Matching Items (5)
Filtering by
- All Subjects: Rubisco
- Creators: Levitus, Marcia
- Creators: Nieves Colón, Maria
- Creators: Pestle, William J.
Description
Solution conformations and dynamics of proteins and protein-DNA complexes are often difficult to predict from their crystal structures. The crystal structure only shows a snapshot of the different conformations these biological molecules can have in solution. Multiple different conformations can exist in solution and potentially have more importance in the biological activity. DNA sliding clamps are a family of proteins with known crystal structures. These clamps encircle the DNA and enable other proteins to interact more efficiently with the DNA. Eukaryotic PCNA and prokaryotic β clamp are two of these clamps, some of the most stable homo-oligomers known. However, their solution stability and conformational equilibrium have not been investigated in depth before. Presented here are the studies involving two sliding clamps: yeast PCNA and bacterial β clamp. These studies show that the β clamp has a very different solution stability than PCNA. These conclusions were reached through various different fluorescence-based experiments, including fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET), single molecule fluorescence, and various time resolved fluorescence techniques. Interpretations of these, and all other, fluorescence-based experiments are often affected by the properties of the fluorophores employed. Often the fluorescence properties of these fluorophores are influenced by their microenvironments. Fluorophores are known to sometimes interact with biological molecules, and this can have pronounced effects on the rotational mobility and photophysical properties of the dye. Misunderstanding the effect of these photophysical and rotational properties can lead to a misinterpretation of the obtained data. In this thesis, photophysical behaviors of various organic dyes were studied in the presence of deoxymononucleotides to examine more closely how interactions between fluorophores and DNA bases can affect fluorescent properties. Furthermore, the properties of cyanine dyes when bound to DNA and the effect of restricted rotation on FRET are presented in this thesis. This thesis involves studying fluorophore photophysics in various microenvironments and then expanding into the solution stability and dynamics of the DNA sliding clamps.
ContributorsRanjit, Suman (Author) / Levitus, Marcia (Thesis advisor) / Lindsay, Stuart (Committee member) / Yan, Hao (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Rubisco activase (Rca) from higher plants is a stromal ATPase essential for reactivating Rubiscos rendered catalytically inactive by endogenous inhibitors. Rca’s functional state is thought to consist of ring-like hexameric assemblies, similar to other members of the AAA+ protein superfamily. However, unlike other members, it does not form obligate hexamers and is quite polydisperse in solution, making elucidation of its self-association pathway challenging. This polydispersity also makes interpretation of traditional biochemical approaches difficult, prompting use of a fluorescence-based technique (Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy) to investigate the relationship between quaternary structure and function. Like cotton β Rca, tobacco β Rca appears to assemble in a step-wise and nucleotide-dependent manner. Incubation in varying nucleotides appears to alter the equilibrium between varying oligomers, either promoting or minimizing the formation of larger oligomers. High concentrations of ADP seem to favor continuous assembly towards larger oligomers, while assembly in the presence of ATP-yS (an ATP analog) appears to halt continuous assembly in favor of hexameric species. In contrast, assembly in the “Active ATP Turnover” condition (a mixture of ATP and ADP) appears to favor an almost equal distribution of tetramer and hexamer, which when compared with ATPase activity, shows great alignment with maximum activity in the low µM range. Despite this alignment, the decrease in ATPase activity does not follow any particular oligomer, but rather decreases with increasing aggregation, suggesting that assembly dynamics may regulate ATPase activity, rather than the formation/disappearance of one specific oligomer. Work presented here also indicates that all oligomers larger than hexamers are catalytically inactive, thus providing support for the idea that they may serve as a storage mechanism to minimize wasteful hydrolysis. These findings are also supported by assembly work carried out on an Assembly Mutant (R294V), known for favoring formation of closed-ring hexamers. Similar assembly studies were carried out on spinach Rca, however, due to its aggregation propensity, FCS results were more difficult to interpret. Based on these findings, one could argue that assembly dynamics are essential for Rca function, both in ATPase and in regulation of Rubisco carboxylation activity, thus providing a rational for Rca’s high degree of polydispersity.
ContributorsSerban, Andrew J (Author) / Wachter, Rebekka M. (Thesis advisor) / Levitus, Marcia (Thesis advisor) / Redding, Kevin E (Committee member) / Van Horn, Wade D (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Rubisco is a very important protein which catalyzes the addition of CO2 to ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate (RuBP) to form two molecules of 3-phosphoglycerate in photosynthesis. Rubisco activase is the protein which functions to uninhibit Rubisco, however proof of a physical interaction has never been shown. A possible method for determining the interaction of the two proteins is by Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) based analysis of the two proteins. Attempts to get a FRET signal from these two proteins have been unsuccessful. To get better results, Ficoll 70, a crowding agent, was used. Analysis suggests that Ficoll 70 does not affect the fluorescence of Alexa-fluor 488 and Alexa-fluor 647 used to label the two proteins. Further analysis also suggests that while the Alexa label on Rubisco activase does not affect the ATPase activity of the protein, the protein also does not have a high rate of ATP turnover.
