@article{CullLimaPradoGodinhoFernandesRodriguesetal.2014, author = {Cull, Benjamin and Lima Prado Godinho, Joseane and Fernandes Rodrigues, Juliany Cola and Frank, Benjamin and Schurigt, Uta and Williams, Roderick AM and Coombs, Graham H and Mottram, Jeremy C}, title = {Glycosome turnover in Leishmania major is mediated by autophagy}, series = {Autophagy}, volume = {10}, journal = {Autophagy}, number = {12}, doi = {10.4161/auto.36438}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-150277}, pages = {2143-2157}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Autophagy is a central process behind the cellular remodeling that occurs during differentiation of Leishmania, yet the cargo of the protozoan parasite's autophagosome is unknown. We have identified glycosomes, peroxisome-like organelles that uniquely compartmentalize glycolytic and other metabolic enzymes in Leishmania and other kinetoplastid parasitic protozoa, as autophagosome cargo. It has been proposed that the number of glycosomes and their content change during the Leishmania life cycle as a key adaptation to the different environments encountered. Quantification of RFP-SQL-labeled glycosomes showed that promastigotes of L. major possess ~20 glycosomes per cell, whereas amastigotes contain ~10. Glycosome numbers were significantly greater in promastigotes and amastigotes of autophagy-defective L. major Δatg5 mutants, implicating autophagy in glycosome homeostasis and providing a partial explanation for the previously observed growth and virulence defects of these mutants. Use of GFP-ATG8 to label autophagosomes showed glycosomes to be cargo in ~15\% of them; glycosome-containing autophagosomes were trafficked to the lysosome for degradation. The number of autophagosomes increased 10-fold during differentiation, yet the percentage of glycosome-containing autophagosomes remained constant. This indicates that increased turnover of glycosomes was due to an overall increase in autophagy, rather than an upregulation of autophagosomes containing this cargo. Mitophagy of the single mitochondrion was not observed in L. major during normal growth or differentiation; however, mitochondrial remnants resulting from stress-induced fragmentation colocalized with autophagosomes and lysosomes, indicating that autophagy is used to recycle these damaged organelles. These data show that autophagy in Leishmania has a central role not only in maintaining cellular homeostasis and recycling damaged organelles but crucially in the adaptation to environmental change through the turnover of glycosomes.}, language = {en} } @unpublished{HoebartnerSteinmetzgerPalanisamyetal.2018, author = {H{\"o}bartner, Claudia and Steinmetzger, Christian and Palanisamy, Navaneethan and Gore, Kiran R.}, title = {A multicolor large Stokes shift fluorogen-activating RNA aptamer with cationic chromophores}, series = {Chemistry - A European Journal}, journal = {Chemistry - A European Journal}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.201805882}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-174197}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Large Stokes shift (LSS) fluorescent proteins (FPs) exploit excited state proton transfer pathways to enable fluorescence emission from the phenolate intermediate of their internal 4 hydroxybenzylidene imidazolone (HBI) chromophore. An RNA aptamer named Chili mimics LSS FPs by inducing highly Stokes-shifted emission from several new green and red HBI analogs that are non-fluorescent when free in solution. The ligands are bound by the RNA in their protonated phenol form and feature a cationic aromatic side chain for increased RNA affinity and reduced magnesium dependence. In combination with oxidative functional-ization at the C2 position of the imidazolone, this strategy yielded DMHBO\(^+\), which binds to the Chili aptamer with a low-nanomolar K\(_D\). Because of its highly red-shifted fluorescence emission at 592 nm, the Chili-DMHBO\(^+\) complex is an ideal fluorescence donor for F{\"o}rster resonance energy transfer (FRET) to the rhodamine dye Atto 590 and will therefore find applications in FRET-based analytical RNA systems.}, language = {en} } @article{LandoEndesfelderBergeretal.2012, author = {Lando, David and Endesfelder, Ulrike and Berger, Harald and Subramanian, Lakxmi and Dunne, Paul D. and McColl, James and Klenerman, David and Carr, Antony M. and Sauer, Markus and Allshire, Robin C. and Heilemann, Mike and Laue, Ernest D.}, title = {Quantitative single-molecule microscopy reveals that CENP-A\(^{Cnp1}\) deposition occurs during G2 in fission yeast}, series = {Open Biology}, volume = {2}, journal = {Open Biology}, number = {120078}, doi = {10.1098/rsob.120078}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-134682}, year = {2012}, abstract = {The inheritance of the histone H3 variant CENP-A in nucleosomes at centromeres following DNA replication is mediated by an epigenetic mechanism. To understand the process of epigenetic inheritance, or propagation of histones and histone variants, as nucleosomes are disassembled and reassembled in living eukaryotic cells, we have explored the feasibility of exploiting photo-activated localization microscopy (PALM). PALM of single molecules in living cells has the potential to reveal new concepts in cell biology, providing insights into stochastic variation in cellular states. However, thus far, its use has been limited to studies in bacteria or to processes occurring near the surface of eukaryotic cells. With PALM, one literally observes and 'counts' individual molecules in cells one-by-one and this allows the recording of images with a resolution higher than that determined by the diffraction of light (the so-called super-resolution microscopy). Here, we investigate the use of different fluorophores and develop procedures to count the centromere-specific histone H3 variant CENP-A\(^{Cnp1}\) with single-molecule sensitivity in fission yeast (Schizosaccharomyces pombe). The results obtained are validated by and compared with ChIP-seq analyses. Using this approach, CENP-A\(^{Cnp1}\) levels at fission yeast (S. pombe) centromeres were followed as they change during the cell cycle. Our measurements show that CENP-A(Cnp1) is deposited solely during the G2 phase of the cell cycle.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Gromova2007, author = {Gromova, Kira V.}, title = {Visualization of the Smad direct signaling response to Bone Morphogenetic Protein 4 activation with FRET-based biosensors}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-25855}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2007}, abstract = {The Transforming Growth Factor (TGF) superfamily of cytokines and their serine/threonine kinase receptors play an important role in the regulation of cell division, differentiation, adhesion, migration, organization, and death. Smad proteins are the major intracellular signal transducers for the TGF receptor superfamily that mediate the signal from the membrane into the nucleus. Bone Morphogenetic Protein-4 (BMP-4) is a representative of the TGF superfamily, which regulates the formation of teeth, limbs and bone, and also plays a role in fracture repair. Binding of BMP-4 to its receptor stimulates phosphorylation of Smad1, which subsequently recruits Smad4. A hetero-oligomeric complex consisting of Smad1 and Smad4 then translocates into the nucleus and regulates transcription of target genes by interacting with transcription factors. Although the individual steps of the signaling cascade from the receptor to the nucleus have been identified, the exact kinetics and the rate limiting step(s) have remained elusive. Standard biochemical techniques are not suitable for resolving these issues, as they do not offer sufficiently high sensitivity and temporal resolution. In this study, advanced optical techniques were used for direct visualization of Smad signaling in live mammalian cells. Novel fluorescent biosensors were developed by fusing cyan and yellow fluorescent proteins to the signaling molecules Smad1 and Smad4. By measuring Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) between the two fluorescent proteins, the kinetics of BMP/Smad signaling was unraveled. A rate-limiting delay of 2 - 5 minutes occurred between BMP receptor stimulation and Smad1 activation. A similar delay was observed in the complex formation between Smad1 and Smad4. Further experimentation indicated that the delay is dependent on the Mad homology 1 (MH1) domain of Smad1. These results give new insights into the dynamics of the BMP receptor - Smad1/4 signaling process and provide a new tool for studying Smads and for testing inhibitory drugs.}, subject = {FRET}, language = {en} }