Functional analysis of mitochondrial proteins in Arabidopsis thaliana
Mitochondrial carrier family (MCF) proteins catalyze the specific transport of various substrates, such as nucleotides, amino acids and cofactors. Although some of the mitochondrial transporters have been identified, many of these proteins have not yet been completely characterized. Likewise, the pr...
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| Tipo de recurso: | tesis doctoral |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2016 |
| País: | Brasil |
| Institución: | Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV) |
| Repositorio: | LOCUS Repositório Institucional da UFV |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:locus.ufv.br:123456789/11543 |
| Acceso en línea: | http://www.locus.ufv.br/handle/123456789/11543 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Proteínas Arabidopsis thaliana Plantas - Membrana - Transporte Mitocôndria Citologia vegetal Fisiologia Vegetal |
| Sumario: | Mitochondrial carrier family (MCF) proteins catalyze the specific transport of various substrates, such as nucleotides, amino acids and cofactors. Although some of the mitochondrial transporters have been identified, many of these proteins have not yet been completely characterized. Likewise, the proteic machinery and mechanisms involved in the mitochondrial alternative respiration is still not well known. In this context, this work first presents a study of a previously identified but uncharacterized mitochondrial transporter AtSFC1, a potential succinate/fumarate carrier. Hence, to obtain the biochemical role of AtSFC1, we carried out substrate specificity and investigated its physiological function using 35S antisense transgenic lines in Arabidopsis thaliana. Briefly, the functional integration of AtSFC1 in the cytoplasmic membrane of intact Escherichia coli cells reveals a high specificity for a citrate/isocitrate in a counter exchange mode. Additionally, we discussed the potential role for AtSFC1 in the provision of intermediates of tricarboxylic acid cycle to provide carbon and energy to support growth in heterotrophic tissues. In the second part of this thesis, we investigated the function of alternative electron donors to the mitochondrial electron transport chain (mETC) during carbon deprivation as well as after the supply of amino acids. The breakdown products of branched chain amino acids can provide electrons to the mETC via the ETF/ETFQO (electron transfer flavoprotein: flavoprotein ubiquinone oxidoreductase) complex. This system is located in the mitochondria and induced at the level of transcription during stress situations. Thus, in order to obtain a comprehensive picture of how alternative respiration pathway interacts with other pathways and adjust to different cellular and metabolic requirements, we performed metabolic and physiological approaches using Arabidopsis cell culture ETFQO T-DNA insertion mutants. The results discussed here support that the ETF/ETFQO system is an essential pathway able to donate electrons to the ubiquinone pool. In addition, the behavior of the respiratory complexes suggest new electrons entry points, which must be elucidated. |
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