Properties of proteins in food systems: an introduction

E.C.Y. Li-Chan , in Proteins in Nutrient Processing, 2004

two.4.1 Nomenclature of proteins – by structure or role

Food proteins tin can be classified based on either structural or functional attributes. Structural attributes that may exist used equally the ground for distinguishing betwixt groups of proteins include the amino acid composition (due east.g. hydrophobic or hydrophilic balance, acidic or basic proteins, sulfur-containing proteins, proline-rich proteins), shape (e.g. globular or fibrous), secondary structure propensity (e.g. proteins with predominantly β-canvas or predominantly α-helical structures, α + β, α/β, α/β linear, α/β barrel structures, or those with picayune ordered construction), and quaternary structure (i.e. monomeric, dimeric, etc.). Hierarchical classifications of families of protein structures are found on the globe wide spider web, including SCOP (Structural Nomenclature of Proteins at http://scop.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/scop/ ) and CATH (Class, Architecture, Topology, Homology at http://www.biochem.ucl.ac.uk/bsm/cath/ ). Proteins can also exist categorized every bit simple or conjugated proteins, and in the latter example, by the detail conjugating grouping, for instance equally phosphoproteins, metalloproteins, lipoproteins, glycoproteins, etc. (Regenstein and Regenstein, 1984).

Functional attributes used for classification may be based on biological functions, for example, equally enzymes, hormones, transport proteins, structural proteins, contractile proteins, storage or nutrient proteins, regulatory proteins, defense proteins, etc. Alternatively, proteins can be viewed in terms of their functional office in food systems. Food proteins differ in their solubility, viscosity, h2o-binding, gelation, cohesion, adhesion, elasticity, emulsification, foaming, and fat or flavour binding properties (Damodaran, 1996).

The Osborne nomenclature of proteins such as albumins, globulins, glutelins and prolamins, is an example of applying a functional attribute (solubility) to distinguish nutrient proteins (Regenstein and Regenstein, 1984; Li-Chan, 1996). Albumins are divers as those proteins that are readily soluble in water, while globulins require salt solutions for solubilization. Glutelins are soluble in dilute acrid or base, and prolamins require alcoholic media as solvents. Examples of food protein fractions prepared and identified based on these solubility classes include the gluten and not-gluten fractions of wheat, the globulins from various oilseeds, and the sarcoplasmic, myofibrillar and stroma proteins from muscle foods (Li-Chan, 1996).

Unfortunately, to date, although there are anecdotal bases for defining poly peptide ingredients as 'proficient' or 'poor' with respect to particular functional properties, in that location has not been whatsoever systematic nomenclature of nutrient proteins based on functional properties other than solubility. Furthermore, our agreement of the specific structural characteristics that form the ground for discrimination between different classes of functional properties remains limited.

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Biosynthesis of Vitamins in Plants Part A

Maria Rapala-Kozik , in Advances in Botanical Research, 2022

2 Thiazole component biosynthesis

For the edifice of the thiazole component, plants use the same pathway adult in yeast (Fig. 5), in which NAD+ and glycine are converted to HET-P by thiazole synthase (THI4) in cooperation with a protein sulphur donor (Chatterjee et al., 2006, 2008b). Numerous genes with high sequence similarity to THI4 accept been identified in the genomes of Zea mays (thi1 and thi2; Belanger et al., 1995), Alnus glutinosa (agthi1; Ribeiro et al., 1996), A. thaliana (thi1; Machado et al., 1996) and Oryza sativa (OsDR8; Wang et al., 2006). Complementation studies using Arabidopsis THI1 in E. coli mutant strains defective in DNA repair pathways or THI4-defective yeast mutant strains further supported a role for THI1 in thiamine biosynthesis and its possible involvement besides in plant tolerance to mitochondrial DNA impairment (Machado et al., 1996, 1997).

Sequence analysis of the THI1 protein encoded by a single cistron in Arabidopsis (tz locus) has identified an N-terminal chloroplast transit peptide and a mitochondria targeting-like presequence but downstream, suggesting the dual targeting of this gene product to both plastids and mitochondria. The resolved crystal structure of Arabidopsis THI1, heterologously expressed and overproduced in E. coli (Godoi et al., 2006) revealed that the protein (244   kDa) is an octamer containing dinucleotide binding domains adjusted to NAD+ binding. To engagement, this is the just plant thiamine biosynthetic enzyme whose three-dimensional construction has been elucidated at an diminutive resolution (Fig. 7).

Fig. seven. Structure of thiazole-synthesizing protein THI1 from Arabidopsis thaliana. (A) The structure of THI1 monomer with a visualized molecule of tightly bound 2-carboxylate-4-methyl-5-(β-ethyl adenosine 5′-diphosphate) thiazole (ADT), an apparent product of the catalysed reaction. (B) Amino acid residues which surround the ADT molecule bound in the agile centre of THI1 protein. The construction was imported from UniProt KB (access No Q38814) and drawn with PyMol program (ExPASy server).

Similarly to the yeast THI4 poly peptide, the tightly bound ii-carboxylate-4-methyl-5-(β-ethyl adenosine five′-diphosphate) thiazole was identified within the THI1 construction and was suggested to be a tardily intermediate on the thiazole biosynthetic road, additionally supporting the hypothesis that yeast-like biosynthetic pathways are utilized by plants, with NAD+ as the substrate. The dual function of this gene was confirmed past the observation that some site-directed mutations of THI1 prevent thiazole biosynthetic action but do not affect mitochondrial DNA stability (Godoi et al., 2006), the latter being controlled by the same factor through a all the same unidentified mechanism.

