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At least 1,027 records · Page 57
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2014

Genome-Based Metabolic Mapping and 13 C Flux Analysis Reveal Systematic Properties of an Oleaginous Microalga Chlorella protothecoides

We report that integrated and genome-based flux balance analysis, metabolomics, and 13 C-label profiling of phototrophic and heterotrophic metabolism in Chlorella protothecoides, an oleaginous green alga for biofuel. The green alga Chlorella protothecoides, capable of autotrophic and heterotrophic growth with rapid lipid synthesis, is a promising candidate for biofuel production. Based on the newly available genome knowledge of the alga, we reconstructed the compartmentalized metabolic network consisting of 272 metabolic reactions, 270 enzymes, and 461 encoding genes and simulated the growth in different cultivation conditions with flux balance analysis. Phenotype-phase plane analysis shows conditions achieving theoretical maximum of the biomass and corresponding fatty acid-producing rate for phototrophic cells (the ratio of photon uptake rate to CO 2 uptake rate equals 8.4) and heterotrophic ones (the glucose uptake rate to O 2 consumption rate reaches 2.4), respectively. Isotope-assisted liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry reveals higher metabolite concentrations in the glycolytic pathway and the tricarboxylic acid cycle in heterotrophic cells compared with autotrophic cells. We also observed enhanced levels of ATP, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (phosphate), reduced, acetyl-Coenzyme A, and malonyl-Coenzyme A in heterotrophic cells consistently, consistent with a strong activity of lipid synthesis. To profile the flux map in experimental conditions, we applied nonstationary 13 C metabolic flux analysis as a complementing strategy to flux balance analysis. We found that the result reveals negligible photorespiratory fluxes and a metabolically low active tricarboxylic acid cycle in phototrophic C. protothecoides. In comparison, high throughput of amphibolic reactions and the tricarboxylic acid cycle with no glyoxylate shunt activities were measured for heterotrophic cells. Lastly, taken together, the metabolic network modeling assisted by experimental metabolomics and 13 C labeling better our understanding on global metabolism of oleaginous alga, paving the way to the systematic engineering of the microalga for biofuel production.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Reduced Arogenate Dehydratase Expression: Ramifications for Photosynthesis and Metabolism

Arogenate dehydratase (ADT) catalyzes the final step of phenylalanine biosynthesis. Previously, lignin contents of ADT deficient Arabidopsis thaliana mutant plants were measured, with these showing significant reductions that increased with the number of isoforms knocked-out. Here we describe the effects of ADT modulation on photosynthetic parameters and overall secondary metabolism in short day length grown plants. To do this, we employed our phenomics facility to determine significant effects on photosynthetic parameters. The data indicated that reduction of carbon flux into phenylalanine biosynthesis in ADT mutants impairs consumption of photosynthetically produced ATP leading to increased ATP/ADP ratio and over-accumulation of transitory starch and lower electron transport rates. The latter is caused by an increased proton motive force across the thylakoid membrane that activates down-regulation of photosystem II activity by the high energy quenching mechanism. At the same time, we have used UPLC-MS based metabolomics analyses to determine changes in secondary metabolite contents. Using this approach, the systemic effects of ADT modulation became apparent, establishing a reduction in flavonoid, phenylpropanoid, lignan and glucosinolate contents; this included glucosinolates that were not aromatic amino acid derived. On the other hand, we observed a significant increase in putatively annotated galactolipids and apocarotenoids. Additionally, we used real-time atmospheric monitoring mass spectrometry to measure differential respiration and carbon fixation rates between wild-type plants and our most extreme ADT knock-out mutant, adt3/4/5/6. We observed that respiration rates were not significantly, different but carbon fixation rates in the adt3/4/5/6 mutant were higher than in wild-type.

phenylpropanoid, arogenate dehydratase, photosynth↗
DOE OSTI2015

Arabidopsis TRIGALACTOSYLDIACYLGLYCEROL5 Interacts with TGD1, TGD2, and TGD4 to Facilitate Lipid Transfer from the Endoplasmic Reticulum to Plastids

