Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Saccharomyces cerevisiae Eukaryotes'

The mechanism of protein sorting to the vacuole in yeast was studied both in vitro and in vivo. A series of experiments were performed to reconstitute transport of carboxypeptidase Y (CPY) from Golgi vesicles to vacuoles. In order to investigate this process, microsomes were purified from sec, pep4-3 mutant strains that accumulate inactive proCPY in the Golgi when incubated at the nonpermissive temperature. These were mixed with purified vacuoles isolated from a mutant lacking CPY activity, but containing active proteinases A and B. Transported proCPY is maturated by these proteinases to active form. Experiments indicate that maturation of CPY is due to the correct transport of proCPY from microsomes to vacuoles because:- Firstly, the reaction is temperature sensitive, requires ATP and is stimulated by the addition of soluble factors (S100). Secondly, the addition of proteinase A and B inhibitors to the reaction mixtures has a negligible effect on the maturation process. Thirdly, disrupting the membranes by the addition of Triton X-100 before addition of the proteinase inhibitors, inhibited the maturation of proCPY. Fourthly, the majority of CPY activity was observed in the sedimented fraction of the reaction mixtures rather than supernatant fractions. Lastly, analysis with western blot shows a clear band of mature CPY only in the sedimented fraction of the reaction mixtures with ATP. This in vitro system will be invaluable in investigating the molecular events of vacuolar biogenesis. For in vivo sorting of proteins to the vacuole, a series of experiments were performed that involved the genetic fusion of the CPY promoter and prepro-sequence of CPY to the bacterial Gus (β-glucuronidase) reporter gene. The Gus gene was expressed in yeast with high efficiency and the results of sub-cellular fractionation indicated that the Gus product was distributed in all cell components. Using a centromeric vector gave similar results but with a lower efficiency of Gus expression. Removal of 90bp from Gus, including Gus initiation codon does not completely inhibit Gus expression either in bacteria or in yeast. Fusion of the shortened Gus with the CPY prepro-fragment and expression in yeast led to the correct sorting of the CPY-Gus hybrid protein to the vacuole. This CPY-Gus fusion is potentially useful in the genetic analysis of mutations defective in vacuolar protein sorting.

xi, 81 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number.
Post-translational modification of proteins is an important cellular method of controlling various aspects of protein activity, including protein-protein interactions, half- life, and transport. An important class of post-translational modifications involves the ubiquitin family of proteins. In these modifications, a small protein, such as ubiquitin, is conjugated to a target protein through an isopeptide bond. Conjugation by a ubiquitin family member acts as a signal to regulate the activity, function, or stability of the target protein. Urm1, a ubiquitin-like protein conserved throughout all eukaryotes, was initially identified in S. cerevisiae. Loss of Urm1 leads to the disruption of a variety of cellular processes, including oxidative stress response, filamentous growth, and temperature sensitivity. This body of work comprises efforts to identify novel targets of Urm1, the mechanism by which Urm1 is attached to target proteins, and the physiological consequences of such conjugation. To gain understanding of the function and mechanism of Urm1 conjugation, the only known conjugate of Urm1, the peroxiredoxin reductase Ahp1, was examined in an effort to identify the site of modification on Ahp1 and to evaluate the physiological consequences of urmylation of Ahp1. I then completed a series of screens--a synthetic lethal screen, a two-hybrid screen, and a protein over-expression screen--to identify novel Urm1 conjugates and cellular functions dependent on Urm1. Of particular interest were genes identified in the synthetic lethal screen, namely PTC1, which encodes a protein phosphatase, and a set of genes encoding the Elongator complex, which functions in transcriptional elongation and tRNA modification. During this time period, other groups showed that thiolation of tRNAs depends on Urm1. Thus, Urm1 does not function only in protein conjugation, but also as a sulfur carrier in the thiolation of tRNA. Interestingly, I identified Elp2, a component of the Elongator complex, as a new Urm1-conjugate. Because Elp2 is also required for tRNA modification, perhaps Urm1 plays more than one role in tRNA modification. Loss of tRNA modification may disrupt many cellular functions and could explain the variety of urm1 mutant phenotypes. I have determined that all known Urm1 dependent processes are also associated with tRNA modification.
Committee in charge: Karen Guillemin, Chairperson, Biology; George Sprague, Advisor, Biology; Alice Barkan, Member, Biology; Kenneth Prehoda, Member, Chemistry; Tom Stevens, Outside Member, Chemistry

O sistema celulolítico do fungo filamentoso Trichoderma reesei é induzido transcricionalmente em pelo menos 1000 vezes pelo crescimento do fungo na presença de celulose e fortemente reprimido por glicose. Usando a abordagem de deleção no promotor, determinou-se que a região localizada entre -241 e -72 bp, em relação ao TATA box, denominada UARcb1, é responsável pela transcrição estimulada por celulose da enzima celobiohidrolase I (cbhl). Neste trabalho mostramos que essa região controla a transcrição de um gene repórter, sofrendo repressão por glicose, em Saccharomyces cerevisiae, um microrganismo que não possui os genes necessários para a utilização de celulose. A transcrição mediada por UARcbl, que é controlada por glicose, requer o produto do gene SNFl, uma proteína quinase, e dois repressores: SSN6 e TUP1, cujos papéis no controle de genes reprimidos por glicose, na levedura, são bem estabelecidos. Nossos resultados indicam um mecanismo conservado de controle por glicose em microrganismos eucarióticos.
The cellulotic system of the filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei is transcriptionally induced 1000 -fold in presence of cellulose and is strongly repressed by glucose. Using the promoter deletion approach, the upstream activating region (UARcbl) responsible for cellulose-stimulated transcription of the major member of the cellulase system, cellobiohydrolase I, was localized between -241 and -72 relative to the TATA box. In this work we show that this region controls transcription and mediates glucose repression of a reporter gene in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a unicellular microorganism that lacks the genes required for the utilization of cellulose. Glucose-controlled transcription mediated by the UARcbl requires the product of SNF1 gene, a protein kinase, and two repressors SSN6 and TUP1, which are well estalished in controlling glucose-represible yeast genes. Our results indicate a conserved mechanism of glucose control in eukariotic microorganisms.

Ce travail porte sur l'étude de la fidélité de la traduction chez les eucaryotes d'un point de vue mécanistique et génomique. Au cours de ma thèse j'ai développé trois approches :Le premier projet porte sur l'étude du rôle du facteur de l'élongation eEF2 dans le maintien du cadre de lecture. La stratégie associe une mutagénèse aléatoire du gène EFT2 à un criblage phénotypique, elle permet d'isoler des mutants capables d'augmenter ou diminuer l'efficacité de recodage d'une séquence de décalage du cadre de lecture en -1.Le second projet décrit la mise au point d'un système de traduction en molécule unique qui permet d'étudier le ribosome eucaryote. La traduction est initiée grâce à l'IRES CrPV qui a pour caractéristique d'être totalement indépendante des facteurs d'initiation et de l'ARNt initiateur. L'élongation de la traduction est détectée grâce au départ d'un oligonucléotide fluorescent qui est décroché par l'activité hélicase du ribosome. Les résultats de ces expériences constituent une preuve de principe démontrant que l'étude de la traduction eucaryote en molécule unique est possible.Le troisième projet est une étude de génomique comparative qui permet de rechercher des événements de recodage ainsi que d'autres événements non-conventionnels de la traduction dans le génome de la levure Saccharomyces cerevisiae. L'approche est basée sur une recherche d'organisations génomiques conservées au sein de 19 génomes de levures. Les gènes candidats sont testés in vivo grâce à un vecteur double rapporteur. Cette étude a permis de mettre en évidence le gène VOA1 qui a été ensuite caractérisé plus en détails.

This study examined the role of PYKI coding sequences in the expression of PYK1::lacZ gene fusions in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Further aims were to examine the effects of the vector system upon the mRNA levels from these gene fusions the effect that these gene fusions have upon the yeast cell in general. Analysis of the PYK1::lacZ gene fusions revealed that PYK1 coding sequences were responsible for elevating mRNA levels. This elevation was not due to a single element within the coding region of the PYK1 gene as had been previously proposed (Purvis et al., 1987a; Lithgow, 1989). Models for the stimulatory action of the PYK1 coding region upon the transcription of the PYK1::lacZ gene fusion were presented. PYKI coding region fragments in the PYK1::lacZ gene fusions stabilized the mRNA, but the data presented here were not consistent with a stability element within the PYK1 coding region. An alternative model was presented whereby the translation rate of the mRNA can influence its decay. The effect of expression of these gene fusions upon the yeast cell in general was monitored by examining the mRNA level of two chromosomal loci, PYK1 and PGK1, and by measuring the generation time. In contrast to previous findings, PYK1 and PGK1 mRNA levels were found not to change and so it was concluded that expression of these gene fusions had no general effect upon transcription or mRNA decay. However expression of these gene fusions did lead to an increase in generation time, and it was proposed that this might be due to a general effect upon translation brought about by a reduction in the intracellular pools of tRNAs for non-preferred codons.