Thiazole synthesis was found to be localized to chloroplasts in spinach (Julliard and Douce, 1991) and maize (Belanger et al., 1995). The dominant accumulation of transcripts of thi2, the maize paralog of thi1, was observed in young, apace dividing tissues, whilst thi1 is detectable in mature green leaves. This may reflect a subfunctionalization of both encoded proteins. The thi2-blk1 mutant is a thiamine auxotroph which shows defects in shoot meristem maintenance and a novel leaf blade reduction phenotype (Woodward et al., 2010).

In Arabidopsis, an assay of the organelle localization of a β-glucuronidase-fused THI1 poly peptide (GUS-THI1) confirmed chloroplasts and mitochondria as the targets of THI1 localization and provided prove that two isoforms of THI1 are produced from a single nuclear transcript. Hence, this targeting occurs through a post-transcriptional mechanism (Chabregas et al., 2001, 2003; Ribeiro et al., 2005). The intensive expression of THI1 was observed in all organs at different plant development stages, for example, during nodule differentiation (Ribeiro et al., 1996) and ethylene-induced fruit maturation (Jacob-Wilk et al., 1997). THI1 expression was besides found to predominate in shoot tissues every bit compared with roots (Ribeiro et al., 2005) and is twofold higher in plants grown under light (Papini-Terzi et al., 2003). The presence of thiamine in the medium did not bear on the THI1 expression level, in precipitous contrast to the strong repression of the yeast orthologous factor (THI4) by external thiamine.

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Biofertilizers: Mechanisms and application

Devendra Singh , ... Mahendra Vikram Singh Rajawat , in Biofertilizers, 2022

12.5.1 Nitrogen fixation

Nitrogen (Northtwo) is the cardinal supplement for plant evolution and profitability. Since the plants accept no capacity to use the environmental nitrogen (Ntwo), information technology inverse over into plant-utilizable structures by biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) which changes nitrogen to ammonia past nitrogen-fixing microorganisms utilizing nitrogenase enzyme (Kim and Rees, 1994). Nitrogenase enzymes contain ii subunits-molybdo-ferredoxin protein (Mo-Fe poly peptide) and ferrous sulfur poly peptide (Fe-S). NADPH2/NADH2/FADH2 is generally acted as electron donors. Ferredoxin or flavodoxin human action as electron carriers, carry the electrons from an electron donor to Mo-Fe protein. Mo-Fe poly peptide transfer the electron to second small subunit Fe-S protein, during this procedure Mg-ATP complex is hydrolyzed, therefore both subunits dissociate with each other. Furthermore, Fe-S protein transfers the electron to N2 and reduces it into NH3. In this process, about 16 ATP molecules are required to reduce 1 mole of Due north2. Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) happens, generally at mesophilic conditions, by microorganisms, which are generally appropriated in nature (Raymond et al., 2004). Besides, BNF speaks to a financially advantageous and eco-friendly option in contrast to synthetic fertilizers (Ladha et al., 1997). Inoculation of these biofertilizers species ordinarily enhances the institute's dry out weight, flowering, and yield. Even so, the yield increase brought almost by inoculation of these bioinoculants could frequently be ascribed to an expansion in root improvement, which permits better paces of water and mineral accept-up (Bhattacharyya and Jha, 2022). Our previous published report also suggested that nitrogen-fixing Azospirillum sp. enhanced the wheat plant growth and yield (Singh et al., 2022b).

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SELENIUM

C.J. Bates , in Encyclopedia of Human Nutrition (2nd Edition), 2005

Selenoproteins: Classification and Functions

Tabular array 1 lists the selenoproteins that accept been unequivocally identified in mammals, together with a summary of their main locations and known functions. Of the known glutathione peroxidases, three are tetramers and one (the phospholipid hydroperoxide-specific peroxidase) is monomeric in its quaternary structure. It appears to be this class of enzymatic activity that is disquisitional for the activity of selenoproteins in maintaining immune function, and indeed, glutathione peroxidase type I knockout mice are susceptible to viral mutation and increased viral virulence, as are selenium-deficient ones. Several other selenoproteins listed in Table 1 also have antioxidant functions and activities. Reaction of glutathione peroxidase with peroxides yields selenic or seleninic acid at the active site of the enzyme, which is recycled by glutathione.