The biogenesis of photosynthetic membranes in the plastids of higher plants requires an extensive supply of lipid precursors from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Four TRIGALACTOSYLDIACYLGLYCEROL (TGD) proteins (TGD1,2,3,4) have thus far been implicated in this lipid transfer process. While TGD1, TGD2, and TGD3 constitute an ATP binding cassette transporter complex residing in the plastid inner envelope, TGD4 is a transmembrane lipid transfer protein present in the outer envelope. These observations raise questions regarding how lipids transit across the aqueous intermembrane space. Here in this paper, we describe the isolation and characterization of a novel Arabidopsis thaliana gene, TGD5. Disruption of TGD5 results in similar phenotypic effects as previously described in tgd1,2,3,4 mutants, including deficiency of ER-derived thylakoid lipids, accumulation of oligogalactolipids, and triacylglycerol. Genetic analysis indicates that TGD4 is epistatic to TGD5 in ER-to-plastid lipid trafficking, whereas double mutants of a null tgd5 allele with tgd1-1 or tgd2-1 show a synergistic embryo-lethal phenotype. TGD5 encodes a small glycine-rich protein that is localized in the envelope membranes of chloroplasts. In addition, coimmunoprecipitation assays show that TGD5 physically interacts with TGD1, TGD2, TGD3, and TGD4. Collectively, these results suggest that TGD5 facilitates lipid transfer from the outer to the inner plastid envelope by bridging TGD4 with the TGD1,2,3 transporter complex.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

Arabidopsis DGD1 SUPPRESSOR1 Is a Subunit of the Mitochondrial Contact Site and Cristae Organizing System and Affects Mitochondrial Biogenesis

Mitochondrial and plastid biogenesis requires the biosynthesis and assembly of proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids. In Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), the mitochondrial outer membrane protein DGD1 SUPPRESSOR1 (DGS1) is part of a large multi-subunit protein complex that contains the mitochondrial contact site and cristae organizing system 60-kD subunit, the translocase of outer mitochondrial membrane 40-kD subunit (TOM40), the TOM20s, and the Rieske FeS protein. A point mutation in DGS1, dgs1-1, altered the stability and protease accessibility of this complex. This altered mitochondrial biogenesis, mitochondrial size, lipid content and composition, protein import, and respiratory capacity. Whole plant physiology was affected in the dgs1-1 mutant as evidenced by tolerance to imposed drought stress and altered transcriptional responses of markers of mitochondrial retrograde signaling. Putative orthologs of Arabidopsis DGS1 are conserved in eukaryotes, including the Nuclear Control of ATP Synthase2 (NCA2) protein in yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), but lost in Metazoa. The genes encoding DGS1 and NCA2 are part of a similar coexpression network including genes encoding proteins involved in mitochondrial fission, morphology, and lipid homeostasis. Thus, DGS1 links mitochondrial protein and lipid import with cellular lipid homeostasis and whole plant stress responses.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2013

Structural and functional characterization of a noncanonical nucleoside triphosphate pyrophosphatase from Thermotoga maritima

A 2.15 Å resolution crystal structure of TM0159 with bound IMP and enzyme-kinetic data are presented. This noncanonical nucleoside triphosphatase from T. maritima helps to maintain a correct pool of DNA and RNA precursor molecules. The hyperthermophilic bacterium Thermotoga maritima has a noncanonical nucleoside triphosphatase that catalyzes the conversion of inosine triphosphate (ITP), deoxyinosine triphosphate (dITP) and xanthosine triphosphate (XTP) into inosine monophosphate (IMP), deoxyinosine monophosphate (IMP) and xanthosine monophosphate (XMP), respectively. The k{sub cat}/K{sub m} values determined at 323 and 353 K fall between 1.31 × 10{sup 4} and 7.80 × 10{sup 4} M{sup −1} s{sup −1}. ITP and dITP are slightly preferred over XTP. Activity towards canonical nucleoside triphosphates (ATP and GTP) was not detected. The enzyme has an absolute requirement for Mg{sup 2+} as a cofactor and has a preference for alkaline conditions. A protein X-ray structure of the enzyme with bound IMP was obtained at 2.15 Å resolution. The active site houses a well conserved network of residues that are critical for substrate recognition and catalysis. The crystal structure shows a tetramer with two possible dimer interfaces. One of these interfaces strongly resembles the dimer interface that is found in the structures of other noncanonical nucleoside pyrophosphatases from human (human ITPase) and archaea (Mj0226 and PhNTPase)

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2013

Combining crystallography and EPR: crystal and solution structures of the multidomain cochaperone DnaJ