Thesis (PhD (Science) (Viticulture and Oenology. Wine Biotechnology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Carnitine plays an essential role in eukaryotic metabolism by mediating the shuttling of activated acyl residues between intracellular compartments. This function of carnitine, referred to as the carnitine shuttle, is supported by the activities of carnitine acyltransferases and carnitine/acylcarnitine transporters, and is reasonably well studied and understood. While this function remains the only metabolically well established role of carnitine, several studies have been reporting beneficial effects associated with dietary carnitine supplementation, and some of those beneficial impacts appear not to be directly linked to shuttle activity. This study makes use of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a cellular model system in order to study the impact of carnitine and of the carnitine shuttle on cellular physiology, and also investigates the eukaryotic carnitine biosynthesis pathway. The carnitine shuttle of S. cerevisiae relies on the activity of three carnitine acetyltransferases (CATs), namely Cat2p (located in the peroxisome and mitochondria), Yat1p (on the outer mitochondrial membrane) and Yat2p (in the cytosol), which catalyze the reversible transfer of activated acetyl units between CoA and carnitine. The acetylcarnitine moieties can be transferred across the intracellular membranes of the peroxisomes and mitochondria by the activity of the carnitine/acetylcarnitine translocases. The activated acetyl groups can be transferred back to free CoA-SH and further metabolised. In addition to the carnitine shuttle, yeast can also utilize the glyoxylate cycle for further metabolisation of in particular peroxisomally generated acetyl-CoA. This cycle results in the net production of succinate from two molecules of acetyl-CoA. This dicarboxylic acid can then enter the mitochondria for further metabolism. Partial disruption of the glyoxylate cycle, by deletion of the citrate synthase 2 (CIT2) gene, generates a yeast strain that is completely dependent on the activity of the carnitine shuttle and, as a consequence, on carnitine supplementation for growth on fatty acids and other non-fermentable carbon sources. In this study, we show that all three CATs are required for the function of the carnitine shuttle. Furthermore, overexpression of any of the three enzymes is unable to crosscomplement deletion of any one of the remaining two, suggesting a highly specific role for each CAT in the function of the shuttle. In addition, a role for carnitine that is independent of the carnitine shuttle is described. The data show that carnitine can influence the cellular response to oxidative stresses. Interestingly, carnitine supplementation has a protective effect against certain ROS generating oxidants, but detrimentally impacts cellular survival when combined with thiol modifying agents. Although carnitine is shown to behave like an antioxidant within a cellular context, the molecule is unable to scavenge free radicals. The protective and detrimental impacts are dependent on the general regulators of the cells protection against oxidative stress such as Yap1p and Skn7p. Furthermore, from the results of a microarray based screen, a role for the cytochrome c heme lyase (Cyc3p) in both the protective and detrimental effects of carnitine is described. The requirement of cytochrome c is suggestive of an involvement in apoptotic processes, a hypothesis that is supported by the analysis of the impact of carnitine on genome wide transcription levels. A separate aim of this project involved the cloning and expression in S. cerevisiae of the four genes encoding the enzymes from the eukaryotic carnitine biosynthesis pathway. The cloned genes, expressed from the constitutive PGK1 promoter, were sequentially integrated into the yeast genome, thereby reconstituting the pathway. The results of a plate based screen for carnitine production indicate that the engineered laboratory strains of S. cerevisiae are able to convert trimethyllysine to L-carnitine. This work forms the basis for a larger study that aims to generate carnitine producing industrial yeast strains, which could be used in commercial applications.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Karnitien vervul ‘n noodsaaklike rol in eukariotiese metabolisme deur die pendel van asiel residue tussen intersellulêre kompartemente te medieer. Hierdie funksie van karnitien heet “die karnitien-pendel“ en word ondersteun deur verskeie karnitien asieltransferases en karnitine/asielkarnitien oordragsprotiëne. Die rol van die karnitien-pendel is redelik goed gekarakteriseer en is tot op hede die enigste bevestigde rol van karnitien in eukariotiese metabolisme. Verskeie onlangse studies dui egter op voordele geasosieer met karnitien aanvulling, wat in sommige gevalle blyk om onafhanklik te wees van die pendel aktiwiteit van karnitien. Hierdie studie maak gebruik van die gis, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, as ‘n sellulêre model sisteem om die impak van karnitien op sel fisiologie asook die eukariotiese karnitien biosintese pad te bestudeer. Die karnitien-pendel van S. Cerevisiae is afhanklik van die aktiwiteite van drie afsonderlike karnitien asetieltransferases (CATs), naamlik Cat2p (gelokaliseer in die peroksisoom en die mitochondria), Yat1p (op die buitenste membraan van die mitochondria) en Yat2p (in die sitosol). Die drie ensieme kataliseer die omkeerbare oordrag van asetielgroepe tussen CoA en karnitien. Die terugwaartse reaksie stel CoA-SH vry om sodoende verbruik te word in verdere metaboliese reaksies. Gis is in staat om, afsonderlik van die karnitien-pendel, gebruik te maak van die glioksilaat siklus vir verdere metabolisme van asetiel-CoA wat gevorm word in die peroksisoom. Gedeeltelike onderbreking van hierdie siklus deur uitwissing van die sitraat sintase (CIT2) geen, genereer ’n gisras wat afhanklik is van die funksie van die karnitienpendel en ook van karnitien aanvulling vir groei op vetsure en nie-fermenteerbare koolstofbronne. Hierdie studie dui daarop dat al drie CATs noodsaaklik is vir die funksionering van die karnitien-pendel. Ooruitdrukking van enige van die drie ensieme lei slegs tot selfkomplementasie en nie tot kruis-komplementasie van die ander twee CATs nie. Hieruit word ’n hoogs spesifieke rol vir elk van die drie ensieme afgelei. ’n Pendel-onafhanklike rol vir karnitien word ook in hierdie werk uitgewys in die bevordering van weerstand teen oksidatiewe stres. Dit is noemenswaardig dat karnitien ’n beskermende effek het in kombinasie met oksidante wat ROS genereer en ’n nadelige effek in kombinasie met sulfhidriel modifiserende agente. Dit word aangedui dat karnitien antioksidant funksie naboots in die konteks van ’n gis sel terwyl die molekuul nie in staat is om vry radikale te deaktiveer nie. Beide die beskermende asook die nadelige inwerking van karnitien is afhanklik van Yap1p en Skn7p, wat reguleerders is in die algemene beskerming teen oksidatiewe stres. Die resultate van ’n “microarray“ gebaseerde studie dui op ’n rol vir die sitokroom c heem liase (Cyc3p) in beide die beskermende en nadelige gevolge van karnitien aanvulling. Die vereiste vir sitochroom c dui op ’n moontlike rol vir apoptotiese prosesse. Hierdie hipotese word verder versterk deur ‘n analise van die impak van karnitien op genoomwye transkripsievlakke. ’n Afsonderlike doelwit van hierdie studie was toegespits op die klonering en uitdrukking van die vier ensieme betrokke in eukariotiese karnitien biosintese in S. cerevisiae. Die gekloneerde gene, uitgedruk vanaf die konstitutiewe PGK1 promotor, was geïntigreer in die gisgenoom om die pad op te bou. Die resultate van ’n plaat gebaseerde karnitien produksie toets dui aan dat die geneties gemanipuleerde gisrasse wel in staat is om trimetiellisien oor te skakel in Lkarnitien. Hierdie werk vorm die hoeksteen van ’n studie wat die ontwikkeling van karnitien produserende kommersiële gisrasse as doelwit stel.

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Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)
Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)
O fator de início de tradução de eucariotos 5A (eIF5A) é uma proteína altamente conservada desde arquebactérias a mamíferos e sofre uma modificação póstraducional única, necessária para sua maturação funcional, chamada de hipusinação. Apesar do grau de conservação de eIF5A, e da essencialidade de sua função nos organismos estudados, seu papel no metabolismo celular ainda se encontra indeterminado. Vários mutantes condicionais de eIF5A, sensíveis ao aumento de temperatura, têm sido isolados e caracterizados na levedura Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Utilizando um desses mutantes de eIF5A, o alelo tif51A-1, foi isolado o gene PKC1 como um supressor em alto número de cópias do fenótipo de sensibilidade a temperatura deste mutante. O entendimento de como se dá esta interação genética foi um dos enfoques deste trabalho. Foi mostrado que a via de MAP quinases que atua abaixo de Pkc1 não é responsável pela supressão deste mutante e a identificação dos novos supressores do mutante tif51A-1, GIC1 e ZDS1, levou à sugestão de uma nova via de sinalização a partir de Pkc1. Com a realização de experimentos subsequentes, foi confirmado que a nova via Pkc1-Zds1-Gic1 é responsável pela supressão do mutante tif51A-1 promovida por PKC1. Além disso, estes três supressores são importantes para a polaridade celular em S. cerevisiae, um processo essencial para a progressão no ciclo celular deste organismo, e, interessantemente, os mutantes tif51A-1 e tif51A-3 de eIF5A evidenciaram defeitos na polarização do citoesqueleto de actina na temperatura não permissiva. Esses dados evidenciam uma correlação de eIF5A com progressão no ciclo celular de S. cerevisiae.
The eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5A (eIF5A) is a highly conserved protein from archaebacteria to mammals and undergoes hypusination, an essential unique post-translational modification. Despite the high degree of conservation of eIF5A and its essential function in the studied organisms, its cellular role remains unclear. Several temperature-sensitive eIF5A mutants have been isolated and characterized in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Using one of these mutants, the tif51A-1 allele, PKC1 was identified as a high-copy suppressor of the temperature-sensitive phenotype shown by this mutant. The understanding of this genetic interaction was one of the aims of this work. It was shown that the MAP kinase cascade downstream Pkc1 is not responsible for this phenotypic suppression and the identification of the new tif51A-1 suppressors, GIC1 and ZDS1, suggested a new signaling pathway branching from Pkc1. Further analysis confirmed that Pkc1-Zds1-Gic1 constitute a new pathway that is responsible for tif51A-1 mutant suppression promoted by PKC1. Moreover, these three suppressors are important for cell polarity in S. cerevisiae, an essential process for cell cycle progression in yeast, and, interestingly, the eIF5A mutants tif51A-1 and tif51A-3 showed defects in actin cytoskeleton polarization at the restrictive temperature. These data supported a connection between eIF5A and cell cycle progression in S. cerevisiae. As eIF5A was originally implicated in the process of translation, in order to better investigate the specific function of this factor, polysomal profiling analysis was performed and it was demonstrated that eIF5A interacts with monosomes in a tranlation dependent manner and, besides that, eIF5A mutants show altered polysomal distribution suggesting a possible defect in the elongation step of translation.