Table 1. Selenoprotein description and functions

Selenoprotein Molecular description Function
Glutathione peroxidases (GPx) Removal of potentially harmful peroxides and modulation of eicosanoid synthesis
Type I Tetramer >   fifty% of total Se in body; acts equally Se buffer/store
Type II Tetramer May protect the intestine
Type 3 Tetramer Institute in plasma and milk; synthesized in kidney
Blazon 4 Monomer Phospholipid hydroperoxide GPx; abundant in testis; resistant to Se deficiency; involved in eicosanoid metabolism
Thioredoxin reductases (types I, 2, Three) Transfers protons from NADPH via leap FAD to thioredoxin; regulates gene expression by redox command of binding of transcription factors to DNA; needed for jail cell viability and proliferation; can reduce dehydroascorbate and ascorbate radical to ascorbate
Iodothyronine deiodinases (types I, II, III) Type I acts in liver and thyroid gland to convert T4 to Tthree; the other types occur in other tissues and likewise assist to regulate thyroid hormone levels
Selenophosphate synthetase Synthesizes selenophospate from selenide   +   ATP equally first step in selenocysteine synthesis during Se incorporation into selenoproteins
Sperm mitochondrial capsule selenoprotein Sperm structural protein required for integrity of sperm tail and its mobility; also an antioxidant, similar to GPx IV
Prostate epithelial selenoprotein 15   kDa In epithelial cells; possibly redox role, similar to GPx IV
Selenoprotein P Accounts for 60–80% of plasma selenoproteins; contains up to 10 selenocysteines per molecule; has a transport office; binds mercury; may protect the cardiovascular system and endothelial cells
Selenoprotein W 10   kDa Small-scale antioxidant protein found in muscle (+   heart); its loss may account for white muscle disease of sheep
xviii-kDa selenoprotein (SELT) In kidney and many other tissues; not easily depleted in Se deficiency
SELR, SELN 12.6 and 47.5   kDa, respectively
Spermatid selenoprotein 34   kDa In sperm nuclei and in stomach; has GPx activity

There are thirty–50 proteins that contain Se, as detected by 75Se-labelling in mammals, only about one-half of which take been investigated.

The three thioredoxin reductases act in conjunction with the sulfur poly peptide thioredoxin and with NADPH to bind key transcription factors to Dna. The iodothyronine deiodinases attune the thyroid hormones, helping to ensure an optimal supply of the well-nigh active member of the thyroid hormones, triiodothyronine. The different selenoprotein deiodinases are institute at unlike sites in the body. If selenium and iodine are scarce in a man population, the thyroid deficiency is more severe (and goiters are larger) than if only iodine is lacking. This situation is endemic in some areas of key Africa, including Kivu province in the Central African Republic (formerly Zaire).

The sperm mitochondrial capsule selenoprotein has a structural equally well as an enzymic role, and information technology is responsible for both the maintenance of motility and the structural integrity of the tail of the sperm. Both human and other mammals showroom reduced sperm motility and increased sperm rupture under conditions of low selenium supply. A study in Glasgow, Scotland, recorded enhanced sperm move and fertility in men who received a selenium supplement.

The precise functional roles of selenoproteins P and Due west are not well understood. Selenoprotein P contains more than selenium (upwards to ten   atoms   per   molecule) than whatsoever other mammalian selenoprotein, and it can form equimolar selenium–mercury complexes, thereby probably helping to detoxify mercury. It is the major selenoprotein found in plasma and may also act as a selenium ship protein and selenium reserve. Selenoprotein W is constitute in musculus, and its refuse may help explain the molecular basis of white muscle disease in selenium-deficient sheep.

Other selenoproteins take been characterized by their molecular size but not by their functions and health significance ( Table ane ).

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Mineral Requirements

In Horse Feeding and Nutrition (Second Edition), 1991

D. Full general Information

There are some areas of seleniferous soils in Southward Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New United mexican states that produce selenium-accumulator plants which are toxic to livestock (Fig. 6.2). The occurrence of the toxic selenium-accumulator plants is almost widespread in Wyoming and Due south Dakota. However, these accumulator plants probably add together very piddling to the selenium content of animal feeds considering they ordinarily grow in dry nonagricultural areas co-ordinate to the 1983 NRC publication on "Selenium in Diet." The publication also states that the impact of the selenium-accumulator plants on the livestock manufacture in the seleniferous areas is small considering of the widespread adoption of applied techniques for decision-making the problem.

By and large, higher levels of protein, sulfur, and arsenilic acids will partially protect against a toxicity of selenium. Selenium is eliminated rapidly from the body when animals are fed a low-selenium nutrition. 1 should avoid using high-level selenium diets, however. The amount of selenium used should be close to the requirement level. In the horse, a toxicity of selenium results in a loss of status, erosion of the long bones, elongation and neat of hooves, and a partial or total loss of hair in the mane and tail (111). Acute selenium toxicity (bullheaded staggers) is characterized by apparent blindness, caput pressing, perspiration, abdominal pain, colic, diarrhea, increased centre and respiration rates, and languor (five, 112). Chronic selenium toxicity (brine affliction) is characterized by alopecia, especially about the mane and tail, as well as cracking of the hooves around the coronary band (v, 112).

The selenium available to plants varies a great bargain among soils from unlike locations. Moreover, the total selenium level in soils does not accurately predict how much of information technology is bachelor to plants. Almost all of the selenium excreted by animals in the feces and urine is in an insoluble form that is unavailable to plants.

The major selenium compounds in seeds or forages consumed past livestock appear to be selenocystine, selenocysteine, selenomethionine, and selenium-methyl-selenomethionine. Selenium supplements which are added to brute diets are mainly sodium selenite and sodium selenate.

There are considerable differences in the availability of selenium in various feeds. Information in Table half-dozen.13 were recalculated by Dr. Thou. F. Combs, Jr., of Cornell University from earlier information obtained by Dr. M. 50. Scott and others at Cornell.

