Biology subjects

Hagemann, M.

Publications and source records attributed to Hagemann, M..

28 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

bioRxiv2022

Simultaneous adjustments of major mitochondrial pathways through redox regulation of dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (mtLPD1)

Thioredoxins (TRX) are pivotal for the redox regulation of enzyme activities to adjust metabolic fluxes towards environmental changes. Previous reports demonstrated TRX o1 and h2 impact on mitochondrial metabolism including photorespiration and the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. Here, we aimed to unravel potential specificities between regulation modes of both TRXs, especially under conditions with short-term changes in photorespiration. Therefore, short-term metabolite responses of single TRX mutants were analyzed after exposure to altered CO2/O2 ratios during darkness and illumination. This approach was complemented by comprehensive characterization of multiple Arabidopsis mutants lacking either one or both TRX in the wild-type Arabidopsis or the glycine decarboxylase (GDC) T-protein knock down line (gldt1). The results provided evidence for additive effects of combined TRX o1 and h2 deficiency to suppress growth, photosynthesis and mitochondrial metabolism. Quantification of pyrimidine nucleotides in conjunction with metabolite and 13C-labelling approaches revealed a rather uniform impact on mitochondrial dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (mtLPD1) dependent pathways. Biochemical analysis of recombinant mtLPD1 demonstrated its inhibition by NADH, pointing at an additional measure to fine-tune its in vivo activity. Collectively, we propose that TRX o1 and h2 contribute to the communication of altered subcellular redox-states through direct and indirect regulation of mtLPD1. This regulation module might represent a common intercept for simultaneous adjustments in the operation of photorespiration, the TCA-cycle and the degradation of branched chain amino acids. One-sentence summaryRedox regulation of mitochondrial dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (mtLPD1) simultaneously modulates photorespiration, the tricarboxylic acid (TCA)-cycle and branched chain amino acid (BCAA) degradation in response to rapid environmental changes.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2021

Expression of the F0F1 ATP synthase inhibitor Atp{Theta} depends on small basic DNA-binding proteins and differential mRNA stability

F0F1 ATP synthases produce ATP, the universal biological energy source. ATP synthase complexes on cyanobacterial thylakoid membranes use proton gradients generated either by photosynthesis or respiration. Atp{Theta} is an ATP synthase regulator in cyanobacteria which is encoded by the gene atpT. Atp{Theta} inhibits the hydrolysis of ATP (reverse reaction) that otherwise would occur under unfavorable conditions. In the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, Atp{Theta} is expressed maximum in darkness but at very low levels under optimum phototrophic growth conditions or in the presence of glucose. DNA coimmunoprecipitation experiments followed by mass spectrometry identified the binding of the two transcriptional regulators cyAbrB1 and cyAbrB2 to the promoter and the histone-like protein HU to the 5UTR of atpT. Analyses of nucleotide substitutions in the promoter and GFP reporter assays identified a functionally relevant sequence motif resembling the HLR1 element bound by the RpaB transcription factor. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays confirmed interaction of cyAbrB1, cyAbrB2 and RpaB with the promoter DNA. However, overall the effect of transcriptional regulation was comparatively low. In contrast, atpT transcript stabilities differed dramatically, half-lives were 1.6 min in the light, 33 min in the dark and substantial changes were observed if glucose or DCMU were added. These findings show that basic transcriptional control of atpT involves nucleoid-associated DNA-binding proteins, positive regulation through RpaB, while the major effect on the condition-dependent regulation of atpT expression is mediated by controlling mRNA stability, which is related to the cellular redox and energy status. IMPORTANCEF0F1 ATP synthases are protein complexes that produce ATP, the universal biological energy source in all kinds of organisms. Under unfavorable conditions, ATP synthases can operate in a futile reverse reaction, pumping protons while ATP is used up. Cyanobacteria perform plant-like photosynthesis but they cannot use the same mechanism as plants that inhibit chloroplast ATP synthases entirely during the night because respiratory and photosynthetic complexes are both located in the same membrane system. Atp{Theta} is a small peptide inhibitor of the reverse ATPase function in cyanobacteria encoded by the gene atpT. The production of Atp{Theta} is highly regulated to ensure that it is only synthetized when it is needed. In the here presented work we found that three transcription factors contribute to the regulation of atpT expression. However, we identified the control of mRNA stability as the major regulatory process governing atpT expression. Thus, it is the interplay between transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulation that position the Atp{Theta}-based inhibitory mechanism within the context of the cellular redox and energy balance.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2021

