDS-PAGE, it was possible to observe EvV dissociation in two main subunits of 54,8 and 50,8 kDa. When it was submitted to eletrophoresis in native conditions, EvV presented only one band of acid characteristic. The WD50 and LD50 values found in the bioassays were 0,13% and 0,14% (w/w), respectively for the larvae. EvV deleterious effects were related to the binding to chitin structures presented in peritrophic membrane and gut epithelial cells, associated with its low digestibility in C. capitata digestive tract. The results described herein are the first demonstration of the larvicidal effects of plant protein on C. capitata larvae. EvV may be part of the pest management programs, in the toxic bait composition, or an alternative in plant improvement program / A mosca-da-fruta Ceratitis capitata ? considerada a praga mais destrutiva da fruticultura mundial, para o seu controle v?rios programas de erradica??o baseados em agroqu?micos foram criados para permitir o com?rcio mundial de frutas. Solu??es para a diminui??o do uso de inseticidas sint?ticos na agricultura est?o baseadas no desenvolvimento de novos compostos alvos-espec?ficos com menos persist?ncia no meio ambiente, em especial prote?nas vegetais com efeitos inseticidas. Neste trabalho o principal objetivo foi avaliar o efeito delet?rio de uma vicilina purificada de sementes de E. velutina (EvV) para larvas de C. capitata e propor o mecanismo de a??o da prote?na. EvV foi purificada, caracterizada e o seu efeito delet?rio foi testado em sistemas de bioensaios. O mecanismo de a??o de EvV foi determinado por t?cnicas de imunodetec??o e localiza??o por fluoresc?ncia em estruturas quitinosas, presentes no sistema digest?rio de C. capitata. EvV ? uma glicoprote?na com afinidade a quitina cuja massa molecular foi de 216,57 kDa, determinado por cromatografia de gel filtra??o em sistema de FPLC. Por SDS-PAGE, EvV dissociouse em duas subunidades principais de 54,8 e 50,8 kDa, e quando foi submetida a eletroforese em condi??es nativas apresentou uma banda ?nica de caracter?stica eletrofor?tica ?cida. Nos bioensaios a WD50 e a LD50 para as larvas foram de 0,13% e 0,14% (p/p). Os efeitos delet?rios de EvV foram relacionados a sua liga??o a estruturas quitinosas presentes na membrana peritr?fica e no epit?lio intestinal, associado com a baixa capacidade de C. capitata em digeri-la. Com esses resultados ? poss?vel propor a EvV como candidata a fazer parte de programas de manejo integrado de pragas, na composi??o de iscas t?xicas, como um potencial bioinseticida de natureza prot?ica.

Kidney bean proteins and peptides can be developed to serve as an important ingredient for the formulation of high quality foods or therapeutic products that may positively impact on body function and human health. The main goal of this thesis was to determine the in vitro structural and functional characteristics of major proteins and enzymatic protein hydrolysate of red kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris). Selective aammonium sulfate precipitation of the kidney bean proteins yielded 88% globulin and 7% albumin.The globulin and albumin are glycoproteins that contained ~4% and 45% carbohydrate contents, respectively. Physicochemical and functional characteristics of the globulin fraction, such as, gelation concentration, foam stability, emulsion capacity, and emulsion stability were superior to those of albumin. Reducing SDS-PAGE revealed vicilin with molecular weight of ~45 kDa as the major globulin in kidney beans. Circular dichroism spectroscopy of the purified vicilin showed reductions in α-helix, and β-pleated sheet conformations upon addition of NaCl or changes in pH. Likewise, the tertiary structures as observed from the near-UV CD spectra were also changed by shifts in pH conditions and NaCl addition. Far UV-CD showed increased β-sheet content up till 60oC from room temperature, but a steady loss in the tertiary structure as temperature was further increased; however, β-sheet structure was still detectable at 80oC. Differential scanning calorimetry thermograms showed a prominent endothermic peak with denaturation temperature at around 90oC, attributed to thermal denaturation of vicilin. Alcalase hydrolysis of kidney bean globulin produced multifunctional peptides that showed potential antihypertensive properties because of the in vitro inhibition of activities of renin and angiotensin I converting enzyme as well as the antioxidant properties. The <1 and 5-10 kDa peptide fractions exhibited highest (p<0.05) renin inhibition and the ability to scavenge 2, 2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl free radical, inhibit peroxidation of linoleic acid and reduce Fe3+ to Fe2+. Based on this study, incorporation of kidney bean globulin as an ingredient may be useful for the manufacture of high quality food products. Likewise, the kidney bean protein hydrolysates, especially the <1 kDa fraction represent a potential source of bioactive peptides for the formulation of functional foods and nutraceuticals.