TABLE six.thirteen. Biological Availability of Selenium in Feed Sources by Chick Bioassay a

Feed source Pct availability b Found sources Percent availability b
Plant
 Soybean meal 70 Cottonseed repast 91
 Distillers grains and solubles 75 Corn 97
 Brewer's grains 87 Brewer's grains 119
 Wheat 90 Alfalfa meal 208
Feed source Percent availability Inorganic compounds Percentage availability b
Animal
 Condensed fish solubles vi Elemental Se three
 Meat and bone meal xv Na2 Se 44
 Menhaden meal 16 Naii SeO4 74
 Herring meal 23 Na2 SeO3 100 b
 Poultry by-product meal 25
 Tuna meal 31
a
Data from Drs. Yard. 50. Scott and G. F. Combs of Cornell University.
b
The availability figures shown in this table are based on giving NaiiSeO3 a value of 100 and using it every bit the reference standard.

The information shown in Tabular array vi.thirteen point that feeds of constitute origin are much higher in selenium availability than the fauna protein source feeds. The selenium in alfalfa repast and brewer'southward grains has the highest availability. Sodium selenite and sodium selenate accept the highest availability of the inorganic selenium compounds.

The data shown in Table 6.13 testify that assay of feeds for total selenium can be misleading. It means that many diets thought to be adequate in selenium may be deficient when the availability of selenium is considered. This accounts for more selenium deficiencies being detected. Moreover, the use of new highly refined and sensitive chemical methods make it possible to determine very low levels of selenium in feeds and body tissues. This has made it possible to make up one's mind the selenium-deficient feeds and areas where they occur and thus more adequately evaluate the selenium condition in an area.

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Mössbauer Spectroscopy, Applications

Guennadi N. Belozerski , in Encyclopedia of Spectroscopy and Spectrometry (Third Edition), 2022

Applications in Biological science and Geology

Many biological molecules incorporate iron and Mössbauer spectroscopy is a useful tool for the written report of proteins and enzymes. The measurement of the magnetic properties of transition metal elements in biological molecules by MS, NMR and EPR is an of import way of characterizing the electronic state of the metal ion, and hence of providing a clue to the structure and function of the molecule. Mössbauer spectroscopy may be used to study their chemic country and bonding and to obtain qualitative information on the local construction and symmetry in their neighbourhood.

Haem proteins are the all-time-understood of these molecules, and the showtime systematic study of biological molecules using the Mössbauer consequence was done on haemoglobin and its derivatives. Since then a cracking bargain of work has been done on ironâ€"sulphur proteins and on fe-storage proteins. Magnetic susceptibility information showed that the chemical land of the atomic number 26 atom and its spin state are very sensitive to the nature of the sixth ligand. The Mössbauer spectra of these molecules have been valuable in confirming these earlier conclusions, and have yielded quantitative information on the mode that the energy levels and wavefunctions of the iron atoms are affected past the ligand field and spinâ€"orbit coupling in the protein. They have also been valuable in providing standard spectra for each of the 4 mutual states of iron, and a summary of the chemical shifts and quadrupole splittings measured at 195   K is shown in Table 3 .

Table iii. Isomer shifts δ and quadrupole splittings Î"E Q for haemoglobin at 195   G. The symbol metHb is used for ferric haemoglobin and Hb for ferrous haemoglobin

Fabric δ Î"EQ
metHbF (0.three) (0.67)
metHbH2O 0.20 2.00
metHbCN 0.17 1.39
metHbOH 0.eighteen 1.57
Hb 0.90 2.xl
metHbN3 0.15 2.30
metHbOH 0.xviii ane.57
Hb 0.90 2.40
HbNO a â€" â€"
HbOtwo 0.xx ane.89
HbCO 0.18 0.36
a
Spectrum very broad.

In affliction, haemoglobin may become ferric (denoted metHb) and of depression spin, e.1000. in a haemoglobin cyanide metHbCN, azide metHbN3 or hydroxide metHbOH. The nigh noticeable feature of the spectra is the appearance of magnetic hyperfine structure at 77   K. Spectra of metHbCN at these temperatures are shown in Figure 8 . At 4.two   Grand the magnetic hyperfine spectrum is well resolved, but is complex and asymmetrical owing to the anisotropy of the hyperfine interaction tensor.

Figure 8

Figure 8. Mössbauer spectra of a low-spin ferric haemoglobin metHbCN â€" at (a) 195   Grand, (b) 77   1000 and (c) four.2   K. The broadening at 77   Thou relative to 195   K is due to the slower electron spin relaxation rate. At 4.2   K the relaxation is so slow that the hyperfine blueprint is resolved, only complex.

Apart from haem proteins, there are studies of ironâ€"sulfur proteins, iron transport and fe-storage compounds, iodine compounds and vitamin B 12. At that place are many publications connected with nitrogenase, oxygenase, hydrogenase and cytochrome P450â€"ferredoxin enzyme systems and medical and physiological applications.

Application of Mössbauer spectroscopy to crystallography, mineralogy and geology is very similar to chemic applications, with the main accent on phase analysis and structure determination. In view of the bully importance of iron in the globe's chaff and the widespread occurrence of this element in rock-forming minerals, globe scientists have naturally focused attending on applications of 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy. I of the well-nigh important groups of rock-forming minerals are the silicates, in which particular lattice positions are frequently occupied past more than ii atomic species. In these cases, accurate site occupancy numbers for each species cannot be obtained past diffraction lone. Mössbauer spectroscopy has been a useful tool for investigating the local properties of iron sites in complex crystal structures, particularly when employed on minerals with carefully defined (well-known) positional parameters.