Orientador: Sandro Roberto Valentini
Banca: Maria Célia Bertolini
Banca: Gustavo Henrique Goldman
Banca: Carla Columbano de Oliveira
Banca: Nilson Ivo Tonin Zanchin
Resumo: O fator de início de tradução de eucariotos 5A (eIF5A) é uma proteína altamente conservada desde arquebactérias a mamíferos e sofre uma modificação póstraducional única, necessária para sua maturação funcional, chamada de hipusinação. Apesar do grau de conservação de eIF5A, e da essencialidade de sua função nos organismos estudados, seu papel no metabolismo celular ainda se encontra indeterminado. Vários mutantes condicionais de eIF5A, sensíveis ao aumento de temperatura, têm sido isolados e caracterizados na levedura Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Utilizando um desses mutantes de eIF5A, o alelo tif51A-1, foi isolado o gene PKC1 como um supressor em alto número de cópias do fenótipo de sensibilidade a temperatura deste mutante. O entendimento de como se dá esta interação genética foi um dos enfoques deste trabalho. Foi mostrado que a via de MAP quinases que atua abaixo de Pkc1 não é responsável pela supressão deste mutante e a identificação dos novos supressores do mutante tif51A-1, GIC1 e ZDS1, levou à sugestão de uma nova via de sinalização a partir de Pkc1. Com a realização de experimentos subsequentes, foi confirmado que a nova via Pkc1-Zds1-Gic1 é responsável pela supressão do mutante tif51A-1 promovida por PKC1. Além disso, estes três supressores são importantes para a polaridade celular em S. cerevisiae, um processo essencial para a progressão no ciclo celular deste organismo, e, interessantemente, os mutantes tif51A-1 e tif51A-3 de eIF5A evidenciaram defeitos na polarização do citoesqueleto de actina na temperatura não permissiva. Esses dados evidenciam uma correlação de eIF5A com progressão no ciclo celular de S. cerevisiae.
Abstract: The eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5A (eIF5A) is a highly conserved protein from archaebacteria to mammals and undergoes hypusination, an essential unique post-translational modification. Despite the high degree of conservation of eIF5A and its essential function in the studied organisms, its cellular role remains unclear. Several temperature-sensitive eIF5A mutants have been isolated and characterized in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Using one of these mutants, the tif51A-1 allele, PKC1 was identified as a high-copy suppressor of the temperature-sensitive phenotype shown by this mutant. The understanding of this genetic interaction was one of the aims of this work. It was shown that the MAP kinase cascade downstream Pkc1 is not responsible for this phenotypic suppression and the identification of the new tif51A-1 suppressors, GIC1 and ZDS1, suggested a new signaling pathway branching from Pkc1. Further analysis confirmed that Pkc1-Zds1-Gic1 constitute a new pathway that is responsible for tif51A-1 mutant suppression promoted by PKC1. Moreover, these three suppressors are important for cell polarity in S. cerevisiae, an essential process for cell cycle progression in yeast, and, interestingly, the eIF5A mutants tif51A-1 and tif51A-3 showed defects in actin cytoskeleton polarization at the restrictive temperature. These data supported a connection between eIF5A and cell cycle progression in S. cerevisiae. As eIF5A was originally implicated in the process of translation, in order to better investigate the specific function of this factor, polysomal profiling analysis was performed and it was demonstrated that eIF5A interacts with monosomes in a tranlation dependent manner and, besides that, eIF5A mutants show altered polysomal distribution suggesting a possible defect in the elongation step of translation.
Doutor

Translation initiation factor 5A (IF5A) is an essential, highly conserved protein found within all eukaryotic (eIF5A) and archaeal (aIF5A) cells. The IF5A protein is unique in that it contains the amino acid hypusine; a two-step post translational modification of a single, conserved lysine residue. Although hypusination of eIF5A is vital for eukaryotic cell viability, the primary role of the protein and its hypusine side chain remain a mystery. eIF5A, initially identified as a translation initiation factor, is not required for global protein synthesis leading to the prevailing proposal that eIF5A is purely involved in the translation of a select subset of mRNAs. Recently a number of mutational studies have focused on the conserved, hypusine-containing loop region of eIF5A where specific residues have been found to be essential for activity without affecting hypusination. It has been postulated that eIF5A exists as a dimer (40 kDa) under native conditions and that these residues may be at the interface of dimerisation. The aim of this research was therefore to conduct a mutational analysis of the loop region in support of this hypothesis. A functional analysis of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae eIF5A mutant proteins K48D, G50A, H52A and K56A revealed that these substitutions impaired growth to varying degrees in vivo with G50A and K48D mutant proteins displaying the most convincing defects. Gel filtration profiles gave unexpected results determining eIF5A mutant and wild type proteins to have a native molecular weight of 30 to 31 kDa, suggesting that the eIF5A oligomeric state may be transitory and subject to certain conditions. The inconclusive results obtained from using gel filtration studies led to an investigation into the feasibility of producing native, hypusinated peptides for future structural studies using nuclear magnetic resonance. Hypusinated and unhypusinated eIF5A were successfully separated into their domains making this a possibility. Finally, this study proposes a role for eIF5A in eukaryotic IRES-driven translation initiation.

Thesis (Ph.D. in Biophysics & Genetics, Program in Molecular Biology) -- University of Colorado Denver, 2007.
Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 90-98). Free to UCD affiliates. Online version available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations;

The cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells contains several membrane-delimited compartments of specific molecular compositions and functions. Among those, the vacuole of fungal cells is often described as an organelle equivalent to the lysosomes of animal cells and the vacuoles of plant cells. These compartments indeed share two similar features: they contain a wide variety of hydrolases and are the most acidic compartments of the cell, which accounts for their key role in the intracellular degradation of macromolecules. In humans, dysfunctions of the lysosomes often give rise to lysosomal related diseases, such as lysosomal storage disorders. These are a class of metabolic disorders caused by the accumulation of non-degraded macromolecules or impaired export of hydrolytic degradation products. Cystinosis is an autosomal recessive disorder (1/200 000 incidence) generally associated with renal dysfunctions. It is caused by the accumulation and crystallization of cystine, the disulfide of cysteine, into the lumen of lysosomes. Cystinosin, the causative gene product of cystinosis, is present at the lysosomal membrane and catalyses the export of cystine from this compartment. The human cystinosin is a member of the Lysosomal Cystine Transporter (LCT) family. LCT proteins are conserved in all eukaryotic species and are defined by the presence of highly conserved PQ-loop motifs.

During this thesis work, we have studied three LCT proteins of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, named Ypq1, Ypq2 and Ypq3 (Yeast PQ-loop proteins 1, 2 and 3). We first showed that these proteins localize to the vacuolar membrane. We next studied the roles of these proteins, the regulation of their genes and the mechanisms and signals implicated in their delivery to the vacuolar membrane. We also contributed to the functional characterization of a mammalian homologue of yeast Ypq proteins, named rPqlc2.

In the first part of this work, we report that the Ypq proteins are most probably implicated in the export of basic amino acids from the vacuole to the cytosol. More precisely, Ypq2 and Ypq3 behave like vacuolar arginine and lysine exporters, respectively. Interestingly, the mammalian rPqlc2 protein expressed in yeast reaches the vacuolar membrane and functions as an orthologue of the Ypq proteins. Our results also reveal that the expression of the YPQ3 gene is regulated by the Lys14 transcription factor, responsible for the transcriptional activation of the LYS genes encoding enzymes implicated in the biosynthesis of lysine. We have also noted that, in general, the expression of the expression of the YPQ genes is regulated according to the quality of the nitrogen source available in the extracellular medium, eg. YPQ3 is sensitive to the nitrogen catabolite repression regulatory mechanism.

In the last part of this thesis work, we investigated the intracellular trafficking of the Ypq proteins and show that these predominantly reach the vacuolar membrane via the ALP (alkaline phosphatase) pathway due to the presence of a dileucine-based sorting signal in their sequences. Interestingly, a similar mechanism seems responsible for targeting to the yeast vacuole of the mammalian rPqlc2 protein.

Une caractéristique des cellules eucaryotes est leur organisation en compartiment internes délimité par une membrane lipidique, appelé organelles. Ces compartiments intracellulaires présentent une composition lipidique et protéique particulaire conforme à leur identité et fonction. Les lysosomes de cellules de mammifères et la vacuole fongique jouent un rôle clé dans la digestion intracellulaire de macromolécules et de ce fait leurs lumières sont enrichis d’enzymes hydrolytiques nécessaires à cette action. Des disfonctionnements du lysosome peuvent être la conséquence de pathologie chez l’homme, regroupé sous le nom de maladie lysosomale, lié à un à une accumulation de macromolécules non digéré ou un default d’export des produits d’hydrolysé depuis la lumière du lysosome. La cystinose est une maladie autosomale récessive avec une faible fréquence d’incidence (1/200 000) qui regroupe trois formes cliniques :deux formes rénales graves et une forme extra-rénale. Cette maladie est due à une accumulation et cristallisation de cystine dans la lumière du lysosome qui est corrélé à des mutations ponctuelles dans le gène CTNS qui code pour l’exporteur de cystine, la cystinosine. Cette protéine est un membre de la famille LCT (Lysosomal Cystine Transporter) qui possède des représentants chez les cellules animales, végétales et fongiques. Les protéines de la famille possèdent une taille et une topologie prédite similaire (7 segments transmembranaires) et on retrouve aussi au sein de ces protéines deux exemplaires de motifs PQ. Lors de ce travail de thèse nous nous sommes intéressés à trois membres de la famille LCT chez Saccharomyces cerevisiae que nous avons nommé Ypq1, Ypq2 et Ypq3 pour Yeast PQ-loop proteins. Ces protéines n’ayant pas fait l’objet de nombreuses études, nous nous sommes orientés vers une analyse fonctionnelle et transcriptionnelle. De plus, nous avons également étudié les mécanismes et signaux impliqué dans leur adressage vers la vacuole. Finalement, nous avons également inclus dans notre étude un homologue mammalien de ces protéines, rPqlc2.