The crystal structure of the N-terminal part of T. thermophilus DnaJ unexpectedly showed an ordered GF domain and guided the design of a construct enabling the first structure determination of a complete DnaJ cochaperone molecule. By combining the crystal structures with spin-labelling EPR and cross-linking in solution, a dynamic view of this flexible molecule was developed. Hsp70 chaperones assist in a large variety of protein-folding processes in the cell. Crucial for these activities is the regulation of Hsp70 by Hsp40 cochaperones. DnaJ, the bacterial homologue of Hsp40, stimulates ATP hydrolysis by DnaK (Hsp70) and thus mediates capture of substrate protein, but is also known to possess chaperone activity of its own. The first structure of a complete functional dimeric DnaJ was determined and the mobility of its individual domains in solution was investigated. Crystal structures of the complete molecular cochaperone DnaJ from Thermus thermophilus comprising the J, GF and C-terminal domains and of the J and GF domains alone showed an ordered GF domain interacting with the J domain. Structure-based EPR spin-labelling studies as well as cross-linking results showed the existence of multiple states of DnaJ in solution with different arrangements of the various domains, which has implications for the function of DnaJ.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Structure of Mycobacterium tuberculosis phosphopantetheine adenylyltransferase in complex with the feedback inhibitor CoA reveals only one active-site conformation

Phosphopantetheine adenylyltransferase (PPAT) catalyzes the penultimate step in the coenzyme A (CoA) biosynthetic pathway, reversibly transferring an adenylyl group from ATP to 4'-phosphopantetheine to form dephosphocoenzyme A (dPCoA). To complement recent biochemical and structural studies on Mycobacterium tuberculosis PPAT (MtPPAT) and to provide further insight into the feedback regulation of MtPPAT by CoA, the X-ray crystal structure of the MtPPAT enzyme in complex with CoA was determined to 2.11 {angstrom} resolution. Unlike previous X-ray crystal structures of PPAT-CoA complexes from other bacteria, which showed two distinct CoA conformations bound to the active site, only one conformation of CoA is observed in the MtPPAT-CoA complex.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

Crystal structure of the antigen-binding fragment of a monoclonal antibody specific for the multidrug-resistance-linked ABC transporter human P-glycoprotein

P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is a polyspecific ATP-dependent transporter linked to multidrug resistance in cancers that plays important roles in the pharmacokinetics of a large number of drugs. The drug-resistance phenotype of P-gp can be modulated by the monoclonal antibody UIC2, which specifically recognizes human P-gp in a conformation-dependent manner. Here, the purification, sequence determination and high-resolution structure of the Fab fragment of UIC2 (UIC2/Fab) are reported. Purified UIC2/Fab binds human P-gp with a 1:1 stoichiometry. Crystals of UIC2/Fab are triclinic (space group P 1), with unit-cell parameters a = 40.67, b = 44.91, c = 58.09 Å, α = 97.62, β = 99.10, γ = 94.09°, and diffracted X-rays to 1.6 Å resolution. The structure was determined by molecular replacement and refined to 1.65 Å resolution. The asymmetric unit contains one molecule of UIC2/Fab, which exhibits a positively charged antigen-binding surface, suggesting that it might recognize an oppositely charged extracellular epitope of P-gp.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

Structural basis for the diversity of the mechanism of nucleotide hydrolysis by the aminoglycoside-2"-phosphotransferases

Aminoglycoside phosphotransferases (APHs) are one of three families of aminoglycoside-modifying enzymes that confer high-level resistance to the aminoglycoside antibiotics via enzymatic modification. This has now rendered many clinically important drugs almost obsolete. The APHs specifically phosphorylate hydroxyl groups on the aminoglycosides using a nucleotide triphosphate as the phosphate donor. The APH(2′′) family comprises four distinct members, isolated primarily from Enterococcus sp., which vary in their substrate specificities and also in their preference for the phosphate donor (ATP or GTP). In this work, the structure of the ternary complex of APH(2′′)-IIIa with GDP and kanamycin was solved at 1.34 Å resolution and was compared with substrate-bound structures of APH(2′′)-Ia, APH(2′′)-IIa and APH(2′′)-IVa. In contrast to the case for APH(2′′)-Ia, where it was proposed that the enzyme-mediated hydrolysis of GTP is regulated by conformational changes in its N-terminal domain upon GTP binding, APH(2′′)-IIa, APH(2′′)-IIIa and APH(2′′)-IVa show no such regulatory mechanism, primarily owing to structural differences in the N-terminal domains of these enzymes.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Geomagnetic Disturbance Uncertainty Quantification Modeling: An Electromagnetic Transient and Steady-State Simulation Based Approach

