Browsing by Author "Fink-Straube, Claudia"
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- ItemThe analysis of arabidopsis nicotianamine synthase mutants reveals functions for nicotianamine in seed iron loading and iron deficiency responses(Rockville, MD : American Society of Plant Biologists, 2009) Fink-Straube, Claudia; Klatte, Marco; Schuler, Mara; Wirtz, Markus; Hell, Rüdiger; Bauer, PetraNicotianamine chelates and transports micronutrient metal ions in plants. It has been speculated that nicotianamine is involved in seed loading with micronutrients. A tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) mutant (chloronerva) and a tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) transgenic line have been utilized to analyze the effects of nicotianamine loss. These mutants showed early leaf chlorosis and had sterile flowers. Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) has four NICOTIANAMINE SYNTHASE (NAS) genes. We constructed two quadruple nas mutants: one had full loss of NAS function, was sterile, and showed a chloronerva-like phenotype (nas4x-2); another mutant, with intermediate phenotype (nas4x-1), developed chlorotic leaves, which became severe upon transition from the vegetative to the reproductive phase and upon iron (Fe) deficiency. Residual nicotianamine levels were sufficient to sustain the life cycle. Therefore, the nas4x-1 mutant enabled us to study late nicotianamine functions. This mutant had no detectable nicotianamine in rosette leaves of the reproductive stage but low nicotianamine levels in vegetative rosette leaves and seeds. Fe accumulated in the rosette leaves, while less Fe was present in flowers and seeds. Leaves, roots, and flowers showed symptoms of Fe deficiency, whereas leaves also showed signs of sufficient Fe supply, as revealed by molecular-physiological analysis. The mutant was not able to fully mobilize Fe to sustain Fe supply of flowers and seeds in the normal way. Thus, nicotianamine is needed for correct supply of seeds with Fe. These results are fundamental for plant manipulation approaches to modify Fe homeostasis regulation through alterations of NAS genes.
- ItemAnalysis of fatty acids and triacylglycerides by Pd nanoparticle-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry(Cambridge : Royal Society of Chemistry, 2015) Silina, Yuliya E.; Fink-Straube, Claudia; Hayen, Heiko; Volmer, Dietrich A.In this study, we propose a simple and rapid technique for characterization of free fatty acids and triacylglycerides (TAG) based on palladium nanoparticular (Pd-NP) surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization (SALDI) mass spectrometry (MS). The implemented Pd-NP material allowed detection of free fatty acids and TAGs exclusively as [M + K]+ ions in positive ion mode. Under negative ionization conditions, unusual trimetric structures were generated for free fatty acids, while TAGs underwent irreproducible degradation reactions. Importantly, the mass spectra obtained from Pd-NP targets in positive ion mode were very clean without interferences from matrix-derived ions in the low m/z range and readily enabled the detection of intact TAGs in vegetable oils without major fragmentation reactions as compared to conventional MALDI-MS, requiring only a minimal amount of sample preparation.
- ItemComparative Transcriptomics of Lowland Rice Varieties Uncovers Novel Candidate Genes for Adaptive Iron Excess Tolerance(Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2021) Kar, Saradia; Mai, Hans-Jörg; Khalouf, Hadeel; Abdallah, Heithem Ben; Flachbart, Samantha; Fink-Straube, Claudia; Bräutigam, Andrea; Xiong, Guosheng; Shang, Lianguang; Panda, Sanjib Kumar; Bauer, PetraIron (Fe) toxicity is a major challenge for plant cultivation in acidic waterlogged soil environments, where lowland rice is a major staple food crop. Only few studies have addressed the molecular characterization of excess Fe tolerance in rice, and these highlight different mechanisms for Fe tolerance. Out of 16 lowland rice varieties, we identified a pair of contrasting lines, Fe-tolerant Lachit and -susceptible Hacha. The two lines differed in their physiological and morphological responses to excess Fe, including leaf growth, leaf rolling, reactive oxygen species generation and Fe and metal contents. These responses were likely due to genetic origin as they were mirrored by differential gene expression patterns, obtained through RNA sequencing, and corresponding gene ontology term enrichment in tolerant vs. susceptible lines. Thirty-five genes of the metal homeostasis category, mainly root expressed, showed differential transcriptomic profiles suggestive of an induced tolerance mechanism. Twenty-two out of these 35 metal homeostasis genes were present in selection sweep genomic regions, in breeding signatures, and/or differentiated during rice domestication. These findings suggest that Fe excess tolerance is an important trait in the domestication of lowland rice, and the identified genes may further serve to design the targeted Fe tolerance breeding of rice crops.