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Doctorat en Sciences
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Non-coding RNA (nc-RNA) plays an important role in biological processes. To understand a non-coding RNA function, we constructed twelve molecular bar-coded deletion mutants in Saccharomyces cerevisiae including five snRNAs, three RNAs of unknown function (RUFs), TLC1, SCR1, NME1 and RPR1. Nine of the twelve genes were found to be essential. RUF20 was particularly interesting as it was essential and overlaps the 3' untranslated region (UTR) of SEC4, a GTPase essential for vesicle-mediated exocytic secretion and autophagy. Shorter RUF20 deletions and SEC4 plasmid complementation in RUF20 knock-out strains concluded that RUF20 essentiality was derived from overlap with the SEC4 3' UTR. The SEC4 3' UTR is required for localisation of SEC4 mRNA to bud tips and the cell membrane. To investigate the molecular mechanisms of how RUF20 regulates SEC4 3' UTR formation or SEC4 function, RUF20 expression was turned off by using the TetO7 promoter system. Reverse transcription and quantitative real-time-PCR (RT-qPCR) methods were performed to determine mRNA abundance for the targeted genes (RUF20 and SEC4). It was found that SEC4 mRNA expression was decreased when RUF20 mRNA expression was suppressed. SEC4 3' UTR formation was checked by RT-PCR primer walking, which indicated that SEC4 3' UTR processing was affected and not formed when RUF20 expression was inhibited. To investigate the localisation of RUF20 and SEC4 in the presence/absence of RUF20 RNA, fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) was performed and it was found that RUF20 RNA displayed a similar pattern of localisation with SEC4 mRNA and there was a mislocalisation of SEC4 mRNA if RUF20 RNA was not expressed. We have identified a novel role for a non-coding RNA suggesting that RUF20 is required for SEC4 mRNA expression and influences the 3' end formation and SEC4 mRNA localisation.

Eukaryotic translation initiation is a complex and highly regulated process involving the ribosome, mRNA and proteins called eukaryotic initiation factors (eIFs). The overall aim of translation initiation is to position the ribosome at the initiation codon of the mRNA. eIF2, in its GTP-bound conformation, binds the initiator tRNA (Met-tRNAiMet) and delivers it to the 40S ribosomal subunit. When the anticodon of the tRNA is bound to the initiation codon, the GTP on eIF2 is hydrolysed to GDP. The guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) eIF2B regenerates eIF2-GTP. eIF2 and eIF2B are multisubunit/multidomain protein complexes. Because information regarding the interface between each complex is limited, particularly the interface on the eIF2γ subunit, which binds the guanine-nucleotides and Met-tRNAiMet, interactions between the minimal GEF domain of eIF2Bε, εGEF, and eIF2 were mapped using mutagenesis and an in vitro cysteine cross-linking approach, with the cross-linker Mts-Atf-Biotin. Site-directed mutagenesis (SDM) was used to mutate five N-terminal and five C-terminal surface-exposed εGEF residues to cysteines. The mutant alleles were analysed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and it was found that the gcd6-R574C allele was lethal and the gcd6-T572C was Gcd-. Further gcd6-R574 mutant alleles were also found to be lethal in yeast but expressed in vivo.εGEF-R574C has dramatically reduced GEF activity in vitro and binding assays showed that this mutant has significantly reduced affinity for eIF2. The εGEF-T572C and εGEF-S576C mutants also have severe and minor eIF2-binding defects respectively, while the C-terminal εGEF-Cys mutants have slightly reduced affinity for eIF2. The N-terminal εGEF-Cys mutants cross-link specifically to eIF2γ, while the C-terminal εGEF-Cys mutants interact predominantly with eIF2β. From the data obtained in this study, we propose a new model for eIF2B-mediated guanine-nucleotide exchange that reduces the importance of eIF2β and suggests εGEF resembles other GEFs in binding primarily to its G protein partner eIF2γ.

RNA polymerase II (Pol II) is the enzyme responsible for the synthesis of all mRNAs in eukaryotic cells. As the central component of the eukaryotic transcription machinery, Pol II is the final target of regulatory pathways. While the role for different Pol II associated proteins, co-activators and general transcription factors (GTFs) in regulation of transcription in response to different stimuli is well studied, a similar role for some subunits of the core Pol II is only now being recognized. The studies reported in this thesis address the role of the fourth largest subunit of Pol II, Rpb4, in transcription and stress response using Saccharomyces cerevisiae as the model system. Rpb4 is closely associated with another smaller subunit, Rpb7 and forms a dissociable complex (Edwards et al., 1991). The rpb4 null mutant is viable but is unable to survive at extreme temperatures (>34ºC and <12ºC) (Woychik and Young, 1989). This mutant has also been shown to be defective in activated transcription and unable to respond properly in several stress conditions (Pillai et al., 2001; Sampath and Sadhale, 2005). In spite of wealth of available information, the exact role of Rpb4 remains poorly understood. In the present work, we have used genetic, molecular and biochemical approaches to understand the role of Rpb4 as described in four different parts below: i) Studies on Genetic and Functional Interactions of Rpb4 with SAGA/TFIID Complex to Confer Promoter- Specific Transcriptional Control To carry out transcription, Pol II has to depend on several general transcription factors, mediators, activators, and co-activators and chromatin remodeling complexes. In the present study, we tried to understand the genetic and functional relationship of Rpb4 with some of the components of transcription machinery, which will provide some insight into the role of Rpb4 during transcription. Our microarray analysis of rpb4∆ strain suggests that down regulated genes show significant overlap with genes regulated by the SAGA complex, a complex functionally related to TFIID and involved in regulation of the stress dependent genes. The analysis of combination of double deletion mutants of either the SAGA complex subunits or the TFIID complex with rpb4∆ showed that both these double mutants are extremely slow growing and show synthetic growth phenotype. Further studies, including microarray analysis of these double mutants and ChIP (chromatin immunoprecipitation) of Rpb4 and SAGA complex, suggested that Rpb4 functions together with SAGA complex to regulate the expression of stress dependent genes. ii) Study of Genome Wide Recruitment of Rpb4 and Evidence for its Role in Transcription Elongation Biochemical studies have shown that Rpb4 associates sub-stoichiometrically with the core RNA polymerase during log phase but whether recruitment of Rpb4 is promoter context dependent or occurs only at specific stage of transcription remains largely unknown. Having discovered that Rpb4 can recruit on both TFIID and SAGA dominated promoters, it was important to study the genome wide role of Rpb4. Using ChIP on chip experiments, we have carried out a systematic assessment of genome wide binding of Rpb4 as compared to the core Pol II subunit, Rpb3. Our analysis showed that Rpb4 is recruited on coding regions of most transcriptionally active genes similar to the core Pol II subunit Rpb3 albeit to a lesser extent. This extent of Rpb4 recruitment increased on the coding regions of long genes pointing towards a role of Rpb4 in transcription elongation of long genes. Further studies showing transcription defect of long and GC rich genes, 6-azauracil sensitivity and defective PUR5 gene expression in rpb4∆ mutant supported the in vivo evidence of the role of Rpb4 in transcription elongation. iii) Genome Wide Expression Profiling and RNA Polymerase II Recruitment in rpb4∆ Mutant in Non-Stress and Stress Conditions Structural studies have suggested a role of Rpb4/Rpb7 sub-complex in recruitment of different factors involved in transcription (Armache et al., 2003; Bushnell and Kornberg, 2003). Though only few studies have supported this aspect of Rpb4/Rpb7 sub-complex, more research needs to be directed to explore this role of Rpb4/Rpb7 sub-complex. To study if Rpb4 has any role in recruitment of Pol II under different growth conditions, we have studied genome wide recruitment of Pol II in the presence and absence of Rpb4 during growth in normal rich medium as well as under stress conditions like heat shock and stationary phase where Rpb4 is shown to be indispensable for survival. Our analysis showed that absence of Rpb4 results in overall reduced recruitment of Pol II in moderate condition but this reduction was more pronounced during heat shock condition. During stationary phase where overall recruitment of Pol II also goes down in wild type cells, absence of Rpb4 did not lead to further decrease in overall recruitment. Interestingly, increased expression levels of many genes in the absence of Rpb4 did not show concomitant increase in the recruitment of Pol II, suggesting that Rpb4 might regulate these genes at a post-transcriptional step. iv) Role of Rpb4 in Pseudohyphal Growth The budding yeast S. cerevisiae can initiate distinct developmental programs depending on the presence of various nutrients. In response to nitrogen starvation, diploid yeast undergoes a dimorphic transition to filamentous pseudohyphal growth, which is regulated through cAMP-PKA and MAP kinase pathways. Previous work from our group has shown that rpb4∆ strain shows predisposed pseudohyphal morphology (Pillai et al., 2003), but how Rpb4 regulates this differentiation program is yet to be established. In the present study, we found that disruption of Rpb4 leads to enhanced pseudohyphal growth, which is independent of nutritional status. We observed that the rpb4∆/ rpb4∆ cells exhibit pseudohyphae even in the absence of a functional MAP kinase and cAMP-PKA pathways. Genome wide expression profile showed that several downstream genes of RAM signaling pathway were down regulated in rpb4∆ cells. Our detailed genetic analysis further supported the hypothesis that down regulation of RAM pathway might be leading to the pseudohyphal morphogenesis in rpb4∆ cells.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae is an excellent experimental model organism to study various biological processes owing to its versatile genetics, biochemistry, and standard laboratory conditions. S. cerevisiae shows distinct biological responses under nutritional starvation conditions. S. cerevisiae undergoes dimorphic transition from a unicellular yeast form to a multicellular pseudohyphae (Gimeno et al., 1992) under nitrogen starvation, but in the complete absence of a fermentable carbon source, it undergoes gametogenesis called sporulation (Mitchell, 1994). While the signal transduction cascades and regulatory controls under nutritional starvation conditions are studied to great extent, the role of S. cerevisiae core RNA polymerase II (pol II) is not much understood. S. cerevisiae core RNA pol II consists of 12 subunits (Woychik and Hampsey, 2002), which is organized into a ten-subunit core and the Rpb4/7 subcomplex (Edwards et al., 1991). Rpb4/7 subcomplex is known to play important roles in stress survival (Choder 2004; Sampath and Sadhale, 2005.). S. cerevisiae rpb4 null diploid strains show reduced sporulation levels but exhibits a predisposition to pseudohyphal morphology (Pillai et al., 2003). Overexpression of Rpb7 partially rescues some of these defects (Sharma et al., 1999; Sheffer et al., 2001). Rpb7 is a highly conserved protein but Rpb4 is the least conserved amongst all RNA pol II subunits at the sequence level. Rpb4 and Rpb7 also affect different cellular functions, which are not directly dependent on each other. (a) Relative levels of RNA pol II subunits Rpb4 and Rpb7 differentially affect starvation response in Saccharomyces cerevisiae S. cerevisiae rpb4 null diploid strains show reduced sporulation levels as compared to wild type but exhibits pseudohyphal predisposition. Overexpression of RPB7 partially rescues the sporulation defect but results in an exaggeration of the pseudohyphae phenotype. We generated S. cerevisiae strains expressing different levels of Rpb4 and Rpb7 proteins in the same strains and analyzed their effect on sporulation and pseudohyphal morphology. We observed that sporulation is dependent on Rpb4 because sporulation level gradually increases with an increase in the Rpb4 protein level in the strain. Rpb7 reduces sporulation level but enhances pseudohyphal exaggeration in a dose-dependent manner. Rpb4 is dominant over Rpb7 in both the starvation responses because strain expressing an equimolar ratio of Rpb4 and Rpb7 protein exhibits RPB4+ phenotypes. (b) Domainal organization of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Rpb7 orthologs reflects functional conservation Rpb7 orthologs are known in eukaryotes and archaebacteria. The primary structure of Rpb7 is conserved. We chose Rpb7 orthologs from Candida albicans, Schizosaccharomyces pombe and Homo sapiens sapiens to investigate whether Rpb7 orthologs are also functionally conserved. We observed that all the orthologs tested are functionally conserved because they can complement the absence of RPB7 in S. cerevisiae. However, we uncovered functional differences amongst Rpb7 orthologs with respect to its function in rpb4 null strain and ess1 ts strain. Furthermore, we made N and C-terminal chimeric RPB7 constructs from these orthologs with S. cerevisiae Rpb7. These chimeras also can replace ScRpb7 in S. cerevisiae. However, functional differences were observed with each chimera pair in rpb4 null strain and ess1 ts strain, showing that the N and C-terminal domains of Rpb7 protein can be genetically dissected. The genetic observation on the domainal organization of Rpb7 orthologs is strengthened by the crystal structure of Rpb7 (Armache et al., 2005), which shows that Rpb7 is structurally organized into an N terminal RNP domain and a C terminal OB fold domain. (c) The Rpb7 subunit of Candida albicans RNA polymerase II induces lectin-mediated flocculation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae The Rpb7 ortholog of C. albicans is a conserved functional ortholog of ScRpb7. We observed that CaRpb7 induces Ca2+-dependent flocculation and agar-invasive growth in S. cerevisiae. CaRpb7 overexpression induces very high transcript levels of FLO1 and FLO11. We believe that the observed flocculation and agar-invasive phenotypes are due to Flo1 and Flo11 respectively, because Flo1 and Flo11 contribute mainly to cell-cell adhesion while Flo11 contributes mainly to cell-substrate adhesion (Verstrepen and Klis, 2006; Lo et al., 1998; Guo et al., 2000). Pathway analysis revealed that CaRpb7-induced flocculation is dependent on Mss11 transcriptional activator. Two-hybrid analysis revealed that CaRpb7 does not physically interact with transcriptional repressors known to repress FLO gene transcription, however genetic analysis revealed that CaRpb7 is epistatic to the repressor Sfl1. Rpb7 orthologs possess conserved domains with potential RNA binding ability (Orlicky et al., 1999) and ScRpb7 is known to play in mRNA stability (Lotan et al., 2007). The possibility of CaRpb7 specifically affecting the stability of FLO gene transcripts is being pursued.