Typical applications of Mössbauer spectroscopy to mineralogy and geology take been assay of the oxidation state of iron at iron sites in minerals. The ferric to ferrous iron ratio reveals important data on the partial pressure of oxygen during crystallization, which is a parameter of geological significance. The study of area ratios of distinct hyperfine patterns has led to thermodynamic analyses of orderâ€"disorder phenomena in minerals. Application of Mössbauer spectroscopy to poorly crystallized materials of geological relevance may be fruitful. Studies take been made on hydrolysis and absorption in dirt minerals and on coordination polyhedra of atomic number 26 in glasses.

Mössbauer spectroscopy has made a pocket-sized contribution to the written report of blended samples and separated mineral phases from the moon. The constituents of the lunar soil are of a highly complex nature. The chief aim has been to report the amount of iron in the soil, the distribution of iron over the soil constituents, and the particular valence states. The soils at the moon landing sites practise not represent averages of the collected rocks. The spectrum of the soil ( Figure 9 ) is the superposition of patterns of 57Fe in silicate minerals, silicate spectacles, ilmenite, metallic iron, and troilite.

Figure 9

Figure 9. Resonant absorption spectrum of 57Fe (295   K) in lunar soil from the Apollo eleven landing site at Mare Tranquillitatis. The absorption in the range between 0 and 0.3   mm   sâˆ'1 results primarily from fe in silicate drinking glass, pyroxene and olivine; the peaks at lower and higher velocities are due to metallic fe.

The identification of the magnetic patterns of metal iron and FeS and the quadrupole-dissever design of paramagnetic FeTiOthree is by and large no problem in spectra from soil absorbers kept at room temperature ( Effigy nine ). However, the paramagnetic silicates in the soil cannot be identified hands because of the substantial overlap of their quadrupole-split patterns.

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Metabolism of wort by yeast

In Brewing: Science and Practice, 2004

12.5.iv Electron send and oxidative phosphorylation

In the last stage of the oxidative catabolism of sugars, the reduced redox coenzymes, NADH   +   H+ and FADH (reduced FAD; 4.94), arising from the TCA wheel and glycolysis, are re-oxidized. The procedure is mediated by a series of redox carriers and it culminates in the reduction of molecular oxygen to h2o. Together, the redox carriers establish the respiratory or electron send chain (Fig. 12.9). Sequent components of the electron ship concatenation accept progressively more than positive standard redox potentials, which facilitates the ordered transfer of electrons. Transfer of electrons down the transport chain generates free energy, a proportion of which is retained in the form of the high-energy bonds of ATP. The procedure of energy transduction is termed oxidative phosphorylation. Information technology tin can be summarised in the following equation:

Fig. 12.9. The glyoxylate wheel. The genes and enzymes are: ICL1, isocitrate lyase; MLS1, malate synthase; MDH3, malate dehydrogenase (cytosolic). Other stages are catalysed by enzymes of the tricarboxylic acrid cycle.

D H 2 + i two O two + nADP D + nATP + H 2 O

DH2 is a hydrogen donor. The value of n is a variable and is dependent on the tightness of coupling between respiration and phosphorylation and the nature of the donor. The efficiency of phosphorylation is ordinarily expressed as the P:O ratio, which is the number of ATP molecules generated per oxygen cantlet utilized.

The redox carriers are a diverse group of compounds that share the common property of having a reversibly reducible component. Cytochromes are haemoproteins in which the prosthetic group, haem, is a tetracyclic pyrrole, containing an atom of iron, which tin be reversibly reduced from the ferric to the ferrous class. Ubiquinone (Coenzyme Q) is a hydrophobic quinone, which can be reversibly reduced to the quinol course. hon sulphur proteins also undergo transitions between the ferrous and ferric states. Flavoproteins incorporate prosthetic groups flavin mononucleotide (FMN) or flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD). Both contain a reversibly reducible isoalloxazine group inside the riboflavin moiety.

The electron transport chain consists of five complexes, which are located within the inner mitochondrial membrane (Fig. 12.nine). The commencement complex, NADH-CoQ reductase accepts electrons from NADH, generated past the mitochondrial TCA cycle. The electrons are passed on to a puddle of ubiquinone causing the latter to be reduced to ubiquinol. The ubiquinone pool also accepts electrons from the 2nd complex, succinate dehydrogenase, located on the inner surface of the inner mitochondrial membrane. In yeast, this dehydrogenase also shows action towards α-glycerophosphate. Ubiquinols are re-oxidized by transfer of electrons to the third complex, CoQ-cytochrome C reductase. In yeast, this complex contains cytochromes b and cl and an iron-sulphur protein. The cytochrome c pool mediates transfer of electrons between the third and fourth complexes. The latter is cytochrome c oxidase, which contains cytochromes a, a3 and a copper metalloprotein. Cytochrome oxidase completes the process past transferring electrons to oxygen, generating water.

The fifth complex is an ATP synthase, the activity of which is coupled to the free energy liberated by the controlled catamenia of electrons. This procedure is accomplished according to the principles of the chemiosmotic theory (Mitchell, 1979). This holds that the electron chain complexes are arranged spatially inside the mitochondrial inner membrane such that as electrons catamenia down their electrical potential, protons are translocated from the inside to the outside of the membrane. Since the membrane is relatively impermeable to protons and other charged species, the electrogenic pumping of protons generates a transmembrane electrochemical potential difference. This has both electric (accuse) and chemic (proton concentration) components. This thermodynamic potential drives the synthesis of ATP via a reversible proton-translocating ATPase or ATP synthase.