Pyruvate:ferredoxin oxidoreductase and low abundant ferredoxins support aerobic photomixotrophic growth in cyanobacteria

The decarboxylation of pyruvate is a central reaction in the carbon metabolism of all organisms. Both the pyruvate:ferredoxin oxidoreductase (PFOR) and the pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) complex catalyze this reaction. Whereas PFOR reduces ferredoxin, the PDH complex utilizes NAD+. Anaerobes rely on PFOR, which was replaced during evolution by the PDH complex found in aerobes. Cyanobacteria possess both. Our data challenge the view that PFOR is exclusively utilized for fermentation. Instead, we show, that the cyanobacterial PFOR is stable in the presence of oxygen in vitro and is required for optimal photomixotrophic growth under aerobic conditions while the PDH complex is inactivated under the same conditions. We found that cells rely on a general shift from utilizing NAD(H)-dependent to ferredoxin-dependent enzymes under these conditions. The utilization of ferredoxins instead of NAD(H) saves a greater share of the Gibbs free energy, instead of wasting it as heat. This obviously simultaneously decelerates metabolic reactions as they operate closer to their thermodynamic equilibrium. It is common thought that during evolution, ferredoxins were replaced by NAD(P)H due to their higher stability in an oxidizing atmosphere. However, utilization of NAD(P)H could also have been favored due to a higher competitiveness because of an accelerated metabolism.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2021

Atp{Theta} is an inhibitor of F0F1 ATP synthase to arrest ATP hydrolysis during low-energy conditions in cyanobacteria

Biological processes in all living cells are powered by ATP, a nearly universal molecule of energy transfer. ATP synthases produce ATP utilizing proton gradients that are usually generated by either respiration or photosynthesis. However, cyanobacteria are unique in combining photosynthetic and respiratory electron transport chains in the same membrane system, the thylakoids. How cyanobacteria prevent the futile reverse operation of ATP synthase under unfavorable conditions pumping protons while hydrolyzing ATP is mostly unclear. Here, we provide evidence that the small protein Atp{Theta}, which is widely conserved in cyanobacteria, is mainly fulfilling this task. The expression of Atp{Theta} becomes induced under conditions such as darkness or heat shock, which can lead to a weakening of the proton gradient. Translational fusions of Atp{Theta} to the green fluorescent protein revealed targeting to the thylakoid membrane. Immunoprecipitation assays followed by mass spectrometry and far Western blots identified subunits of ATP synthase as interacting partners of Atp{Theta}. ATP hydrolysis assays with isolated membrane fractions as well as purified ATP synthase complexes demonstrated that Atp{Theta} inhibits ATPase activity in a dose-dependent manner similar to the F0F1-ATP synthase inhibitor N,N-dicyclohexylcarbodimide. The results show that, even in a well-investigated process, crucial new players can be discovered if small proteins are taken into consideration and indicate that ATP synthase activity can be controlled in surprisingly different ways.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2021

Integrative analysis of the salt stress response in cyanobacteria

Microorganisms evolved specific acclimation strategies to thrive in environments of high or fluctuating salinities. Here, salt acclimation in the model cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 was analyzed by integrating transcriptomic, proteomic and metabolomic data. A dynamic reorganization of the transcriptome and proteome occurred during the first hours after salt shock, e.g. involving the upregulation of genes to activate compatible solute biochemistry balancing osmotic pressure. The massive accumulation of glucosylglycerol then had a measurable impact on the overall carbon and nitrogen metabolism. In addition, we observed the coordinated induction of putative regulatory RNAs and of several proteins known for their involvement in other stress responses. Overall, salt-induced changes in the proteome and transcriptome showed good correlations, especially among the stably up-regulated proteins and their transcripts. We define an extended salt stimulon comprising proteins directly or indirectly related to compatible solute metabolism, ion and water movements, and a distinct set of regulatory RNAs involved in post-transcriptional regulation. Our comprehensive data set provides the basis for engineering cyanobacterial salt tolerance and to further understand its regulation.