Thymidylate synthase (TS) provides the sole de novo source of the DNA precursor thymidylate (dTMP) in almost all organisms, and is one of the most conserved enzymes known. One salient feature of the eukaryotic version of the enzyme is the occurrence of two peptide inserts, absent in the prokaryotes, in surface loops peripheral to the core structure. The biological function of these inserts is unknown, but they have been shown in yeast TS to contribute to the structural integrity of the enzyme (Munro et al ., 1999). More precisely, the removal of one of the inserts (EUK1) leads to reduced affinity for both substrates as well as decreased enzyme activity, while removal of the other (EUK2) completely abolishes enzyme activity. In this study we further analyzed effects of deletion and point mutations in the loop (Loop 2) that harbours EUK2. Gel filtration chromatography indicated that inactive deletion mutants that mimic prokaryotic versions of this loop fail to form stable dimers. Activity could not be restored when a phenylalanine residue, presumed to be buried by the conformation of the normal eukaryotic loop, was substituted by a polar residue which even more closely mimicked the prokaryotic TS. Point mutations in EUK2 that substituted one or the other of two conserved tyrosines with phenylalanine partially affected enzyme activity; complementation of TS-deficient E. coli appeared to be gene-dosage dependent and tritium release activity was drastically reduced both in E. coli and yeast. Surprisingly however, yeasts that were auxotrophic for dTMP did not suffer any discernible deleterious effects when complemented by the single tyrosine/phenylalanine mutants, even when the mutant genes were expressed from single copy plasmids. A mutant with both tyrosines replaced by phenylalanine did not complement in E. coli , complemented in a yeast TS-knockout strain only when overexpressed, but showed heteroallelic complementation in a yeast strain that has a mutation in the active site of TS. All mutations introduced in Loop 2 so far dramatically reduce enzyme activity as determined by tritium release assays. These results indicate that Loop 2, despite its peripheral location, is highly sensitive to modification and contributes to the structural integrity of the protein. In contrast, prokaryotic TS (from E. coli ) was functionally expressed in a yeast TS-knockout strain, suggesting that although EUK1 and EUK2 are essential for structural integrity they do not provide an additional essential biological function. Moreover, our results suggest that the enzymatic impairment of Loop 2 is offset by a factor present in S. cerevisiae cells but not in E. coli

Transcription regulation in eukaryotes is a complex process governed by the concerted action of different factors. The work in this thesis is focused on transcriptional regulation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. I analyzed the regulation of the phospholipid biosynthetic gene INO1 , which has been a model gene for transcription studies for over three decades. Some major questions that I have addressed are: what kinds of cis regulatory sequences and trans factors are important for regulation of INO1? What is the sequence of events in this regulation? How is the recruitment of these trans factors consequential for INO1 transcription? I present my results here for the role of the basic helix loop helix transcription factor (bHLH) family in coordinated regulation of INO1 transcription. I report that the centromeric binding factor 1 (Cbf1p) together with two other members of the bHLH protein family, Ino2p and Ino4p, are required for efficient derepression of INO1 transcription. Together these bHLH transcription factors recruit the ISW2 chromatin-remodeling complex onto the INO1 promoter to drive productive transcription from the INO1 locus. My efforts in studying the regulation of INO1 led me to study the regulation of SNA3, a gene found in tandem upstream (→→) to the INO1 gene and regulated by the same environmental conditions as INO1. Studies on the mechanism of coregulation of adjacent genes in budding yeast have been largely speculative. I provide evidence that the same bHLH proteins which regulate INO1 also regulate SNA3, albeit differentially. Significantly, my results also show that the regulation of both SNA3 and INO1 is dictated from the intergenic region between the two genes. This is a novel mechanism of transcription regulation in yeast as regulation from downstream of ORF is unknown in yeast. Thus, my results with both SNA3 and INO1 provide novel details on how the process of transcription is regulated in response to an environmental cue.