Complexes 1, three and 4 are associated with proton pumping and hence, indirectly with ATP generation, termed sites I, II and III, respectively. Theoretically, each pair of electrons traversing the whole of the respiratory chain could generate three molecules of ATP. Electrons arising in the mitochondrial matrix from the oxidation of succinate featherbed the beginning phosphorylation site. In exercise, bodily yields of ATP are lower. In some yeast genera, for example, Candida utilis, phosphorylation site I is present during growth under certain weather of nutrient limitation. However, in S. cerevisiae, including brewing strains, the existence of site I has been questioned (Guerin, 1991). Unlike mammalian cells, mitochondria of S. cerevisiae oxidize exogenous NAD(P)H, directly via NAD(P)+ dehyrogenases located in the outer surface of the inner membrane. These deliver electrons to the mutual ubiquinone puddle and therefore, featherbed site I phosphorylation. Systems for transporting NADH into mitochondria do be in S. cerevisiae, for example, the malate – aspartate shuttle (Fig. 12.10). This utilizes a combination of malate dehydrogenase and transamination reactions to transfer reducing equivalents from the cytosol to the mitochondria. In S. cerevisiae, it serves to control the concentration of NADH in the cytosol.

Fig. 12.10. The malate-aspartate shuttle system for transferring reducing equivalents from the cytosol to mitochondria.

The individual complexes of the respiratory chain are susceptible to inhibition by a variety of compounds. These have been used as tools to identify which components are present and their order within the respiratory chain. For instance, rotenone inhibits circuitous I. The lack of result of this chemical compound on oxidative phosphorylation in Due south. cerevisiae is primary evidence for suggesting that complex I is absent-minded in this yeast. Cyanide, azide and antimycin A, inhibit complexes III, and IV. Oligomycin inhibits complex 5, ATP synthase.

In many organisms alternative respiratory systems can be detected that are resistant to cyanide inhibition. There are two types of cyanide insensitive respiration, which are differentiated based on susceptibility to inhibition past salicylylhydroxamic acid (SHAM). The SHAM-sensitive pathway has been detected in several yeast strains, including Yarrowia lipolytica and stationary phase cultures of many strains, including Candida utilis. The SHAM insensitive pathway has been detected in South. cerevisiae, Due south. pombe, Kluyveromyces lactis, Hansenula saturnus and Endomycopsis capsularis. As would be predicted from the lack of sensitivity to cyanide these respiratory pathways are not coupled to energy transduction. It is possible that they office as function of cellular redox control.

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Adaptive and Tolerance Mechanisms in Herbaceous Plants Exposed to Cadmium

Bodin Mongkhonsin , ... Majeti Narasimha Vara Prasad , in Cadmium Toxicity and Tolerance in Plants, 2022

2.2 Detoxification and Speciation

Several perennial plants are hyperaccumulators. Amounts of Cd are accumulated in establish cells after uptake and transport. Phytochelatins play an of import role in detoxification of metals, and they are effective in binding metal ions past formation of stable metal-phytochelatins complexes (Sytar et al., 2022). G. pseudochina has properties that enable it to tolerate a high Cd and Zn concentration, related to the sulfur proteins and phytochelatins ( Panitlertumpai et al., 2022), which are responsible for Cd or Zn and metallic chelator complex (Cd-phytochelatin) accumulation into the vacuole (Figs. 1 and two) (Lin and Aarts, 2022). Sytar et al. (2013) explained that phytochelatins (PCs) are oligomers of GSH, synthesized by the enzyme phytochelatin synthase (PCS). The synthesis of PCs was initially establish to be essential for tolerance of Cd, as concluded from an assay of PCs (cad) mutants lacking in PCS, but later it was also shown to exist relevant for tolerance to excess Zn. When Cd enters found cells, low molecular weight (LMW) PCs will start grade a PC–Cd complex. This LMW PC–Cd complex is after sequestered into vacuoles past ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters. For example, two ABCC-type transporters from Arabidopsis thaliana, ABCC1 and ABCC2, can enhance Cd tolerance and accumulation through vacuolar sequestration of PC-Cd. LMW PC-Cd complexes demark sulfides to form a stable, high molecular weight (HMW) PC-Cd circuitous, which is stored in the vacuole (Sanitá di Toppi and Gabbrielli, 1999).

Fig. 2

Fig. 2. A schematic model for herbaceous responding to heavy metal stress. The issue of HMs toxicity is the excessive aggregating of reactive oxygen species (ROS), ROS accumulation is counteracted by enzymatic antioxidant systems that include a diversity of scavengers, such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidases (APX) and catalase (Cat). These enzymes can as well scavenged the major ROS, especially SOD, which is the major enzyme activeness that modulates the relative amounts of O2 •- and HtwoO2. Subsequently that Cat and several classes of peroxidase, such equally APX, eliminate HtwoO2 by breaking it down direct to form HiiO and O2. The synthesis of flavonoids is correlated with the enzymatic and nonenzymatic organisation in a strategy against ROS. In the chloroplast and cytosol, ascorbate is oxidized to the malondialdehyde (MDA) radical by APX to detoxify H2Oii. The MDA radical tin be reduced to ascorbate by the nonenzymatic reaction of ferredoxin (Fd) or enzymatic reaction of monodehydroascorbate reductase (MDAR). Similarly in vacuoles, the ascorbate/phenolics/peroxidase (POX) system tin efficiently reduce H2Otwo without any accumulation of oxidized phenolic products. It has been proposed that the vacuoles and apoplast tin can office as sinks of HtwoOii in found cells, which the flavonoids/phytochelatins take effective processes for scavenging free radicals and play a role in resistance to HMs toxicity in plants by chelating complexes.