systems biology↗

bioRxiv2021

Homologs of circadian clock proteins impact the metabolic switch between light and dark growth in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803

The putative circadian clock system of the facultative heterotrophic cyanobacterial strain Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 comprises the following three Kai-based systems: a KaiABC-based potential oscillator that is linked to the SasA-RpaA two-component output pathway and two additional KaiBC systems without a cognate KaiA component. Mutants lacking the genes encoding the KaiAB1C1 components or the response regulator RpaA show reduced growth in light/dark cycles and do not show heterotrophic growth in the dark. In the present study, the effect of these mutations on central metabolism was analyzed by targeted and nontargeted metabolite profiling. The strongest metabolic changes were observed in the dark in {Delta}rpaA and, to a lesser extent, in the {Delta}kaiAB1C1 mutant. These observations included the overaccumulation of 2-phosphoglycolate, which correlated with the overaccumulation of the RbcL subunit in the mutants, and taken together, these data suggest enhanced RubisCO activity in the dark. The imbalanced carbon metabolism in the {Delta}rpaA mutant extended to the pyruvate family of amino acids, which showed increased accumulation in the dark. Hence, the deletion of the response regulator rpaA had a more pronounced effect on metabolism than the deletion of the kai genes. The larger impact of the rpaA mutation is in agreement with previous transcriptomic analyses and likely relates to a KaiAB1C1-independent function as a transcription factor. Collectively, our data demonstrate an important role of homologs of clock proteins in Synechocystis for balanced carbon and nitrogen metabolism during light-to-dark transitions.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2020

The novel PII-interacting protein PirA regulates flux into the cyanobacterial ornithine-ammonia cycle

Among prokaryotes, cyanobacteria have an exclusive position due to the fact that they perform oxygenic photosynthesis. Cyanobacteria substantially differ from other bacteria in further aspects, e.g. they evolved a plethora of unique regulatory mechanisms to control primary metabolism. This is exemplified by the regulation of glutamine synthetase (GS) via small proteins termed inactivating factors (IFs). Here we reveal another small, 51 amino acid protein, which is encoded by the ssr0692 gene, to regulate flux into the ornithine-ammonia cycle (OAC), the key hub of cyanobacterial nitrogen stockpiling and remobilization. This regulation is achieved by the interaction with the central carbon/nitrogen control protein PII, which commonly controls the entry into the OAC by activating the key enzyme of arginine synthesis, N-acetyl-L-glutamate kinase (NAGK). We suggest that Ssr0692 competes with NAGK for PII binding and thereby prevents NAGK activation, which in turn lowers arginine synthesis. Accordingly, we termed it PII-interacting regulator of arginine synthesis (PirA). Similar to the GS IFs, PirA accumulates in response to ammonium upshift due to relief from repression by the global nitrogen-control transcription factor NtcA. Consistently, deletion of PirA affects the cell to balance metabolite pools of the OAC in response to ammonium shocks. Moreover, its interaction with PII requires ADP and is prevented by PII mutations affecting the T-loop conformation, the major protein-interaction surface of this signal processing protein. Thus, we propose that PirA is an integrator determining flux into N storage compounds not only depending on the N availability but also the energy state of the cell. ImportanceCyanobacteria contribute a significant portion to the annual oxygen yield and play important roles in biogeochemical cycles, e.g. as major primary producers. Due to their photosynthetic lifestyle cyanobacteria also arouse interest as hosts for the sustainable production of fuel components and high-value chemicals. However, their broad application as microbial cell factories is hampered by limited knowledge about the regulation of metabolic fluxes in these organisms. Our research identified a novel regulatory protein that controls nitrogen flux, in particular arginine synthesis in the cyanobacterial model strain Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. Beside its role as proteinogenic amino acid, arginine is a precursor for the cyanobacterial storage compound cyanophycin, which is of potential interest to biotechnology. The obtained results will therefore not only enhance our understanding of flux control in these organisms, it will also help to provide a scientific fundament for targeted metabolic engineering and hence the design of photosynthesis-driven biotechnological applications.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2020