ContributorsTichacek, Laura Renee (Author) / Wachter, Rebekka (Thesis director) / Levitus, Marcia (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Although the Caribbean has been continuously inhabited for the last 7,000 years, European contact in the last 500 years dramatically reshaped the cultural and genetic makeup of island populations. Several recent studies have explored the genetic diversity of Caribbean Latinos and have characterized Native American variation present within their genomes. However, the difficulty of obtaining ancient DNA from pre-contact populations and the underrepresentation of non-Latino Caribbean islanders in current research have prevented a complete understanding of genetic variation over time and space in the Caribbean basin. This dissertation uses two approaches to characterize the role of migration and admixture in the demographic history of Caribbean islanders. First, autosomal variants were genotyped in a sample of 55 Afro-Caribbeans from five islands in the Lesser Antilles: Grenada, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Trinidad, and St. Vincent. These data were used to characterize genetic structure, ancestry and signatures of selection in these populations. The results demonstrate a complex pattern of admixture since European contact, including a strong signature of sex-biased mating and inputs from at least five continental populations to the autosomal ancestry of Afro-Caribbean peoples. Second, ancient mitochondrial and nuclear DNA were obtained from 60 skeletal remains, dated between A.D. 500–1300, from three archaeological sites in Puerto Rico: Paso del Indio, Punta Candelero and Tibes. The ancient data were used to reassesses existing models for the peopling of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean and to examine the extent of genetic continuity between ancient and modern populations. Project findings support a largely South American origin for Ceramic Age Caribbean populations and identify some genetic continuity between pre and post contact islanders. The above study was aided by development and testing of extraction methods optimized for recovery of ancient DNA from tropical contexts. Overall, project findings characterize how ancient indigenous groups, European colonial regimes, the African Slave Trade and modern labor movements have shaped the genomic diversity of Caribbean islanders. In addition to its anthropological and historical importance, such knowledge is also essential for informing the identification of medically relevant genetic variation in these populations.
ContributorsNieves Colón, Maria (Author) / Stone, Anne C (Thesis advisor) / Pestle, William J. (Committee member) / Benn-Torres, Jada (Committee member) / Stojanowski, Christopher (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
Proteins function as molecular machines which perform a diverse set of essential jobs. To use these proteins as tools and manipulate them with directed engineering, a deeper understanding of their function and regulation is needed. In the studies presented here, the chemical mechanism of a fluorescent protein and the assembly behavior of a chemo-mechanical protein were explored to better understand their operation. In the first study a photoconvertible fluorescent protein (pcFP) was examined which undergoes a photochemical transformation upon irradiation with blue light resulting in an emission wavelength change from green to red. Photo-transformable proteins have been used in high resolution, subcellular biological imaging techniques, and desires to engineer them have prompted investigations into the mechanism of catalysis in pcFPs. Here, a Kinetic Isotope Effect was measured to determine the rate-limiting step of green-to-red photoconversion in the reconstructed Least Evolved Ancestor (LEA) protein. The results provide insight on the process of photoconversion and evidence for the formation of a long-lived intermediate. The second study presented here focuses on the AAA+ protein Rubisco activase (Rca), which plays a critical role in the removal of inhibitors from the carbon-dioxide fixing enzyme Rubisco. Efforts to engineer Rubisco and Rca can be guided by a deeper understanding of their structure and interactions. The structure of higher plant Rca from spinach, and its interactions with its cognate Rubisco, were investigated through negative-stain electron microscopy (EM) and cryo-EM experiments. Multiple types of higher-order oligomers of plant Rca were imaged which have never been structurally characterized, and the AAA+ core of plant Rca was shown to bind Rubisco side-on, similar to bacterial Rca’s. Higher resolution structures of these aggregates and complexes are needed to make definitive observations on protein-protein interactions. However, the results presented here provide evidence for the formation of regulatory structures and an experimental foundation for future exploration of plant Rca through cryo-EM.
ContributorsBreen, Isabella (Author) / Wachter, Rebekka (Thesis advisor) / Chiu, Po-Lin (Thesis advisor) / Levitus, Marcia (Committee member) / Mills, Jeremy (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020