In leaves' tissue, once toxic metals are imported to the mesophyll, photosynthesis is damaged (Hu et al., 2009). Moreover, the corresponding distributions of Cd in the stalk and leaves may be due to the metal binding phytochelatin and accumulation in the vacuole (Sanitá di Toppi and Gabbrielli, 1999; Panitlertumpai et al., 2022; Sytar et al., 2022). The speciation of Cd in stems and leaves of M. pseudochina indicated that Cd in samples were Cd ion (Cdii   +), and the kickoff shell coordinated with Cd2   + trended to exist sulfur (S) and oxygen (O) (Mongkhonsin et al., 2022). Küpper et al. (2000) reported that Arabidopsis halleri, Cd may be complexed with O-donor ligands as being indicative of binding to the cell wall.

The detoxification process includes antioxidative defence force system repair of Cd-induced toxic effects of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which includes phenols and flavonoids (Michalak, 2006; Posmyk et al., 2009). The Cd-induced antioxidative mechanism in plant cells mainly acts through enhancing the activity or presence of antioxidant enzymes, or increasing the aggregating of phenolics (Lin and Aarts, 2022). The enhanced accumulation of phenolics nether metallic stress can exist synthetized from cinnamic acid, which is formed from phenylalanine by the action of phenyloalanine ammonia-lyase(PAL) (Sakihama et al., 2002; Grace, 2005; Michalak, 2006; Kováčik et al., 2009). In addition, the synthesis of flavonoids is correlated with the enzymatic and nonenzymatic system in a strategy against ROS. In the chloroplast and cytosol, ascorbate is oxidized to the malondialdehyde (MDA) radical past ascorbate peroxidase (APX) to detoxify HtwoO2. The MDA radical tin be reduced to ascorbate past the nonenzymatic reaction of ferredoxin (Fd), or enzymatic reaction of MDA reductase (MDAR). Similarly in vacuoles, the ascorbate/phenolics/peroxidase (POX) system tin efficiently reduce H2Oii without any accumulation of oxidized phenolic products. Information technology has been proposed that the vacuoles and apoplast tin role as sinks of HiiOii in constitute cells, which allow the delocalized detoxification machinery confronting HtwoOii produced in other compartments during stress and development (Sakihama et al., 2002; Michalak, 2006) (Fig. 2). Moreover, the antioxidant activity of phenolic compounds is due to their high tendency to chelate metals (Agati et al., 2022). The roots of many plants exposed to metals exude high levels of phenolics. The full general chelating ability of phenolic compounds is probably related to the high nucleophilic character of the aromatic rings, rather than to specific chelating groups within the molecule. The antioxidant activity of phenolics depends on the structure of molecules and number of hydroxyl groups in the molecules (Wei and Guo, 2022). The structures of phenolics and flavonoids are important determinants for the antioxidant potential of flavonoids (Fig. 3): (i) the orto3′,4′-dihydroxy structure in the B ring, (ii) the 2,iii-double bond in conjunction with the iv-oxo group in the C band (which allows conjunction between the A and B ring, or electron delocalization), and (iii) the presence of a 3-OH group in the C ring and a 5-OH group in the A ring. Among them, the three-OH group is the most significant determinant of electron-donating activity (Pietta, 2000; Wei and Guo, 2022).

Fig. 3

Fig. three. A schematic model of rutin, a polyphenolic compound in found, binding with cadmium ion. HMs binding induces singled-out changes in the proton resonances on the flavonoid rings, providing useful information to locate the HMs-binding sites. No HMs-binding are observed with flavone which lacks a chelation site. HMs are plant to demark to the three-hydroxyl-four-keto, catechol and 5-hydroxyl-4-keto chelation sites of flavonol, 3',4'-dihydroxylflavone and chrysin, respectively. Phenolic compounds chelate HMs at the three-hydroxyl-iv-keto site, especially rutin binds HMs preferentially at the five-hydroxyl-4-keto site.