The Novel PII-Interacting Regulator PirC (Sll0944) Identifies 3-Phosphoglycerate Mutase (PGAM) as Central Control Point of Carbon Storage Metabolism in Cyanobacteria

Nitrogen limitation imposes a major transition in the life-style of non-diazotrophic cyanobacteria, which is regulated via a complex interplay of regulatory factors, involving, the nitrogen-specific transcription factor NtcA and the pervasive signal processor PII. Immediately upon nitrogen-limitation, newly fixed carbon is re-directed towards glycogen synthesis. How the metabolic switch for distributing fixed carbon to either glycogen or cellular building blocks is operated was poorly understood. Here we identify from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 a novel PII interactor, PirC, (Sll0944) that controls 3-phosphoglycerate mutase (PGAM), the enzyme that deviates newly fixed CO2 towards lower glycolysis. PirC acts as competitive inhibitor of PGAM and this interaction is tuned by PII/2-oxoglutarate. High oxoglutarate release PirC from PII-complex to inhibit PGAM. Accordingly, PirC deficient mutant, as compared to the wild-type, shows strongly reduced glycogen levels upon nitrogen deprivation whereas polyhydroxybutyrate granules are over-accumulated. Metabolome analysis revealed an imbalance in 3-phosphoglycerate to pyruvate levels in the PirC mutant, conforming that PirC controls the carbon flux in cyanobacteria via mutually exclusive interaction with either PII or PGAM.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2020

Stoichiometry of two plant glycine decarboxylase complexes and comparison with a cyanobacterial glycine cleavage system

The multienzyme glycine cleavage system (GCS) converts glycine and tetrahydrofolate to the one-carbon compound 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate, which is of vital importance for most if not all organisms. Photorespiring plant mitochondria contain very high levels of GCS proteins organised as a fragile glycine decarboxylase complex (GDC). The aim of this study is to provide mass spectrometry-based stoichiometric data for the plant leaf GDC and examine whether complex formation could be a general property of the GCS in photosynthesizing organisms. The molar ratios of the leaf GDC component proteins are 1L2-4P2-8T-26H and 1L2-4P2-8T-20H for pea and Arabidopsis, respectively, as determined by mass spectrometry. The minimum mass of the plant leaf GDC ranges from 1,550-1,650 kDa, which is larger than previously assumed. The Arabidopsis GDC contains four times more of the isoforms GCS-P1 and GCS-L1 in comparison with GCS-P2 and GCS-L2, respectively, whereas the H-isoproteins GCS-H1 and GCS-H3 are fully redundant as indicated by their about equal amounts. Isoform GCS-H2 is not present in leaf mitochondria. In the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, GCS proteins are present at low concentration but above the complex formation threshold reported for pea leaf GDC. Indeed, formation of a cyanobacterial GDC from the individual recombinant GCS proteins in vitro could be demonstrated. Presence and metabolic significance of a Synechocystis GDC in vivo remain to be examined but could involve multimers of the GCS H-protein that dynamically crosslink the three GCS enzyme proteins, facilitating glycine metabolism by the formation of multienzyme metabolic complexes.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2019

Non-canonical localization of RubisCO under high light conditions in the toxic cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa PCC7806

The frequent production of the hepatotoxin microcystin and its impact on the life-style of bloom-forming cyanobacteria are poorly understood. Here we report that microcystin interferes with the assembly and the subcellular localization of RubisCO, in Microcystis aeruginosa PCC7806. Immunofluorescence, electron microscopic and cellular fractionation studies revealed a pronounced heterogeneity in the subcellular localization of RubisCO. At high cell density, RubisCO particles are largely separate from carboxysomes in M. aeruginosa and relocate to the cytoplasmic membrane under high-light conditions. We hypothesize that the binding of microcystin to RubisCO promotes its membrane association and enables an extreme versatility of the enzyme. Steady-state levels of the RubisCO CO2 fixation product 3-phosphoglycerate are significantly higher in the microcystin-producing wild type. We also detected noticeable amounts of the RubisCO oxygenase reaction product secreted into the medium that may support the mutual interaction of M. aeruginosa with its heterotrophic microbial community.

microbiology↗