Molecular Biology Commons^™

Nodulin 26 Like Intrinsic Proteins: Structurally Similar Membrane Channels With Diverse Functions In Plant Hypoxia Stress, Metalloid Nutrition & Toxicity, Zachary Beamer

Doctoral Dissertations

Plant nodulin 26 intrinsic proteins are categorized into three groups (NIP I, II, and III) based on pore architecture. NIP II and III participate in metalloid nutrition, whilst the function of a third (NIP I) is less understood. Here we investigate the physiological function of one NIP I protein (Arabidopsis thaliana NIP2;1) as a lactic acid channel, and also explore the structural basis for metalloid and water permeability of NIP I and NIP II proteins in general. In addition, a strategy was developed for the purification and crystallization of soybean nodulin 26 as a step towards structure determination of a …

Calmodulin Like 38 Is Required For Autophagy Of Hypoxia-Induced Cytoplasmic Rna Granules In Arabidopsis Thaliana, Sterling Field

Doctoral Dissertations

In response to the energy crisis resulting from submergence stress and hypoxia, the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana limits non-essential mRNA translation, and accumulates cytosolic stress granules. Stress granules are phase-separated mRNA-protein particles that partition transcripts for various fates: storage, degradation, or return to translation after stress alleviation. Another response by the plant cell to low oxygen stress is the induction of the turnover pathway autophagy. Stress granule regulation by autophagy occurs by a ‘granulophagy’ pathway in yeast and mammalian systems through which parts or whole stress granules are degraded. Whether this occurs in plants has not been investigated.

A connection …

Erecta Family Genes Regulate The Shoot Apical Meristem And Organ Formation, Daniel A. Degennaro

Doctoral Dissertations

Plants are sessile and must adjust their organ growth to their environments. A reservoir of stem cells in the shoot apical meristem (SAM) supplies cells for differentiation into organs. The SAM must balance organ production with stem cell maintenance. The ERECTA family (ERfs) encodes the leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinases ERECTA (ER), ERECTA-LIKE 1 (ERL1), and ERL2. ERf signaling regulates organ initiation and stem cell maintenance. Results presented in this work include the following:

1) WUSCHEL (WUS) and CLAVATA3 (CLV3) make up a negative feedback loop to maintain SAM size. WUS and CLV3 expression localization is critical for …

Root Phosphomonoesterase As A Vital Component Of Increasing Phosphorus Availability In Tropical Forests, Kristine Grace Manno Cabugao

Doctoral Dissertations

Tropical forests, relative to other terrestrial ecosystems, exchange the largest amount of carbon with the atmosphere and also constitute a significant carbon sink. However, nutrient limitation, particularly of phosphorus (P), could limit growth of tropical forests and their function with the global carbon cycle. Thus, understanding root mechanisms to acquire P is necessary to representing the P cycle and corresponding interactions with plant growth. A large portion of total soil P in tropical forests occurs in organic forms, only accessible through root and microbial production of phosphatase enzymes. These phosphatase enzymes mineralize organic P into orthophosphate, the form of P …

Constitutive Expression Of Thioglucoside Glucohydrolase 1 (Tgg1) Decreases Intercellular Trafficking In Arabidopsis Thaliana, Alessandro Francesco Sarno

EURēCA: Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement

Plasmodesmata (PD) are pores that traverse plant cell walls, providing a route for intercellular trafficking of essential metabolites, nutrients, and signaling molecules between adjacent plant cells, thereby aiding communication. The increased size exclusion limit 2 (ise2) mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana has an increased abundance of branched PD, as well as a greater flux of intercellular trafficking. A search for proteins that interact with ISE2 identified THIOGLUCOSIDE GLUCOHYDROLASE 2 (a myrosinase). A. thaliana also encodes a second, closely-related myrosinase, TGG1. Myrosinases are enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of glucosinolates, a type of secondary metabolite that are amino acid derivatives. The breakdown …

Myosin Xi-I Works In Tandem With A Microtubule-Associated Mechanism To Position The Nucleus In Arabidopsis Root Hairs, Ian Andrew Windham

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Modification Of Carbohydrate Active Enzymes In Switchgrass (Panicum Virgatum L.) To Improve Saccharification And Biomass Yields For Biofuels, Jonathan Duran Willis

Doctoral Dissertations

The natural recalcitrance of plant cell walls is a major commercial hurdle for plant biomass to be converted into a viable energy source as alternative to fossil fuels. To circumvent this hurdle manipulation of carbohydrate enzymes active in the cellulose and hemicellulose portions of the plant cell wall can be utilized to improve feedstocks. Production of cellulolytic enzymes by plants have been evaluated for reducing the cost associated with lignocellulosic biofuels. Plants have successfully served as bioreactors producing bacterial and fungal glycosyl hydrolases, which have altered plant growth to improve saccharification. A bioprospecting opportunity lies with the utilization of insect …

Calmodulin-Like Protein 38: A Component Of Ribonucleoprotein Particles During Hypoxic Stress Responses In Arabidopsis, Ansul Lokdarshi

Doctoral Dissertations

Waterlogging stress leads to a crisis in energy metabolism and the accumulation of toxic metabolites due to the hypoxic and/or anoxic environment associated with this condition. To respond and adapt to this situation, higher plants employ an integrated genetic program that leads to the induction of anaerobic response polypeptide genes that encode metabolic and signaling proteins involved in altering metabolic flow and other adaptive responses. The study presented here shows that the Arabidopsis thaliana calmodulin-like protein CML38 is calcium sensor protein that serves as a member of the core anaerobic response gene family and is involved in modulating the survival …