Cystein spielt eine wichtige Rolle in der Biochemie vieler Proteine. Aufgrund der Redox-Eigenschaften und der hohen Reaktivität der freien Thiol-Gruppe sowie dessen Fähigkeit Metallionen zu koordinieren, ist Cystein oft Bestandteil von katalytischen Zentren vieler Enzyme. Zudem lassen sich Cysteine durch reaktive Sauerstoff- und Stickstoffspezies leicht reversibel oxidativ modifizieren. In den letzten Jahren wurde gezeigt, dass Proteine redox-bedingte Thiol-Modifikationen nutzen, um Veränderungen ihrer Aktivität zu steuern. Diese redox-regulierten Proteine spielen eine zentrale Rolle in vielen physiologischen Prozessen. Das erste Ziel meiner Arbeit war die Identifizierung von Stickstoffmonoxid (NO)-sensitiven Proteinen in E. coli. Die redox-bedingten Funktionsänderungen solcher Proteine erklären möglicherweise die veränderte Physiologie von E. coli Zellen, die unter NO-Stress leiden. Um E. coli Proteine zu identifizieren, die unter Einwirkung von NO-Stress reversibel Thiol-modifiziert werden, wandte ich eine Kombination aus differentiellem Thiol-Trapping und 2D Gel-Elektrophorese an. Es wurden zehn Proteinen identifiziert, welche NO-sensitive Thiol-Gruppen enthalten. Genetische Studien ergaben, dass Modifikationen an AceF & IlvC mitverantwortlich sind für die NO-induzierte Wachstumshemmung. Bemerkenswert ist es, dass die Mehrheit der identifizierten Proteine speziell nur gegen reaktive Stickstoffspezies empfindlich ist, welches an einem der identifizierten Stickstoffmonoxid-sensitiven Proteinen, der kleinen Untereinheit von Glutamate synthase, getestet wurde. In vivo und in vitro Aktivitätsstudien zeigten, dass es zu einer schnellen Inaktivierung von Glutamate synthase nach NO-Behandlung kommt, das Protein aber resistent gegenüber anderen Oxidationsmittel ist. Diese Resultate implizieren, dass reaktive Sauerstoff- und Stickstoffspezies unterschiedliche physiologische Vorgänge in Bakterien beeinflussen. Das zweite Ziel meiner Arbeit war es, redox-sensitive Proteine in S. cerevisiae zu identifizieren und deren Redox-Zustand als in vivo Read-Out zu verwenden, um die Rolle von oxidativen Stress während des Alterungsprozess eukaryotischer Zellen zu analysieren. Zunächst bestimmte ich in Hefezellen mit Hilfe von OxICAT, einer hochsensiblen quantitativen Methode, die Thiol-Trapping mit Massenspektrometrie verbindet, den exakten in vivo Thiol-Status von fast 300 Proteinen. Diese Proteine lassen sich in vier Gruppen einteilen: 1) Proteine, deren Cysteinreste resistent gegen Oxidation sind; 2) Proteine, in denen Cysteinmodifikationen strukturelle Aufgaben übernehmen; 3) Proteine mit oxidationsempfindlichen Cysteinen, die bereits eine gewisse Oxidation in exponentiell wachsenden Hefezellen aufweisen; 4) Proteine, die reduziert sind, aber redox-sensitive Cysteinreste enthalten, die die Funktion der Proteine bei Vorhandensein von oxidativen Stress beeinflussen. Die Sensitivität dieser Proteine gegenüber oxidativen Stress wurde durch Exposition subletaler Konzentrationen von H2O2 oder Superoxid auf Hefezellen nachgewiesen. Es wurde gezeigt, dass die wichtigsten zellulären Angriffspunkte von H2O2- und Superoxid-bedingtem Stress Proteine sind, die an Vorgängen der Translation, Glykolyse, des Citratzyklus und der Aminosäure-Biosynthese beteiligt sind. Diese Zielproteine zeigen, dass Zellen für die Bekämpfung von oxidativen Stress Metabolite schnell in Richtung des Pentosephosphatweges umleiten, um die Produktion des Reduktionsmittels NADPH sicherzustellen. Die hier präsentierten Ergebnisse belegen, dass die quantitative Bestimmung des Oxidationsstatus von Proteinen eine wertvolle Methode ist, um redox-sensitive Cysteinreste zu identifizieren. Die OxICAT Technologie wurde dann verwendet, um das genaue Ausmaß und die Entstehung von oxidativen Stress in chronologisch alternden S. cerevisiae Zellen zu bestimmen. Für diese Bestimmung wurde der Oxidationsstatus von Proteinen in alternden Hefezellen als physiologischer Read-Out verwendet. Ich zeigte, dass die zelluläre Redox-Homöostase in chronologisch alternden Hefezellen global zusammenbricht, wobei es sich dabei um einen Prozess handelt, der dem Zelltod vorausgeht. Der Beginn dieses Zusammenbruchs scheint mit der Lebensdauer der Hefezellen zu korrelieren, da Kalorienrestriktion die Lebensdauer der Hefezellen erhöht und den Zusammenbruch des Redox-Gleichgewichts verzögert. Die Oxidation einer kleinen Anzahl an Proteinen (z.B. Thioredoxin reductase) geht dem Redox-Zusammenbruch deutlich voraus, was maßgeblich zum Verlust der Redox-Homöostase beitragen könnte. Diese Studien an alternden Hefezellen erweitern unser Verständnis, wie sich Veränderungen in der Redox-Homöostase auf die Lebensdauer von Hefezellen auswirken. Zudem bestätigen die hier präsentierten Ergebnisse die Bedeutung von oxidativen Thiol-Modifikationen als eine der wichtigsten posttranslationalen Proteinmodifikationen in pro-und eukaryotischen Organismen
Cysteines play important roles in the biochemistry of many proteins. The high reactivity, redox properties, and ability of the free thiol group to coordinate metal ions designate cysteines as the amino acids of choice to form key catalytic components of many enzymes. Also, cysteines readily react with reactive oxygen and nitrogen species to form reversible oxidative thiol modifications. Over the last few years, an increasing number of proteins have been identified that use redox-mediated thiol modifications to modulate their function, activity, or localization. These redox-regulated proteins are central players in numerous important cellular processes. First aim of this study was to discover nitric oxide (NO) sensitive proteins in E. coli, whose redox-mediated functional changes might explain the physiological alterations observed in E. coli cells suffering from NO-stress. To identify E. coli proteins that undergo reversible thiol modifications upon NO-treatment in vivo, I applied a differential thiol trapping technique combined with two-dimensional gel analysis. 10 proteins were found to contain thiol groups sensitive to NO-treatment. Subsequent genetic studies revealed that the oxidative modifications of AceF & IlvC are, in part, responsible for the observed NO-induced growth inhibition. Noteworthy, the majority of identified protein targets turned out to be specifically sensitive towards reactive nitrogen species. This oxidant specificity was tested on one NO-sensitive protein, the small subunit of glutamate synthase. In vivo and in vitro activity studies demonstrated that glutamate synthase rapidly inactivates upon nitric oxide treatment but is resistant towards other oxidative stressors. These results imply that reactive oxygen and nitrogen species affect distinct physiological processes in bacteria. The second aim of my study was to identify redox-sensitive proteins in S. cerevisiae and to use their redox state as in vivo read-out to assess the role of oxidative stress during the eukaryotic aging process. I first determined the precise in vivo thiol status of almost 300 yeast proteins located in the cytosol and sub-cellular compartments of yeast cells using a highly quantitative mass spectrometry based thiol trapping technique, called OxICAT. The identified proteins can be clustered in four groups: 1) proteins, whose cysteine residues are oxidation resistant; 2) proteins with structurally or functionally important cysteine modifications 3) proteins with highly oxidation-sensitive active site cysteines, which are partially oxidized in exponentially growing yeast cells due to their exquisite sensitivity towards low amounts of ROS; 4) proteins that are reduced in exponentially growing cells but harbor redox-sensitive cysteine(s) that affect the catalytic function of the protein during oxidative stress. These oxidative stress sensitive proteins were identified by exposure of yeast cells to sublethal concentrations of H2O2 or superoxide. It was shown that the major targets of peroxide- and superoxide-mediated stress in the cell are proteins involved in translation, glycolysis, TCA cycle and amino acid biosynthesis. These targets indicate that cells rapidly redirect the metabolic flux and energy towards the pentose phosphate pathway in an attempt to ensure the production of the reducing equivalent NADPH to counterattack oxidative stress. These results reveal that the quantitative assessment of a protein’s oxidation state is a valuable tool to identify catalytically active and redox-sensitive cysteine residues. The OxICAT technology was then used to precisely determine extent and onset of oxidative stress in chronologically aging S. cerevisiae cells by utilizing the redox status of proteins as physiological read-out. I found that chronological aging yeast cells undergo a global collapse of the cellular redox homeostasis, which precedes cell death. The onset of this collapse appears to correlate with the yeast life span, as caloric restriction increases the life span and delays the redox collapse. These results suggest that maintenance of the redox balance might contribute to the life expanding benefits of regulating the caloric intake of yeast. Clustering analysis of all oxidatively modified proteins in chronological aging yeast revealed a subset of proteins whose oxidative thiol modifications significantly precede the general redox collapse. Oxidation of these early target proteins, which most likely results in a loss of their activity, might contribute to or even cause the observed loss of redox homeostasis (i.e., thioredoxin reductase) in chronologically aging yeast. These studies in aging yeast expand our understanding how changes in redox homeostasis affect the life span of yeast cells and confirm the importance of oxidative thiol modifications as key posttranslational modifications in pro- and eukaryotic organisms