Geomagnetic disturbances have been shown to disrupt the operation of the bulk electrical system through low-frequency effects in the earth's magnetic field that in turn induce changing electrical fields on the earth's surface. As a result, geomagnetically induced currents flow in transmission lines, introducing the risk for widespread damage to high-voltage transformers and voltage collapse due to induced reactive power loss. In a previous paper, the authors showed how certain modeling assumptions can lead to results that are unacceptable in certain edge case scenarios. In this paper, the authors build on their previous results using modeling uncertainty quantification in order to compare the results from electromagnetic transient program modeling software, ATP, to the positive-sequence calculation software, PowerWorld.

Bretas, Arturo Suman↗
DOE OSTI2017

Genes essential for phototrophic growth by a purple alphaproteobacterium: Genes for phototrophic growth

Anoxygenic purple phototrophic bacteria have served as important models for studies of photophosphorylation. The pigment-protein complexes responsible for converting light energy to ATP are relatively simple and these bacteria can grow heterotrophically under aerobic conditions, thus allowing for the study of mutants defective in photophosphorylation. In the past, genes responsible for anoxygenic phototrophic growth have been identified in a number of different bacterial species. Here we systematically studied the genetic basis for this metabolism by using Tn-seq to identify genes essential for the anaerobic growth of the purple bacterium Rhodopseudomonas palustris on acetate in light. We identified 171 genes required for growth in this condition, 35 of which are annotated as photosynthesis genes. Among these are a few new genes not previously shown to be essential for phototrophic growth. We verified the essentiality of many of the genes we identified by analyzing the phenotypes of mutants we generated by Tn mutagenesis that had altered pigmentation. We used directed mutagenesis to verify that the R. palustris NADH:quinone oxidoreductase complex IE is essential for phototrophic growth. As a complement to the genetic data, we carried out proteomics experiments in which we found that 429 proteins were present in significantly higher amounts in cells grown anaerobically in light compared to aerobically. Among these were proteins encoded by subset of the phototrophic growth-essential genes.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

Syntrophus aciditrophicus uses the same enzymes in a reversible manner to degrade and synthesize aromatic and alicyclic acids

We report that syntrophy is essential for the efficient conversion of organic carbon to methane in natural and constructed environments, but little is known about the enzymes involved in syntrophic carbon and electron flow. Syntrophus aciditrophicus strain SB syntrophically degrades benzoate and cyclohexane-1-carboxylate and catalyzes the novel synthesis of benzoate and cyclohexane-1-carboxylate from crotonate. We used proteomic, biochemical, and metabolomic approaches to determine what enzymes are used for fatty, aromatic, and alicyclic acid degradation versus for benzoate and cyclohexane-1-carboxylate synthesis. Enzymes involved in the metabolism of cyclohex-1,5-diene carboxyl-CoA to acetyl-CoA were in high abundance in S. aciditrophicus cells grown in pure culture on crotonate and in coculture with Methanospirillum hungatei on crotonate, benzoate or cyclohexane-1-carboxylate. Incorporation of 13 C-atoms from 1-[ 13 C]-acetate into crotonate, benzoate, and cyclohexane-1-carboxylate during growth on these different substrates showed that the pathways are reversible. A protein conduit for syntrophic reverse electron transfer from acyl-CoA intermediates to formate was detected. Ligases and membrane-bound pyrophosphatases make pyrophosphate needed for the synthesis of ATP by an acetyl-CoA synthetase. S. aciditrophicus, thus, uses a core set of enzymes that operates close to thermodynamic equilibrium to conserve energy in a novel and highly efficient manner.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

Deep‐sea hydrothermal vent metagenome‐assembled genomes provide insight into the phylum Nanoarchaeota

