Descrizione del progetto
Uscire dalle tenebre: comprendere i flussi metabolici in fototrofi eucarioti
La maggior parte di noi conosce i ritmi circadiani, un tempo oscillatorio interno che si conforma con la rotazione di 24 ore della Terra. I processi metabolici sono fortemente connessi a tali ritmi per ottimizzare il consumo energetico nel corso del ciclo luce-buio. Analogamente, le transizioni buio-luce sono molto importanti per i fototrofi, che ottengono la loro energia dalla luce solare tramite la fotosintesi. Le transizioni buio-luce provocano cambiamenti nello stato di ossidoriduzione dei componenti fotosintetici che modulano i flussi metabolici. Il progetto CHLARABIDOX, finanziato dall’UE, studia le dinamiche a livello del proteoma in risposta alla luce in due specie fototrofiche (l’alga verde Chlamydomonas reinhardtii e la pianta Arabidopsis thaliana). L’alta risoluzione temporale dei cambiamenti metabolici legati all’ossidoriduzione indotta dalla luce potrebbe contribuire a manipolare i processi energetici per la produzione di biocarburanti e a individuare modifiche che favoriscono l’adattamento delle piante al cambiamento climatico.
Obiettivo
Most organisms exhibit a diurnal metabolic cycle, especially phototrophs, whose metabolism is strictly dependent on light. Dark-light transitions are accompanied by dramatic changes in the redox state of photosynthetic components, which drives redox-based post-translational modification of protein cysteines, whose oxidation state can considerably impact protein activity, and thus regulate metabolism. Given the central role of redox metabolism in biology, the operation of thiol-disulphide based switches are well-appreciated as a metabolic acclimation strategy, and the study of cysteine modifications in proteomes is a major interest of contemporary biology. The objective of CHLARABIDOX is to go beyond inventories of redox modified proteins by monitoring the proteome-wide dynamics of disulphide-dithiol status in the context of a diurnal metabolic cycle in phototrophic eukaryotes, specifically, the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and the land plant Arabidopsis thaliana. An innovative chemoproteomic isoTOP-ABPP approach will be used in an experimental design with deep temporal resolution to capture a good fraction of the proteome with site specificity and quantitative information about reactivity. The discoveries will be made in the context of a body of literature on thioredoxin-dependent redox regulation of central carbon metabolism, which will serve as a priori validation. The outcome of the project is a proteome-wide view of the operation of regulatory redox sensors, anchored to accompanying rich datasets on physiology, metabolic potential, transcriptomics, proteomics and central metabolites, which would inform the operation of light-driven metabolic networks. Both systems are compatible with downstream modelling of diurnal metabolic fluxes and validation by reverse genetics approaches. A long term impact on strategies for manipulating metabolism for biofuels production, or manipulating photosynthesis for better acclimation to climate change is also envisioned.
Campo scientifico
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculesproteinsproteomics
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologyphycology
- natural scienceschemical scienceselectrochemistryelectrolysis
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesclimatologyclimatic changes
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbotany
Parole chiave
Programma(i)
Argomento(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinatore
41004 Sevilla
Spagna