Kidney bean proteins and peptides can be developed to serve as an important ingredient for the formulation of high quality foods or therapeutic products that may positively impact on body function and human health. The main goal of this thesis was to determine the in vitro structural and functional characteristics of major proteins and enzymatic protein hydrolysate of red kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris). Selective aammonium sulfate precipitation of the kidney bean proteins yielded 88% globulin and 7% albumin.The globulin and albumin are glycoproteins that contained ~4% and 45% carbohydrate contents, respectively. Physicochemical and functional characteristics of the globulin fraction, such as, gelation concentration, foam stability, emulsion capacity, and emulsion stability were superior to those of albumin. Reducing SDS-PAGE revealed vicilin with molecular weight of ~45 kDa as the major globulin in kidney beans. Circular dichroism spectroscopy of the purified vicilin showed reductions in α-helix, and β-pleated sheet conformations upon addition of NaCl or changes in pH. Likewise, the tertiary structures as observed from the near-UV CD spectra were also changed by shifts in pH conditions and NaCl addition. Far UV-CD showed increased β-sheet content up till 60oC from room temperature, but a steady loss in the tertiary structure as temperature was further increased; however, β-sheet structure was still detectable at 80oC. Differential scanning calorimetry thermograms showed a prominent endothermic peak with denaturation temperature at around 90oC, attributed to thermal denaturation of vicilin. Alcalase hydrolysis of kidney bean globulin produced multifunctional peptides that showed potential antihypertensive properties because of the in vitro inhibition of activities of renin and angiotensin I converting enzyme as well as the antioxidant properties. The <1 and 5-10 kDa peptide fractions exhibited highest (p<0.05) renin inhibition and the ability to scavenge 2, 2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl free radical, inhibit peroxidation of linoleic acid and reduce Fe3+ to Fe2+. Based on this study, incorporation of kidney bean globulin as an ingredient may be useful for the manufacture of high quality food products. Likewise, the kidney bean protein hydrolysates, especially the <1 kDa fraction represent a potential source of bioactive peptides for the formulation of functional foods and nutraceuticals.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:03:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 RodrigoOA.pdf: 1265658 bytes, checksum: 99f4f1b083a5b39748d0fb4e05fcf79f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-02-06 / Chitin is an important structural component of the cellular wall of fungi and exoskeleton of many invertebrate plagues, such as insects and nematodes. In digestory systems of insects it forms a named matrix of peritrophic membrane. One of the most studied interaction models protein-carbohydrate is the model that involves chitin-binding proteins. Among the involved characterized domains already in this interaction if they detach the hevein domain (HD), from of Hevea brasiliensis (Rubber tree), the R&R consensus domain (R&R), found in cuticular proteins of insects, and the motif called in this study as conglicinin motif (CD), found in the cristallography structure of the &#946;-conglicinin bounded with GlcNac. These three chitin-binding domains had been used to determine which of them could be involved in silico in the interaction of Canavalia ensiformis and Vigna unguiculata vicilins with chitin, as well as associate these results with the WD50 of these vicilins for Callosobruchus maculatus larvae. The technique of comparative modeling was used for construction of the model 3D of the vicilin of V. unguiculata, that was not found in the data bases. Using the ClustalW program it was gotten localization of these domains in the vicilins primary structure. The domains R&R and CD had been found with bigger homology in the vicilins primary sequences and had been target of interaction studies. Through program GRAMM models of interaction ( dockings ) of the vicilins with GlcNac had been gotten. The results had shown that, through analysis in silico, HD is not part of the vicilins structures, proving the result gotten with the alignment of the primary sequences; the R&R domain, although not to have structural similarity in the vicilins, probably it has a participation in the activity of interaction of these with GlcNac; whereas the CD domain participates directly in the interaction of the vicilins with GlcNac. These results in silico show that the amino acid number, the types and the amount of binding made for the CD motif with GlcNac seem to be directly associates to the deleterious power that these vicilins show for C. maculatus larvae. This can give an initial step in the briefing of as the vicilins interact with alive chitin in and exert its toxic power for insects that possess peritrophic membrane / A quitina (homopol?mero linear contendo res?duos de &#946;-1,4-N-acetil-D-glicosamina (GlcNac) ? um importante componente estrutural da parede celular de fungos e exoesqueletos de muitos invertebrados pragas, tais como insetos e nemat?ides. Em sistemas digest?rios de insetos forma uma matriz denominada de membrana peritr?fica. Um dos mais estudados modelos de intera??o prote?na-carboidrato ? o modelo que envolve as prote?nas ligantes ? quitina. Dentre os motivos j? caracterizados envolvidos nesta intera??o se destacam o motivo heve?na (HD), obtida de Hevea brasiliensis (Seringueira), o motivo R&R consenso (R&R), encontrado em prote?nas cuticulares de insetos, e o motivo denominado neste estudo como motivo conglicinina (CD), encontrado na estrutura cristalogr?fica da &#946;-conglicinina complexada com GlcNac. Estes tr?s motivos de liga??o ? quitina foram usados para determinar qual(is) deles poderia(m) estar envolvido(s) in silico na intera??o das vicilinas de Canavalia ensiformis e Vigna unguiculata com quitina, como tamb?m associar estes resultados com o WD50 destas vicilinas para larvas de Callosobruchus maculatus. A t?cnica de modelagem comparativa foi utilizada para constru??o do modelo 3D da vicilina de V. unguiculata, que n?o foi encontrada nos bancos de dados. Atrav?s do programa ClustalW obteve-se a localiza??o destes dom?nios na estrutura prim?ria das vicilinas. Os dom?nios R&R e CD foram encontrados com maior homologia nas seq??ncias prim?rias das vicilinas e foram alvos de estudos de intera??o. Atrav?s do programa GRAMM foram obtidos modelos de intera??o ( dockings ) das vicilinas com GlcNac. Os resultados mostraram que, atrav?s de an?lises in silico, o motivo HD n?o faz parte da estrutura das vicilinas, comprovando o resultado obtido com o alinhamento das seq??ncias prim?rias; o motivo R&R, apesar de n?o ter semelhan?a estrutural nas vicilinas, provavelmente tem uma participa??o na atividade de intera??o destas com GlcNac; enquanto que o motivo CD participa diretamente na intera??o das vicilinas com GlcNac. Estes resultados in silico mostram que o n?mero de amino?cidos, os tipos e a quantidade de liga??es feitas pelo motivo CD com GlcNac parecem estar diretamente associados ao poder delet?rio que essas vicilinas possuem para larvas de C. maculatus. Isso pode constutuir um passo inicial na elucida??o de como as vicilinas interagem com quitina in vivo e exercem seu poder t?xico para insetos que possuem membrana peritr?fica