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There is a critical need for the development of clean and efficient energy sources. Hydrogen is being explored as a viable alternative to fuels in current use, many of which have limited availability and detrimental byproducts. Biological photo-production of H2 could provide a potential energy source directly manufactured from water

There is a critical need for the development of clean and efficient energy sources. Hydrogen is being explored as a viable alternative to fuels in current use, many of which have limited availability and detrimental byproducts. Biological photo-production of H2 could provide a potential energy source directly manufactured from water and sunlight. As a part of the photosynthetic electron transport chain (PETC) of the green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, water is split via Photosystem II (PSII) and the electrons flow through a series of electron transfer cofactors in cytochrome b6f, plastocyanin and Photosystem I (PSI). The terminal electron acceptor of PSI is ferredoxin, from which electrons may be used to reduce NADP+ for metabolic purposes. Concomitant production of a H+ gradient allows production of energy for the cell. Under certain conditions and using the endogenous hydrogenase, excess protons and electrons from ferredoxin may be converted to molecular hydrogen. In this work it is demonstrated both that certain mutations near the quinone electron transfer cofactor in PSI can speed up electron transfer through the PETC, and also that a native [FeFe]-hydrogenase can be expressed in the C. reinhardtii chloroplast. Taken together, these research findings form the foundation for the design of a PSI-hydrogenase fusion for the direct and continuous photo-production of hydrogen in vivo.
ContributorsReifschneider, Kiera (Author) / Redding, Kevin (Thesis advisor) / Fromme, Petra (Committee member) / Jones, Anne (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
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Description
ATP synthase is a large multimeric protein complex responsible for generating the energy molecule adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in most organisms. The catalysis involves the rotation of a ring of c-subunits, which is driven by the transmembrane electrochemical gradient. This dissertation reports how the eukaryotic c-subunit from spinach chloroplast ATP

ATP synthase is a large multimeric protein complex responsible for generating the energy molecule adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in most organisms. The catalysis involves the rotation of a ring of c-subunits, which is driven by the transmembrane electrochemical gradient. This dissertation reports how the eukaryotic c-subunit from spinach chloroplast ATP synthase has successfully been expressed in Escherichia coli and purified in mg quantities by incorporating a unique combination of methods. Expression was accomplished using a codon optimized gene for the c-subunit, and it was expressed as an attachment to the larger, more soluble, native maltose binding protein (MBP-c1). The fusion protein MBP-c1 was purified on an affinity column, and the c1 subunit was subsequently severed by protease cleavage in the presence of detergent. Final purification of the monomeric c1 subunit was accomplished using reversed phase column chromatography with ethanol as an eluent. Circular dichroism spectroscopy data showed clear evidence that the purified c-subunit is folded with the native alpha-helical secondary structure. Recent experiments appear to indicate that this monomeric recombinant c-subunit forms an oligomeric ring that is similar to its native tetradecameric form when reconstituted in liposomes. The F-type ATP synthase c-subunit stoichiometry is currently known to vary from 8 to 15 subunits among different organisms. This has a direct influence on the metabolic requirements of the corresponding organism because each c-subunit binds and transports one H+ across the membrane as the ring makes a complete rotation. The c-ring rotation drives rotation of the gamma-subunit, which in turn drives the synthesis of 3 ATP for every complete rotation. The availability of a recombinantly produced c-ring will lead to new experiments which can be designed to investigate the possible factors that determine the variable c-ring stoichiometry and structure.
ContributorsLawrence, Robert Michael (Author) / Fromme, Petra (Thesis advisor) / Chen, Julian J.L. (Committee member) / Woodbury, Neal W. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
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Description
Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is the universal chemical energy currency in most living cells, used to power many cellular reactions and generated by an enzyme supercomplex known as the ATP synthase, consisting of a hydrophilic F1 subcomplex and a membrane-bound FO subcomplex. Driven by the electrochemical gradient generated by the respiratory