Tese de Doutoramento em Biologia Molecular e Ambiental (Especialidade em Biologia Celular e Saúde)
Galectins are lectins characterized by a conserved CRD with a high affinity for β-galactosides. When localized extracellularly, they mainly interact with glycans on the surface of the cells, promoting cell-cell adhesion, the onset of immune response, and the recognition and clearance of pathogens. When intracellular, they interact with other proteins, modulating cell proliferation, cell cycle progression and apoptosis. The focus of the present work was galectin-3, the only chimera type galectin, aiming at turning the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae into a suitable model to study the roles and mechanisms of action of gal-3. Specifically, the work intended to assess the ability of extracellular gal-3 to recognize and bind yeast cells, as well as the ability of intracellular gal-3 to interfere with yeast cell survival and proliferation, in particular when interacting with the oncoprotein KRAS. The work also aimed at uncover the role of gal-3/KRAS/p16INK4a axis regulation in colorectal cancer (CRC) cells. Thus, both S. cerevisiae and human cancer cell lines were used as eukaryotic models. The effects caused by gal-3 on yeast biological processes were compared with those caused by other galectins with different structure and number of CRDs (the proto-type gal- 1 and gal-7, and the tandem repeat gal-4). S. cerevisiae and Candida albicans were used, as species with a very different biology, and because C. albicans was the only yeast in the literature tested in regard to gal-3. Each galectin caused a different pattern of effects, generally stronger on S. cerevisiae than on C. albicans. Gal-3 decreased viability and increased cell size, ROS level and DNA alterations, but did not induce membrane rupture, plasmatic nor mitochondrial, indicating that the stress it induces is not associated with cell death (necrotic or programmed). Gal-3 effects were mostly caused by its CRD (as shown using the truncated version of the galectin), and mediated by the Ras/cAMP/PKA pathway (demonstrated using the S. cerevisiae mutants). Gal-4 and gal-7 increased the levels of ROS and membrane rupture, without affecting viability. Gal-1 did not induce any significant alteration. A microarray-based analysis of the binding ability of galectins, in accordance with the results above, showed that all galectins except gal-1 bound to whole cells of S. cerevisiae and C. albicans, more efficiently to S. cerevisiae, in particular the correspondent Δras2 mutant and cell wall and membrane sub-cellular fractions. A S. cerevisiae-based high throughput platform (HTP) expressing human gal-3 and KRAS was built with the purpose of achieving the expression of both human cDNAs in the same strain. This is meant to enable in vivo study of the functional relations between the two proteins, and to serve as a HTP for pharmacological screening of drugs/molecules targeting either gal-3, KRAS or their interaction. Two different genetic backgrounds were used (W303- 1A and BY4741), wild type as well as Δras1 and Δras2 mutants. Gal-3 expression was fully achieved, altering growth rate and chronological life span. These phenotypes depended on the presence of Ras1 and/or Ras2. Human KRAS expression in wt yeast also caused phenotype variations, decreasing yeast resistance to various stress stimuli, most possibly due to the hyperactivation of the Ras/cAMP/PKA pathway. The double expression of gal-3 and KRAS in the same S. cerevisiae strain was attempted using several cloning strategies, and will be pursued in the future. Bearing this goal in mind, as well as the potential use for which the platform was built, human CRC cell lines were used to better understand the gal-3/ KRAS interaction and their role in CRC progression. The pivotal interaction of gal-3 and KRAS were confirmed, and a third protein was shown to belong to this regulation axis, p16INK4a. The three proteins physically interacted and co-localized in CRC cells, and there seems to be a reciprocal regulatory mechanism that might control their expression levels, adjusting it to the growing needs of the cancer cell. In conclusion, this work breaks through several boundaries: (i) galectins bind to yeasts, (ii) the binding is specific, (iii) it causes also specific responses from the yeast cell, (iv) these are mediated by Ras pathway, and (v) once intracellular, gal-3 induces different responses still mediated by Ras pathway. Importantly, in opposition to the scarce literature available, the work showed S. cerevisiae to be more sensitive than C. albicans, stressing the straindependent specificity of galectins recognition, at the same time discarding the suggestion that gal-3 might have the role of distinguishing between pathogenic and non- pathogenic yeasts in vivo. Moreover, p16INK4a was identified as a new member of KRAS/gal-3 regulation axis in CRC cells. All taken, the work launched the foundations for assuming and using S. cerevisiae as a model to study gal-3.
As galectinas são proteínas caraterizadas por possuírem um domínio de reconhecimento de carbohidratos (CRD) com elevada afinidade para β-galactosídeos. Quando no meio extracelular, as galectinas interagem com glucanos na superfície das células, promovendo reconhecimento e adesão, a resposta imunitária e a eliminação de patogéneos. Intracelularmente, as galectinas interagem com outras proteínas modulando a proliferação e o progresso do ciclo celular e a morte celular programada. O trabalho focou na galectina-3, o único membro da família das galectinas quiméricas. O objectivo do trabalho foi transformar a levedura Saccharomyces cerevisiae num modelo celular para estudar os papéis da gal-3. Para isso foi verificada a habilidade da gal-3, quando extracelular, de reconhecer à célula de levedura, quando intracelular, de interferir com a sobrevivência e capacidade proliferativa da levedura, muito em particular em relação à oncoproteína KRAS. O trabalho tinha também como objetivo perceber o papel da regulação do eixo of gal-3/KRAS/p16INK4a em células de cancro colorretal (CCR). Neste contexto foram usados a S. cerevisiae e células de cancro humano como modelos eucariotas. Os efeitos da presença extracelular de gal-3 foram comparados com os causados por outras galectinas com diferentes estrutura, as gal-1 e gal-7 do grupo de galectinas proto-tipo, e a gal-4 do grupo de galectinas repetição em tandem. Os efeitos destas galectinas foram comparados em estirpes de S. cerevisiae e Candida albicans, que foram escolhidas pela sua distinta biologia, e porque C. albicans era a única espécie de levedura referida na literatura sobre efeitos de galectinas em leveduras. Cada galectina provocou uma combinação de efeitos diferente, que foram genericamente mais fortes em S. cerevisiae do que em C. albicans. Em particular, gal-3 diminuiu a viabilidade da levedura e aumentou o tamanho das células, os níveis de ROS e as alterações no DNA, mas não induziu ruptura de membranas, plasmática ou mitocondrial, indicando que gal-3 induz stress sem acionar nenhum processo de morte celular, necrótica ou programada. A utilização de uma gal-3 truncada no terminal N mostrou que o CRD é suficiente para induzir os efeitos observados. A utilização de leveduras mutadas nos genes RAS mostrou que a gal-3 opera através da via Ras/cAMP/PKA. Em comparação, gal-1 não induziu qualquer efeito significativo, enquanto as gal-4 e gal-7 provocaram respostas que sugerem uma resposta de stress genérica. Através de um ensaio de binding microarrays com células de levedura inteiras e fracções sub-celulares, verificou-se que todas as galectinas, excepto gal-1, se ligam à parede e membrana de S. cerevisiae e C. albicans, mais eficientemente de S. cerevisiae, e mais ainda ao mutante Δras2 desta levedura. Foi construída uma plataforma de estirpes de levedura exprimindo os cDNA de gal-3 e KRAS humanos, com o objectivo de obter a expressão conjunta destas duas proteínas. A plataforma destina-se ao estudo das suas funções e interação, bem como a servir de ferramenta para ensaios em larga escala de moléculas e drogas farmacológicas dirigidas para a gal-3, o KRAS, ou para a sua interação. Foram usadas leveduras de dois fungos genéticos distintos (W303- 1A e BY4741), selvagens e mutantes defectivos nos genes RAS1 e RAS2. A expressão da gal-3 em levedura alterou a taxa de crescimento e o envelhecimento cronológico na dependência da via Ras/cAMP/PKA. A expressão do KRAS em levedura também provocou alterações de comportamento na extirpe selvagem devidas possivelmente à sobre-ativação da mesma via. A obtenção de uma estirpe exprimindo simultaneamente gal-3 e KRAS foi tentada usando várias estratégias de clonagem, e será possivelmente alcançada no futuro. Tendo em conta os objectivos a que se destina a plataforma, foram usadas células de CCR. A interação da gal-3 e KRAS foi confirmada e demonstrou-se interação deste complexo com a p16INK4a. Estas três proteínas interagem fisicamente e colocalizam em células de CCR, parecendo haver um mecanismo de regulação reciproca que parece controlar os seus níveis de expressão, ajustando-os mediante as necessidades de crescimento da célula de cancro. Em conclusão, o trabalho quebra barreiras mostrando: (i) que as galectinas se ligam às células de levedura, (ii) de forma específica, (iii) induzindo respostas também específicas, (iv) mediadas pela via Ras, (v) igualmente quando a gal-3 é expressa intracelularmente em S. cerevisiae. Em oposição à escassa literatura disponível, mostrou-se que S. cerevisiae é mais sensível que C. albicans, sublinhando a influência da estirpe na especificidade da resposta e ligação às galectinas, e afastando a sugestão de que gal-3 possa exercer in vivo uma função discriminatória entre leveduras patogénicas e não-patogénicas. Além disso, foi identificada a p16INK4a como um novo membro do eixo de regulação KRAS/gal-3 em CCR. Globalmente o trabalho lançou as fundações para a utilização da levedura S. cerevisiae como modelo para estudar gal-3.
This work was support by the GLYCOPHARM Marie Curie Initial Training Network PITN-GA-2012-317297 and by the strategic programme UID/BIA/04050/2013 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007569) funded by national funds through the FCT I.P. and by the ERDF through the COMPETE2020 - Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI). The work presented in this thesis was performed in the Centre of Molecular and Environmental Biology (CBMA), Department of Biology, University of Minho and in the Agencia Estatal Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Instituto de Química-Física Rocasolano, Madrid, Spain.

N-glycosylation is the most common eukaryotic post-translational modification, impacting on protein stability, folding, and protein-protein interactions. More broadly, N-glycans play biological roles in reaction kinetics modulation, intracellular protein trafficking, and cell-cell communications. The machinery responsible for the initial stages of N-glycan assembly and processing is found on the membrane of the endoplasmic reticulum. Following N-glycan transfer to a nascent glycoprotein, the enzyme Processing α-Glucosidase I (GluI) catalyzes the selective removal of the terminal glucose residue. GluI is a highly substrate-specific enzyme, requiring a minimum glucotriose for catalysis; this glycan is uniquely found in biology in this pathway. The structural basis of the high substrate selectivity and the details of the mechanism of hydrolysis of this reaction have not been characterized. Understanding the structural foundation of this unique relationship forms the major aim of this work. To approach this goal, the S. cerevisiae homolog soluble protein, Cwht1p, was investigated. Cwht1p was expressed and purified in the methyltrophic yeast P. pastoris, improving protein yield to be sufficient for crystallization screens. From Cwht1p crystals, the structure was solved using mercury SAD phasing at a resolution of 2 Å, and two catalytic residues were proposed based upon structural similarity with characterized enzymes. Subsequently, computational methods using a glucotriose ligand were applied to predict the mode of substrate binding. From these results, a proposed model of substrate binding has been formulated, which may be conserved in eukaryotic GluI homologs.