Summary Ectosymbiotic Nanoarchaeota live on the surface of diverse archaeal hosts. Despite being broadly distributed in global geothermal systems, only three Nanoarchaeota have been successfully co‐cultivated with their hosts, and until now no nanoarchaeotal cultures or genomes have been described from deep‐sea hydrothermal vents. We recovered three nanoarchaeotal metagenome‐assembled genomes (MAGs) from deep‐sea hydrothermal vent sites at the Eastern Lau Spreading Center (M10‐121), Guaymas Basin (Gua‐46) and the Mid‐Cayman Rise (MC‐1). Based on average amino acid identity analysis, M10‐121 is a novel species in the candidate genus Nanoclepta, while the other two MAGs represent novel genera in the Nanoarchaeota . Like previously sequenced Nanoarchaeota, each MAG encodes at least one split protein‐coding gene. The MAGs also contain a mosaic of key nanoarchaeotal features, including CRISPR repeat regions and marker genes for gluconeogenesis and archaeal flagella. MC‐1 also encodes the pentose bisphosphate pathway, which may allow the nanoarchaeote to bypass several steps in glycolysis and produce ATP.

St. John, Emily↗
DOE OSTI2023

Novel genetic tools improve Penicillium expansum patulin synthase production in Aspergillus niger

Since the first CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)‐Cas (CRISPR‐associated) system was developed for creating double‐stranded DNA breaks, it has been adapted and improved for different biotechnological applications. In this issue of The FEBS Journal , Arentshorst et al . developed a novel approach to enhance transgene expression of a specific protein, patulin synthase (PatE) from Penicillium expansum , in the important industrial filamentous fungus Aspergillus niger . Their technique involved the disruption of selected genes with counter‐effects on targeted protein production and simultaneous integration of glucoamylase landing sites into the disrupted gene locus such as protease regulator ( prtT ) in an ATP‐dependent DNA helicase II subunit 1 ( kusA or ku70 ) ‐ deletion strain. Multiple copies of the PatE transgene expression cassette were introduced by CRISPR‐Cas9‐mediated insertion. The purified PatE was further used for structural and functional studies, and the technique laid the foundation for elevating the overall production of various proteins or chemicals in those industrially important fungi.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2014

An evolutionarily conserved RNase-based mechanism for repression of transcriptional positive autoregulation

It is known that environmental context influences the degree of regulation at the transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. However, the principles governing the differential usage and interplay of regulation at these two levels are not clear. Here, we show that the integration of transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms in a characteristic network motif drives efficient environment-dependent state transitions. Through phenotypic screening, systems analysis, and rigorous experimental validation, we discovered an RNase (VNG2099C) in Halobacterium salinarum that is transcriptionally co-regulated with genes of the aerobic physiologic state but acts on transcripts of the anaerobic state. Through modelling and experimentation we show that this arrangement generates an efficient state-transition switch, within which RNase-repression of a transcriptional positive autoregulation (RPAR) loop is critical for shutting down ATP-consuming active potassium uptake to conserve energy required for salinity adaptation under aerobic, high potassium, or dark conditions. Subsequently, we discovered that many Escherichia coli operons with energy-associated functions are also putatively controlled by RPAR indicating that this network motif may have evolved independently in phylogenetically distant organisms. Thus, our data suggest that interplay of transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation in the RPAR motif is a generalized principle for efficient environment-dependent state transitions across prokaryotes.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2018

Downregulation of mitochondrial alternative oxidase affects chloroplast function, redox status and stress response in a marine diatom

Diatom dominance in contemporary aquatic environments indicates that they have developed unique and effective mechanisms to cope with the rapid and considerable fluctuations that characterize these environments. In view of their evolutionary history from a secondary endosymbiosis, inter-organellar regulation of biochemical activities may be of particular relevance. Diatom mitochondrial alternative oxidase (AOX) is believed to play a significant role in supplying chloroplasts with ATP produced in the mitochondria. Using the model diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum we generated AOX knockdown lines, and followed sensitivity to stressors, photosynthesis and transcriptome and metabolome profiles of wild-type and knockdown lines. We show here that expression of the AOX gene is upregulated by various stresses including H 2 O 2 , heat, high light illumination, and iron or nitrogen limitation. AOX knockdown results in hypersensitivity to stress. Knockdown lines also show significantly reduced photosynthetic rates and their chloroplasts are more oxidized. Comparisons of transcriptome and metabolome profiles suggest a strong impact of AOX activity on gene expression, which is carried through to the level of the metabolome. Our data provide evidence for the involvement of mitochondrial AOX in processes central to the cell biology of diatoms, revealing that cross-talk between mitochondria and chloroplasts is crucial for maintaining sensitivity to changing environments.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