Project description:Cysteine occupies a central position in plant metabolism due to its biochemical functions. Arabidopsis thaliana cells contain different O-acetylserine(thiol)lyase (OASTL) enzymes that catalyze the biosynthesis of cysteine. Because they are localized in the cytosol, plastids and mitochondria, this results in multiple subcellular cysteine pools. Much progress has been made on the most abundant OASTL enzymes; however, information on the less abundant OASTL-like proteins has been scarce. To unequivocally establish the enzymatic reaction catalyzed by the minor cytosolic OASTL isoform CS-LIKE (AT5G28030), we expressed this enzyme in bacteria and characterized the purified recombinant protein. Our results demonstrate that CS-LIKE catalyzes the desulfuration of L-cysteine to sulfide plus ammonia and pyruvate. Thus, CS-LIKE is a novel L-cysteine desulfhydrase (EC 4.4.1.1), and we propose to designate it DES1. The impact and functionality of DES1 in cysteine metabolism was revealed by the phenotype of the T-DNA insertion mutants des1-1 and des1-2. Mutation of the DES1 gene leads to premature leaf senescence, as demonstrated by the increased expression of senescence-associated genes and transcription factors. Also, the absence of DES1 significantly reduces the total cysteine desulfuration activity in leaves, and there is a concomitant increase in the total cysteine content. As a consequence, the expression levels of sulfur-responsive genes are de-regulated, and the mutant plants show enhanced antioxidant defenses and tolerance to conditions that promote oxidative stress. Our results suggest that DES1 from Arabidopsis is an L-cysteine desulfhydrase involved in maintaining cysteine homeostasis, mainly at late developmental stages or under environmental perturbations.
Project description:Cysteine occupies a central position in plant metabolism due to its biochemical functions. Arabidopsis thaliana cells contain different O-acetylserine(thiol)lyase (OASTL) enzymes that catalyze the biosynthesis of cysteine. Because they are localized in the cytosol, plastids and mitochondria, this results in multiple subcellular cysteine pools. Much progress has been made on the most abundant OASTL enzymes; however, information on the less abundant OASTL-like proteins has been scarce. To unequivocally establish the enzymatic reaction catalyzed by the minor cytosolic OASTL isoform CS-LIKE (AT5G28030), we expressed this enzyme in bacteria and characterized the purified recombinant protein. Our results demonstrate that CS-LIKE catalyzes the desulfuration of L-cysteine to sulfide plus ammonia and pyruvate. Thus, CS-LIKE is a novel L-cysteine desulfhydrase (EC 4.4.1.1), and we propose to designate it DES1. The impact and functionality of DES1 in cysteine metabolism was revealed by the phenotype of the T-DNA insertion mutants des1-1 and des1-2. Mutation of the DES1 gene leads to premature leaf senescence, as demonstrated by the increased expression of senescence-associated genes and transcription factors. Also, the absence of DES1 significantly reduces the total cysteine desulfuration activity in leaves, and there is a concomitant increase in the total cysteine content. As a consequence, the expression levels of sulfur-responsive genes are de-regulated, and the mutant plants show enhanced antioxidant defenses and tolerance to conditions that promote oxidative stress. Our results suggest that DES1 from Arabidopsis is an L-cysteine desulfhydrase involved in maintaining cysteine homeostasis, mainly at late developmental stages or under environmental perturbations. Using the Affymetrix ATH1 GeneChips, we performed a comparative transcriptomic analysis on leaves of the des1-1 and wild type plants grown on soil for three weeks. Three biological replicates were performed for each sample and hybridized to the chips. We made the comparison of des1-1 leaves versus wild-type leaves to classify the differently expressed genes in the mutant plant.
Project description:In bacteria, the biosynthesis of cysteine is accomplished by two enzymes that are encoged by the cysK and cysM genes. CysM is also able to incorporate thiosulfate to produce S-sulfocysteine. In plant cells, the biosynthesis of cysteine occurs in the cytosol, mitochondria and chloroplasts. Chloroplasts contain two O-acetylserine(thiol)lyase homologs, which are encoded by the OAS-B and CS26 genes. An in vitro enzymatic analysis of the recombinant CS26 protein demonstrated that this isoform possesses S-sulfocysteine synthase activity and lacks O-acetylserine(thiol)lyase activity. In vivo functional analysis of this enzyme in knockout mutants demonstrated that mutation of cs26 suppressed the S-sulfocysteine synthase activity that was detected in wild type; furthermore, the mutants exhibited a growth phenotype, but penetrance depended on the light regime. The cs26 mutant plants also had reductions in chlorophyll content and photosynthetic activity (neither of which were observed in oas-b mutants), as well as elevated glutathione levels. However, cs26 leaves were not able to properly detoxify ROS, which accumulated to high levels under long-day growth conditions. The transcriptional profile of the cs26 mutant revealed that the mutation had a pleiotropic effect on many cellular and metabolic processes. Our finding reveals that S-sulfocysteine and the activity of S-sulfocysteine synthase play an important role in chloroplast function and are essential for light-dependent redox regulation within the chloroplast.
Project description:Fluctuating light affects photosynthesis in chloroplasts, resulting changes of a series of redox reactions and accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Chloroplast redox regulation have been considered as “a fine regulation of protein function which is crucial for efficient photosynthesis”. However, the role of redox regulation in acclimation to fluctuating light for plants is still unclear. In this study, we performed global quantitative mapping of the Arabidopsis thaliana (wild-type and pgr5 mutant) cysteine thiol switching using the latest iodoTMT-based redox proteomics technology, systematically revealing a high-quality landscape of fluctuating light-responsive redox-modified proteins for the first time. Notably, photosynthesis-related pathway, especially PSI-related proteins, are operational thiol-switching hotspots.
