Project description:Because plants are immobile, they have developed intricate mechanisms to sense and absorb nutrients, adjusting their growth and development accordingly. Sulfur is an essential macroelement, but our understanding of its metabolism and homeostasis is limited. LSU (RESPONSE TO LOW SULFUR) proteins are plant-specific proteins with unknown molecular functions and were first identified during transcriptomic studies on sulfur deficiency in Arabidopsis. These proteins are crucial hubs that integrate environmental signals and are involved in the response to various stressors. Herein, we report the direct involvement of LSU proteins in primary sulfur metabolism for the first time. Our findings revealed that the quadruple lsu mutant, q-lsu-KO, which was grown under nonlimiting sulfate conditions, exhibited a molecular response resembling that of sulfur-deficient wild-type plants. This led us to explore the interactions of LSU proteins with sulfate reduction pathway enzymes. We found that all LSU proteins interact with ATPS1 and ATPS3 isoforms of ATP sulfurylase, all three isoforms of adenosine 5´phosphosulfate reductase (APR), and sulfite reductase (SiR). Additionally, in vitro assays revealed that LSU1 enhances the enzymatic activity of SiR. These results highlight the supportive role of LSU proteins in the sulfate reduction pathway.
Project description:Few aerobic hyperthermophiles degrade polysaccharides. We describe the genome-enabled enrichment and isolation of an aerobic hyperthermophile, Fervidibacter sacchari, which was originally ascribed to candidate phylum Fervidibacteria. F. sacchari uses polysaccharides and monosaccharides as sole carbon sources from 65-87.5 °C, and its genome encodes 117 glycoside hydrolases (GHs) spanning 49 GH families, including 31 homologs of understudied GH109, GH177, and GH179 domains. Here, we analyzed the transcriptomes of F. sacchari cells grown on eight different sole carbon and energy sources (beta-glucan, chondroitin sulfate, corn stover, gellan gum, locust bean gum, starch, xanthan gum, and xyloglucan) to link glycoside hydrolase substrate to function, as well as identify potential regulatory mechanisms. These data will provide preliminary characterization of novel carbohydrate-active enzymes at high temperatures.