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is the universal chemical energy currency in most living cells, used to power many cellular reactions and generated by an enzyme supercomplex known as the ATP synthase, consisting of a hydrophilic F1 subcomplex and a membrane-bound FO subcomplex. Driven by the electrochemical gradient generated by the respiratory or photosynthetic electron transport chain, the rotation of the FO domain drives movements of the central stalk in response to conformational changes in the F1 domain, in which the physical energy is converted into chemical energy through the condensation of ADP and Pi to ATP. The exact mechanism how ATP synthesis is coupled to proton translocation is not known as no structure of the intact ATP-synthase nor the intact FO subcomplex has been determined to date. Structural information may shed light on these mechanisms and aid in understanding how structural changed relate to its coupling to ATP synthesis. The work in this thesis has successful established a defined large-scale CF1FO isolation procedure resulting in high purity and high yield of this complex from spinach thylakoid membranes by incorporating a unique combination of biochemical methods will form the basis for the subsequent structural determination of this complex. Isolation began from the isolation of intact chloroplasts and the separation of intact thylakoid membranes. Both native and denaturing electrophoresis analyses clearly demonstrated that the purified CF1FO retains its quaternary structure consisting of the CF1 and CFO subcomplexes and nine subunits (five F1 subunits: α, β, γ, δ and ε, and four FO subunits: a, b, b' and c). Moreover, both ATP synthesis and hydrolysis activities were successfully detected using protein reconstitution in combination with acid-base incubation and in-gel ATPase assays, respectively. Furthermore, the ATP-synthase of H. modesticaldum, an anaerobic photosynthetic bacterium, was also isolated and characterized at the biochemical level. These biochemical characterizations directly influenced recent studies on the high-resolution structure determination of intact CF1FO using electron crystallography on two-dimensional crystals. The availability of the functionally intact CF1FO purified at a large scale will lead to studies that investigate the possible crystallization conditions to ultimately determine its three-dimensional structure at atomic resolution.
ContributorsYang, Jay-How (Author) / Fromme, Petra (Thesis advisor) / Redding, Kevin (Committee member) / Gould, Ian (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
ContributorsEvans, Bartlett R. (Conductor) / Schildkret, David (Conductor) / Glenn, Erica (Conductor) / Concert Choir (Performer) / Chamber Singers (Performer) / ASU Library. Music Library (Publisher)
Created2018-03-16
ContributorsOwen, Ken (Conductor) / McDevitt, Mandy L. M. (Performer) / Larson, Brook (Conductor) / Wang, Lin-Yu (Performer) / Jacobs, Todd (Performer) / Morehouse, Daniel (Performer) / Magers, Kristen (Performer) / DeGrow, Gary (Performer) / DeGrow, Richard (Performer) / Women's Chorus (Performer) / Sun Devil Singers (Performer) / ASU Library. Music Library (Publisher)
Created2004-03-24
ContributorsMetz, John (Performer) / Sowers, Richard (Performer) / Collegium Musicum (Performer) / ASU Library. Music Library (Publisher)
Created1983-01-29
ContributorsEvans, Bartlett R. (Conductor) / Glenn, Erica (Conductor) / Steiner, Kieran (Conductor) / Thompson, Jason D. (Conductor) / Arizona Statesmen (Performer) / Women's Chorus (Performer) / Concert Choir (Performer) / Gospel Choir (Conductor) / ASU Library. Music Library (Publisher)
Created2019-03-15
ContributorsKillian, George W. (Performer) / Killian, Joni (Performer) / Vocal Jazz Ensemble (Performer) / ASU Library. Music Library (Publisher)
Created1992-11-05
ContributorsButler, Robb (Conductor) / McCreary, Kimilee (Conductor) / Bakko, Nicki L. (Conductor) / Schreuder, Joel (Conductor) / Larson, Matthew (Performer) / Ortman, Mory (Performer) / Graduate Chorale I (Performer) / Graduate Chorale II (Performer) / ASU Library. Music Library (Publisher)
Created1999-12-02
ContributorsGarrett, Jennifer (Conductor) / FitzPatrick, Carole (Performer) / Aspnes, Lynne (Performer) / Campbell, Andrew (Pianist) (Performer) / Ryan, Russell (Performer) / Rockmaker, Jody (Performer) / Kocour, Mike (Performer) / McLin, Katherine (Performer) / Larson, Brook Carter (Conductor) / Women's Chorus (Performer) / Men's Chorus (Performer) / ASU Library. Music Library (Publisher)
Created2009-05-04