Project description:Arabidopsis thaliana cells contain different O-acetylserine(thiol)lyase (OASTL) enzymes that catalyze the biosynthesis of cysteine. Recently, we have deeply investigated about one of the minor OASTL-like protein located in the cytosol, named DES1, highlighting some important clues about its metabolic function. We have demonstrated that DES1 catalyzes the desulfuration of L-cysteine to sulfide plus ammonia and pyruvate, instead of the biosynthesis of Cys, and thus, is a novel L-cysteine desulfhydrase (EC 4.4.1.1). The functionality of DES1 is being revealed by the phenotype of the T-DNA insertion mutants des1-1 and des1-2. We have performed a comparative transcriptomic analysis on leaves of the des1-1 and Col-0 wild type plants grown for 30 days under long-day conditions. The normalized data from the replicates showed differential expression of 1614 genes in the des1-1 mutant, with 701 genes down-regulated and 913 genes up-regulated by more than twofold, with a False Discovery Rate (FDR) of < 0.05 and an intensity signal restriction of lgSignal >7. This des1-1 transcriptional profile show a strong alteration when compared to a previous comparative transcriptomic analysis performed on leaves of the des1-1 and Col-0 wild type plants grown for 20 days under identical long-day conditions (GSE 19244). We have also performed a comparative transcriptomic analysis on leaves of the des1-1 and Col-0 wild type plants grown for 20 days and treated with sodium sulfide for 10 additional days. The comparison of the transcriptional profile of des1-1+Na2S versus Col-0+Na2S clearly shows that exogenous sulfide reversed the transcriptional level differences between the mutant and the wild type to reach similar transcriptional patterns as the array GSE19244. Our results suggest a role of sulfide as transcriptional regulator in the des1-1 mutant background.
Project description:Fluctuating light affects photosynthesis in chloroplasts, resulting changes of a series of redox reactions and accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Chloroplast redox regulation have been considered as “a fine regulation of protein function which is crucial for efficient photosynthesis”. However, the role of redox regulation in acclimation to fluctuating light for plants is still unclear. In this study, we performed global quantitative mapping of the Arabidopsis thaliana (wild-type and pgr5 mutant) cysteine thiol switching using the latest iodoTMT-based redox proteomics technology, systematically revealing a high-quality landscape of fluctuating light-responsive redox-modified proteins for the first time. Notably, photosynthesis-related pathway, especially PSI-related proteins, are operational thiol-switching hotspots.
Project description:In bacteria, the biosynthesis of cysteine is accomplished by two enzymes that are encoged by the cysK and cysM genes. CysM is also able to incorporate thiosulfate to produce S-sulfocysteine. In plant cells, the biosynthesis of cysteine occurs in the cytosol, mitochondria and chloroplasts. Chloroplasts contain two O-acetylserine(thiol)lyase homologs, which are encoded by the OAS-B and CS26 genes. An in vitro enzymatic analysis of the recombinant CS26 protein demonstrated that this isoform possesses S-sulfocysteine synthase activity and lacks O-acetylserine(thiol)lyase activity. In vivo functional analysis of this enzyme in knockout mutants demonstrated that mutation of cs26 suppressed the S-sulfocysteine synthase activity that was detected in wild type; furthermore, the mutants exhibited a growth phenotype, but penetrance depended on the light regime. The cs26 mutant plants also had reductions in chlorophyll content and photosynthetic activity (neither of which were observed in oas-b mutants), as well as elevated glutathione levels. However, cs26 leaves were not able to properly detoxify ROS, which accumulated to high levels under long-day growth conditions. The transcriptional profile of the cs26 mutant revealed that the mutation had a pleiotropic effect on many cellular and metabolic processes. Our finding reveals that S-sulfocysteine and the activity of S-sulfocysteine synthase play an important role in chloroplast function and are essential for light-dependent redox regulation within the chloroplast. Using the Affymetrix ATH1 GeneChips, we performed a comparative transcriptomic analysis on leaves of the cs26 and wild type plants under two different photoperiod conditions. Wild type and cs26 mutant plants were grown on soil under a long-day photoperiod (LD) or under a short-day photoperiod (SD). Total RNA was extracted from the leaves of 3-week-old plants grown under identical LD conditions, and from the leaves of 5-week-old plants grown under identical SD conditions. Three biological replicates were performed for each sample and hybridized to the chips. We made two different comparisons to classify the differently expressed genes in the mutant plant: cs26 leaves under LD versus wild-type leaves under LD and cs26 leaves under SD versus wild-type leaves under SD.
Project description:Arabidopsis thaliana is a well-established model system for the analysis of the basic physiological and metabolic pathways of plants. The presented model is a new semi-quantitative mathematical model of the metabolism of Arabidopsis thaliana. The Petri net formalism was used to express the complex reaction system in a mathematically unique manner. To verify the model for correctness and consistency concepts of network decomposition and network reduction such as transition invariants, common transition pairs, and invariant transition pairs were applied. Based on recent knowledge from literature, including the Calvin cycle, glycolysis and citric acid cycle, glyoxylate cycle, urea cycle, sucrose synthesis, and the starch metabolism, the core metabolism of Arabidopsis thaliana was formulated. Each reaction (transition) is experimentally proven. The complete Petri net model consists of 134 metabolites, represented by places, and 243 reactions, represented by transitions. Places and transitions are connected via 572 edges.