Pore Selectivity And Gating Of Arabidopsis Nodulin 26 Intrinsic Proteins And Roles In Boric Acid Transport In Reproductive Growth, Tian Li

Doctoral Dissertations

Plant nodulin-26 intrinsic proteins (NIPs) are members of the aquaporin superfamily that serve as multifunctional channels of uncharged metabolites and water. They share the same canonical hourglass fold as the aquaporin family. The aromatic arginine (ar/R) selectivity filter controls transport selectivity based on size, hydrophobicity, and hydrogen bonding with substrates. In Arabidopsis thaliana, NIP II subclass proteins contain a conserved ar/R “pore signature” that is composed of Alanine at the helix 2 position (H2), Valine/Isoleucine at the helix 5 position (H5), and an Alanine (LE1) and an invariant Arginine (LE2) at the two loop E positions. In this study, …

Toward Direct Biosynthesis Of Drop-In Ready Biofuels In Plants: Rapid Screening And Functional Genomic Characterization Of Plant-Derived Advanced Biofuels And Implications For Coproduction In Lignocellulosic Feedstocks, Blake Lee Joyce

Doctoral Dissertations

Advanced biofuels that are “drop-in” ready, completely fungible with petroleum fuels, and require minimal infrastructure to process a finished fuel could provide transportation fuels in rural or developing areas. Five oils extracted from Pittosporum resiniferum, Copaifera reticulata, and surrogate oils for Cymbopogon flexuosus, C. martinii, and Dictamnus albus in B20 blends were sent for ASTM International biodiesel testing and run in homogenous charge combustion ignition engines to determine combustion properties and emissions. All oils tested lowered cloud point. Oils derived from Copaifera reticulata also lowered indicated specific fuel consumption and had emissions similar to the ultra-low sulfur diesel control. Characterization …

Development And Application Of Mass Spectrometry-Based Proteomics To Generate And Navigate The Proteomes Of The Genus Populus, Paul Edward Abraham

Doctoral Dissertations

Historically, there has been tremendous synergy between biology and analytical technology, such that one drives the development of the other. Over the past two decades, their interrelatedness has catalyzed entirely new experimental approaches and unlocked new types of biological questions, as exemplified by the advancements of the field of mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics. MS-based proteomics, which provides a more complete measurement of all the proteins in a cell, has revolutionized a variety of scientific fields, ranging from characterizing proteins expressed by a microorganism to tracking cancer-related biomarkers. Though MS technology has advanced significantly, the analysis of complicated proteomes, such as …

Phosphorylation Regulates Myosin Driven Organelle Movements, Peter Andrew Duden

EURēCA: Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement

Cytoplasmic streaming in plant cells is the continuous flow of cytoplasm and organelles throughout the cell, with the first observation of cytoplasmic streaming being publicized in 1774. However, the mechanism of cytoplasmic streaming remained unclear until components of the cytoskeleton were researched. Research now supports that the motive force generating cytoplasmic streaming is the interaction of myosin XI motor proteins with organelles while sliding along actin filaments. From this, a key topic of interest is how myosin driven organelle movement is regulated. Our research focuses on whether phosphorylation affects the regulation of myosin XI motor proteins. Specifically, the goal of …

Elucidating The Mechanism Of Organelle Trafficking In Arabidopsis Thaliana: The Mya2 Globular Tail Interacts With Atrabc2a., Su Ji Jeong

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Ethylene Receptors Function As Components Of High-Molecular-Mass Protein Complexes In Arabidopsis, Yi-Feng Chen, Zhiyong Gao, Robert J. Kerriss Iii, Wuyi Wang, Brad M. Binder, G. Eric Schaller

Faculty Publications and Other Works -- Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology

The gaseous plant hormone ethylene is perceived in Arabidopsis thaliana by a five-member receptor family composed of ETR1, ERS1, ETR2, ERS2, and EIN4. Methodology/Principal Findings

Gel-filtration analysis of ethylene receptors solubilized from Arabidopsis membranes demonstrates that the receptors exist as components of high-molecular-mass protein complexes. The ERS1 protein complex exhibits an ethylene-induced change in size consistent with ligand-mediated nucleation of protein-protein interactions. Deletion analysis supports the participation of multiple domains from ETR1 in formation of the protein complex, and also demonstrates that targeting to and retention of ETR1 at the endoplasmic reticulum only requires the first 147 amino acids of …

Ethylene Stimulates Nutations That Are Dependent On The Etr1 Receptor, Brad M. Binder, Ronan C. O'Malley, Wuyi Wang, Tobias C. Zutz, Anthony B. Bleeker

Faculty Publications and Other Works -- Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology

Ethylene influences a number of processes in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) through the action of five receptors. In this study, we used high-resolution, time-lapse imaging to examine the long-term effects of ethylene on growing, etiolated Arabidopsis seedlings. These measurements revealed that ethylene stimulates nutations of the hypocotyls with an average delay in onset of over 6 h. The nutation response was constitutive in ctr1-2 mutants maintained in air, whereas ein2-1 mutants failed to nutate when treated with ethylene. Ethylene-stimulated nutations were also eliminated in etr1-7 loss-of-function mutants. Transformation of the etr1-7 mutant with a wild-type genomic ETR1 transgene rescued the nutation …