Phenolic compounds, specially quercetin or rutin, take a greater ability to filibuster the oxidation process by reacting with metal ions (Souza and Giovani, 2004; Kováčik and Klejdus, 2008). Quercetin and rutin have bulked sugar substitution linked onto the iii-hydroxyl group via an ether bond, which binds metals preferentially at the 5-hydroxyl-four-keto site (Wei and Guo, 2022). In add-on, metals were plant to bind to the flavonoids, such every bit flavonol, chrysin, kaempferol, myricetin, and morin. The flavonoids take effective processes for scavenging free radicals, and play a office in resistance to Cd and Zn toxicity in plants by chelating complexes (Brown et al., 1998; Bai et al., 2004; Kostyuk et al., 2007; Medvidović-Kosanović et al., 2022). Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) images of G. pseudochina leaves showed flavonoid compounds localized in the prison cell wall (Mongkhonsin et al., 2022). Cell walls of plants consist mainly of three organic compounds, including cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. These compounds are too major components of natural lignocellulosic materials (Pérez et al., 2002; Agbor et al., 2022; Chen et al., 2022). Lignin, a circuitous of phenylpropanoid polymer in the plant jail cell wall, is predominantly deposited in the cell walls of secondary-thickened cells (Vanholme et al., 2010; Chen et al., 2022). Moreover, the prison cell wall is a major component of phenolic molecules such equally flavonoids and anthocyanin (Sytar et al., 2022). For example, the flavone tricin was fully uniform with lignification reactions, and is an authentic lignin monomer because it can merely start a lignin chain function as a nucleation site for lignification in plants (del Río et al., 2022; Lan et al., 2022). Phenolic esters play a prominent role in many steps of lignin synthesis (Humphreys and Chapple, 2002). Plant phenolic compound precursors accept been recognized largely as beneficial antioxidants that tin scavenge harmful active oxygen species (Sytar et al., 2022). Flavonoid structures tin chelate with metals, and so the metal chelates mainly accumulate in the cell wall (Kováčik and Klejdus, 2008; Gallego et al., 2022). The distribution of Cd and Zn has correlations with the localization of flavonoid fluorescence in the cell walls, especially the prison cell wall of vascular tissue (Mongkhonsin et al., 2022).

Moreover, the excess Cd concentration affects the morphology of the root. The night dark-brown color of the root system could be caused by different processes. The nighttime brown color of roots tips, seen after exposure to high concentrations of Cd, indicates chronic exposure and stress-induced morphogenic responses (Potters et al., 2007). Even through G. pseudochina is a Zn/Cd hyperaccumulative establish, the G. pseudochina treated with a loftier Cd concentration (15   mg   Fifty  1) showed the dark-brown solution, which might be an exudate of phenolic compounds released into Murashige and Skoog (MS) agar (Mongkhonsin et al., 2022). Effects of Cd, Cu, and Ni at high concentrations on dry out weight and phenolic compounds were expressed in the metal treated Matricaria chamomilla(Kováčik and Klejdus, 2008; Kováčik et al., 2008a,b, 2009), and the consequences of leaf chlorosis, necrosis, and root brown were occurring to Lycopersicon esculentum(López-Millán et al., 2009). The dark brown color of the root exposure to high Cd doses or alteration of the phenolic metabolism and brown-colored root systems indicated enhancement of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase(PAL) activity and lignin synthesis (Kováčik and Bačkor, 2007; Kováčik and Klejdus, 2008). In general, lignification in a metal-enriched surround is considered part of the defence force reaction, which reduces metal entry into plant tissue (Ederli et al., 2004). In addition, Cd-induced changes in auxin levels virtually the root tip are generally decreased following exposure to Cd, mirroring the cessation of cell division (Potters et al., 2007).

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Cell biology of adhesive setae in gecko lizards

Lorenzo Alibardi , in Zoology, 2009

The prediction of the sequences shows the presence of at least two close strand regions (beta-canvas regions) in which the amino acrid chain is folded (yellowish arrows in Fig. 12 ). A region like to the core box, with high homology and containing strand regions, is present in high-sulfur proteins (underlined in Fig. 13). This region probably interacts in an orderly 3D conformation with similar regions of other beta-keratins (monomers) to produce the framework of the filamentous form of beta-keratin (the polymer; see Fraser et al., 1972; Gregg and Rogers, 1986; Brush, 1993; Fraser and Parry, 1996; Fig. 12Eastward). The beta-pleated region has been found in all reptilian and avian beta-keratins and then far sequenced, indicating that it is a bones structural motif present in these self-assembling proteins.

Fig. 13. Prediction of the secondary construction, molecular weight (kDa) and isoelectric point (pI) of four cysteine-rich proteins of different molecular weight from Grand. gekko, showing the presence of the cadre box sequences (underlined) where ii–three beta-folds (arrows) are present (come across Hallahan et al., 2008, and the GenBank database for these proteins). Ge-cprp-x, gecko cysteine–proline-rich protein-x.

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The Modular Control of Cereal Endosperm Development

Odd-Arne Olsen , in Trends in Plant Science, 2022

Improved Insight into the Molecular Controls of Endosperm Contributes New Strategies to More and Amend Cereal Grains

The discovery of naturally occurring cereal genotypes with increased relative grain lysine content in maize [i] and barely [2] promised to reduce the need for lysine supplement for monogastric animals. With the exception of high-quality poly peptide maize lines, high-lysine crops from traditional convenance has nevertheless to happen [3]. Transgenic efforts to heighten the nutritional or caloric content of cereal grains have, however, proven more successful, including enhanced accumulation of the methionine-rich δ-zein and total protein sulfur [four] and increased grain oil product [5] in maize. In rice, Yang et al. [six] reported transgenic lines with gratuitous lysin levels up 25-fold without dramatic changes in plant phenotype. Also in rice, apply of the OsNAS gene family is showing potential for iron and zinc biofortification of the endosperm [7]. The most widely known try is golden rice, in which the provitamin A biosynthetic pathway was transgenically activated [8]. So far, potential enhancement of the value of cereal endosperm by changing the cellular composition has just been exploited to a limited extent, including an attempt to increment the number of aleurone (AL) layers in maize [9] and rice [78]. In this review, we assume that cereal endosperm evolution is driven by a conserved genetic program for all cereal species, with differences reflecting evolved modification to this mutual program. (Books on endosperm evolution include [ten,11] and recent review manufactures [12–xiv,84,85].

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