- ItemDissection of iron signaling and iron accumulation by overexpression of subgroup Ib bHLH039 protein(London : Nature Publishing Group, 2017) Naranjo-Arcos, Maria Augusta; Maurer, Felix; Meiser, Johannes; Pateyron, Stephanie; Fink-Straube, Claudia; Bauer, PetraIron is an essential growth determinant for plants, and plants acquire this micronutrient in amounts they need in their environment. Plants can increase iron uptake in response to a regulatory transcription factor cascade. Arabidopsis thaliana serves as model plant to identify and characterize iron regulation genes. Here, we show that overexpression of subgroup Ib bHLH transcription factor bHLH039 (39Ox) caused constitutive iron acquisition responses, which resulted in enhanced iron contents in leaves and seeds. Transcriptome analysis demonstrated that 39Ox plants displayed simultaneously gene expression patterns characteristic of iron deficiency and iron stress signaling. Thereby, we could dissect iron deficiency response regulation. The transcription factor FIT, which is required to regulate iron uptake, was essential for the 39Ox phenotype. We provide evidence that subgroup Ib transcription factors are involved in FIT transcriptional regulation. Our findings pose interesting questions to the feedback control of iron homeostasis.
- ItemGelation kinetics of thiol-methylsulfone (MS) hydrogel formulations for 3D cell culture(Washington, D.C. : American Chemical Society, 2022) de Miguel-Jiménez, Adrián; Ebeling, Bastian; Paez, Julieta I.; Fink-Straube, Claudia; Pearson, Samuel; del Campo, AranzazuCrosslinking chemistries that allow hydrogel formation within minutes are essential to achieve homogeneous networks and cell distributions in 3D cell culture. Thiol-methylsulfone (MS) crosslinking chemistry offers minutes-scale gelation under near-physiological conditions showing many desirable attributes for 3D cell encapsulation. Here we investigate the gelation kinetics and mechanical properties of PEG-based hydrogels formed by thiol-tetrazole methylsulfone (TzMS) crosslinking as a function of buffer, crosslinker structure, and degree of TzMS functionalization. Appropriate buffer selection ensured constant pH throughout crosslinking. The formulation containing cell adhesive ligand RGD and enzymatically-degradable peptide VPM gelled in ca. 4 min at pH 7.5, and stiffness could be increased from hundreds of Pascals to > 1 kPa by using excess VPM. The gelation times and stiffnesses for these hydrogels are highly suitable for 3D cell encapsulations, and pave the way for reliable 3D cell culture workflows in pipetting robots.
- ItemNatural variation in physiological responses of tunisian hedysarum carnosum under iron deficiency(Lausanne : Frontiers Media, 2018) Abdallah, Heithem Ben; Mai, Hans Jörg; Slatni, Tarek; Fink-Straube, Claudia; Abdelly, Chedly; Bauer, PetraIron (Fe) is an essential element for plant growth and development. The cultivation of leguminous plants has generated strong interest because of their growth even on poor soils. Calcareous and saline soils with poor mineral availability are wide-spread in Tunisia. In an attempt to select better forage crops adapted to Tunisian soils, we characterized Fe deficiency responses of three different isolates of Hedysarum carnosum, an endemic Tunisian extremophile species growing in native stands in salt and calcareous soil conditions. H. carnosum is a non-model crop. The three isolates, named according to their habitats Karkar, Thelja, and Douiret, differed in the expression of Fe deficiency symptoms like morphology, leaf chlorosis with compromised leaf chlorophyll content and photosynthetic capacity and leaf metal contents. Across these parameters Thelja was found to be tolerant, while Karkar and Douiret were susceptible to Fe deficiency stress. The three physiological and molecular indicators of the iron deficiency response in roots, Fe reductase activity, growth medium acidification and induction of the IRON-REGULATED TRANSPORTER1 homolog, indicated that all lines responded to -Fe, however, varied in the strength of the different responses. We conclude that the individual lines have distinct adaptation capacities to react to iron deficiency, presumably involving mechanisms of whole-plant iron homeostasis and internal metal distribution. The Fe deficiency tolerance of Thelja might be linked with adaptation to its natural habitat on calcareous soil.