Les protéines sont responsables de pratiquement toutes les fonctions performées au sein du corps cellulaire et de ses alentours. Le contrôle de l’expression génique détermine l’abondance, la localisation et le moment de la production de protéines dans la cellule. Il s’agit de l’un des processus centraux à la régulation de la physiologie et du fonctionnement cellulaire. La moindre perte de balance dans ce complexe système engendre des conséquences majeures sur l’intégrité cellulaire, menant au développement de plusieurs maladies parfois incurables. La traduction de l’ARN messager en produit protéique constitue la dernière étape de l’expression génique. Elle est régulée de plusieurs façons, intrinsèques et extrinsèques à la séquence. Il s’agit également du processus cellulaire le plus coûteux en termes d’énergie. Le profilage des ribosomes (Ribo-Seq) figure parmi les récentes et prometteuses technologies ayant permis une meilleure étude des mécanismes de régulation de la traduction. Ces résultats contiennent toutefois la présence de variabilité et de bruits de nature infondée. Ce travail présente la mise en place d’une stratégie permettant la dissociation de signaux d’origine biologique de ceux ayant une origine technique. Ceci est effectué au travers de la mise en place de profiles consensus de densité ribosomale extrait d’une analyse comparative de plusieurs expériences de Ribo-Seq chez la levure (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). Les signaux biologiques dérivés par les profils consensus correspondent avec les signatures de pauses ribosomales connues, telles que les scores de repliements de l’ARNm et la charge des acides aminés. Épatamment, notre stratégie a également permis l’identification de séquences différentiellement transcrites (DT). Ces dernières jouent un rôle sur la cinétique de la phase d’élongation de la traduction, elles comportent notamment une surreprésentation de codons associés aux modifications des ARNs de transfert (tRNAs). Elles se retrouvent d’ailleurs impliquées dans le maintien de l’homéostase cellulaire, ayant une présence marquée chez des gènes prenants part aux mécanismes de biosynthèse de la macromolécule ribosomale ainsi que chez les ARNms aux sublocalisations cellulaires précises, notamment chez les mitochondries et le réticulum endoplasmique (ER). En plus de démontrer les possibilités de découvertes offertes par la technique du Ribo-Seq, cette étude présente une évidence de la nature dynamique et hétérogène du processus de traduction chez la cellule eucaryote. Elle démontre également le rôle de l’information directement encodée dans la séquence dans l’optimisation générale de l’homéostasie cellulaire.
Proteins are responsible for virtually all functions performed within and in the surroundings of a cell. The control of gene expression, which determines the amount, localisation and timing of protein production in the cell, is the central processes in the regulation of cellular physiology and function. Any disturbance in this complex system can generate important consequences on cellular integrity, sometimes leading to incurable diseases. The translation of messenger RNA into a protein product is the last step of the gene expression mechanism. It can be regulated in manifold ways, both intrinsically and extrinsically to the transcript sequence. It is also the costliest cellular process in terms of energy. Ribosome profiling (Ribo-Seq) is one of the recent and promising technologies making it possible to better study the mechanisms of translation regulation. Its results have however been shown to display variability in reproducibility and to contain noise of uncharted sources. This work presents the implementation of a strategy for dissociating signals of biological origin from those of technical origin. This is performed by the computation of a consensus profile of ribosomal density derived from a comparative analysis of several Ribo-Seq experiments in yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). The biological signals derived by the consensus profiles correspond with signatures of known ribosomal pauses, such as mRNA folding strength and amino acid charges. Amazingly, our strategy also enabled the identification of differentially transcribed (DT) sequences. The latter have shown an over-representation of codons associated with modifications of transfer RNAs (tRNAs). They are also involved in the control of cellular homeostasis, exhibiting a marked presence in genes involved in ribosome biosynthesis as well as in mRNAs with precise translation sub-localization, particularly in mitochondria and the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). In addition to demonstrating the possibilities of discovery offered by the Ribo-Seq technique, this study also presents evidence of the dynamic and heterogeneous nature of the translation process in the eukaryotic cell. It also showcases its diverse regulatory mechanisms and the role of information directly encoded in the sequence in the general optimization of cellular homeostasis.

Mitochondria are essential eukaryotic organelles, acting as the sites for numerous crucial metabolic and signalling pathways. The biogenesis of mitochondria requires efficient targeting of several hundreds of proteins from the cytosol, to their varied functional locations within the organelle. The translocation of localized proteins across the inner membrane, and their subsequent folding is achieved by the ATP-dependent function of mitochondrial Hsp70 (mtHsp70). It is a bonafide member of the Hsp70 chaperone family, which are involved in a multitude of functions, together aimed at protein quality control and maintenance of cellular homeostasis. These varied functions of Hsp70 proteins require binding to exposed hydrophobic patches in substrate polypeptides thus preventing non-productive associations. The interaction with substrates occurs through the substrate-binding domain (SBD) and is regulated by the ATPase activity of the nucleotide-binding domain (NBD), through a series of conformational changes. Conversely, substrate binding to the SBD also stimulates ATP hydrolysis, and thereby the core activities of the two domains are regulated by mutual allosteric signalling. This mechanism of bidirectional inter-domain communication is indispensable for Hsp70 function, which is characterized by cycles of substrate binding and release, coupled to cycles of ATP binding and hydrolysis. The process of allosteric regulation in Hsp70 proteins has been comprehensively investigated, especially in the bacterial homolog, DnaK. However, the in vivo functional significance of inter-domain communication in the eukaryotic mtHsp70 system and the mechanism of its regulation remain unexplored. Furthermore, the complex physiological implications of impairment in allosteric communication and their correlation with diverse disease conditions, including Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), and Parkinson’s disease (PD), are yet to be elucidated. Based on this brief introduction, the primary research objectives set out in the present thesis were to: 1. uncover the regulation of ligand-modulated allosteric communication between the two domains of mtHsp70; and its in vivo significance in the context of protein import into the organelle. (Chapter 2) 2. understand the role of mtHsp70 in progression of Parkinson’s disease; and to study the modulation of α-synuclein toxicity by the protein quality control function of the mtHsp70 chaperone network. (Chapters 3 and 4) We have employed a battery of genetic and biochemical approaches to investigate the above questions using the Saccharomyces cerevisiae mtHsp70 protein, Ssc1; an essential protein that is involved in a plethora of critical functions in this eukaryotic model system. Objective 1: Structural studies, primarily in bacterial DnaK, have yielded mechanistic insights into its interactions with ligands and cochaperones, as well as conformational transitions in different ligand-bound states. In recent years, the availability of crystal structures of full-length DnaK and detailed information from NMR studies and single-molecule resolution spectroscopic analyses (both DnaK and eukaryotic Hsp70s), have significantly contributed to our understanding of the inter-domain interface, critical residues and contacts, and the energetics of the entire process of ligand-modulated conformational changes. Although eukaryotic mtHsp70s have a high degree of conservation with DnaK, they possess significant differences in their conformational and biochemical properties. They are essential for a vast repertoire of physiological functions, which are distinctly different from their bacterial counterpart. Using a combined in vivo and in vitro approach, we have uncovered specific structural elements within mtHsp70s, which are required for allosteric modulation of the chaperone cycle and maintenance of in vivo functions of the protein. Foremost, we demonstrate that a conserved SBD loop, L4,5 plays a critical role in inter-domain communication, and multiple mutations in this loop result in significant growth and protein translocation defects. The mutants are associated with a specific set of altered biochemical properties, which are indicative of impaired inter-domain communication. Using the loop L4,5 mutant, E467A as a template for genetic screening, we report a series of intragenic suppressor mutations, which are capable of correcting a distinct subset of the altered properties, and thereby leading to restoration of in vivo functions, including growth, preprotein import and mitochondria biogenesis. The suppressors modify the altered conformational landscape associated with E467A, and also provide us with information regarding unique aspects governing the regulation of allosteric communication, especially in physiological contexts. Strikingly, they reveal that restoration of communication in the NBD to SBD direction is sufficient for function, when the protein is primed in a high ATPase activity state. In this unique scenario, the requirement for ATPase stimulation upon substrate binding is rendered unnecessary, thereby making conformational changes in the SBD to NBD direction, dispensable for function. Further, we provide evidence to show that loop L4,5 functions synergistically with the linker region, working in tandem for organization of the inter-domain interface and propagation of communication. Together, our analyses provide the first insights into regulation of allosteric inter-domain communication in vivo and their implications in mitochondrial protein translocation and organelle biogenesis. Objective 2: Point mutations in the loop L4,5 have been associated with Myelodysplastic syndrome. Additionally, a mutation isolated in clinical cases of Parkinson’s disease was found to be impaired in allosteric communication. These observations further highlight the importance of efficient inter-domain communication in mtHsp70 in the complex physiological scenario of eukaryotic cells. Independent clinical screens of PD patients have revealed unique point mutations in the mtHsp70 and a strong association of the gene locus with the disease progression. This is also correlated with decreased mtHsp70 levels in affected neurons and the interactions of this protein with established PD-candidate proteins like α-synuclein and Dj-1. Further, mitochondrial dysfunction is a common phenomenon associated with neurodegenerative disorders. To understand the specific role of mtHsp70 in PD, we have developed a yeast model for studying the disease variants in isolation from other players of the multifactorial disease, and in complete absence of the wild type protein. We generated two analogous PD-mutations in Ssc1, R103W and P486S; which recapitulated the symptoms of mitochondrial dysfunction in affected neurons, including cell death, inner membrane depolarization, increased generation of ROS, and respiratory incompetence. At the molecular level, we observed an increased aggregation propensity of R103W, while P486S exhibited futile enhanced interaction with J-protein cochaperone partners thereby resulting in loss of chaperoning activity and impaired mitochondrial protein quality control. Remarkably, these altered biochemical properties mimicked similar defects in the human mtHsp70 variants, therefore, affirming the involvement of mtHsp70 in PD progression. To further investigate the relevance of impaired mitochondrial protein quality control in PD, we have explored whether mtHsp70 can act as a genetic modifier of α-synuclein toxicity. It is known that α-synuclein can act as an unfolded substrate for the Hsp70 chaperone system and also deposits as intracellular aggregates in PD-affected brains. Intriguingly, it is known to translocate into mitochondria under conditions of neuronal stress in spite of lacking a canonical mitochondrial signal sequence. Utilizing our yeast-PD model, we find that targeting of α-synuclein A30P disease variant into mitochondria leads to a severe mitochondrial dysfunction phenotype in the wild type Ssc1 background, but not the P486S mutant background. This results in multiple cellular manifestations, which are reversed upon overexpression of the Ssc1 chaperone. Significantly, increasing the J-protein cochaperone availability also leads to reversal of the mutant-associated defects. However, the simultaneous overexpression of both together does not additively improve the protective effects; highlighting the importance of the relative availability of chaperone and cochaperone proteins in preventing aggregation. Our analyses further reveal that while both the wild type and P486S Ssc1 proteins are equally capable of delaying aggregation of α-synuclein, only the wild-type chaperone is better able to prevent aggregation in the presence of its J-protein cochaperone, leading to accumulation of soluble oligomeric species. These observations raised the intriguing possibility, that the reduced chaperoning ability of the proline to serine PD-mutant is, in fact, a compensatory adaptation, favoring the aggregation of α-synuclein over its more toxic soluble oligomeric form. We verify this hypothesis with the aggregation kinetics of A30P α-synuclein, whose intrinsically lower aggregation tendency results in a pronounced delay in aggregation with the wild-type chaperone, thereby strongly favoring the toxic oligomeric species and correlating with the observed lethality in yeast cells. In conclusion, our study provides a model of α-synuclein aggregation-related toxicity and its modulation by the extent of protein quality control within the mitochondrial matrix, through the action of the mtHsp70 chaperone network.