Adaptations in energy metabolism and gene family expansions revealed by comparative transcriptomics of three Chagas disease triatomine vectors

Eukaryotic cells require mechanisms to establish the proportion of cellular volume devoted to particular organelles. These mechanisms are poorly understood. From a screen for plastid-to-nucleus signaling mutants in Arabidopsis thaliana, we cloned a mutant allele of a gene that encodes a protein of unknown function that is homologous to two other Arabidopsis genes of unknown function and to FRIENDLY, which was previously shown to promote the normal distribution of mitochondria in Arabidopsis. In contrast to FRIENDLY, these three homologs of FRIENDLY are found only in photosynthetic organisms. Based on these data, we proposed that FRIENDLY expanded into a small gene family to help regulate the energy metabolism of cells that contain both mitochondria and chloroplasts. Indeed, we found that knocking out these genes caused a number of chloroplast phenotypes, including a reduction in the proportion of cellular volume devoted to chloroplasts to 50% of wild type. Thus, we refer to these genes as REDUCED CHLOROPLAST COVERAGE (REC). The size of the chloroplast compartment was reduced most in rec1 mutants. The REC1 protein accumulated in the cytosol and the nucleus. REC1 was excluded from the nucleus when plants were treated with amitrole, which inhibits cell expansion and chloroplast function. We conclude that REC1 is an extraplastidic protein that helps to establish the size of the chloroplast compartment, and that signals derived from cell expansion or chloroplasts may regulate REC1.

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Evolution and significance of the Lon gene family in Arabidopsis organelle biogenesis and energy metabolism

Frontiers in Plant Science ◽

10.3389/fpls.2014.00145 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 5 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Stamatis Rigas ◽

Gerasimos Daras ◽

Dikran Tsitsekian ◽

Anastasios Alatzas ◽

Polydefkis Hatzopoulos

Keyword(s):

Energy Metabolism ◽

Gene Family ◽

Organelle Biogenesis

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Diverse energy metabolism patterns in females in Neodon fuscus, Lasiopodomys brandtii, and Mus musculus revealed by comparative transcriptomics under hypoxic conditions

The Science of The Total Environment ◽

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.147130 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 147130

Author(s):

Mengyang Li ◽

Luye Shi ◽

Xiangyu Tian ◽

Xiujuan Li ◽

Maolin Huang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Energy Metabolism ◽

Mus Musculus ◽

Comparative Transcriptomics ◽

Hypoxic Conditions ◽

Lasiopodomys Brandtii

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Impairment of Multiple Mitochondrial Energy Metabolism Pathways in the Heart of Chagas Disease Cardiomyopathy Patients

Frontiers in Immunology ◽

10.3389/fimmu.2021.755782 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Priscila Camillo Teixeira ◽

Axel Ducret ◽

Hanno Langen ◽

Everson Nogoceke ◽

Ronaldo Honorato Barros Santos ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Energy Metabolism ◽

Dilated Cardiomyopathy ◽

Mitochondrial Dysfunction ◽

Chagas Disease ◽

Idiopathic Dilated Cardiomyopathy ◽

Myocardial Tissue ◽

Ifn Gamma ◽

Tissue Samples ◽

Mitochondrial Energy Metabolism ◽

Altered Expression

Chagas disease cardiomyopathy (CCC) is an inflammatory dilated cardiomyopathy occurring in 30% of the 6 million infected with the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi in Latin America. Survival is significantly lower in CCC than ischemic (IC) and idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Previous studies disclosed a selective decrease in mitochondrial ATP synthase alpha expression and creatine kinase activity in CCC myocardium as compared to IDC and IC, as well as decreased in vivo myocardial ATP production. Aiming to identify additional constraints in energy metabolism specific to CCC, we performed a proteomic study in myocardial tissue samples from CCC, IC and DCM obtained at transplantation, in comparison with control myocardial tissue samples from organ donors. Left ventricle free wall myocardial samples were subject to two-dimensional electrophoresis with fluorescent labeling (2D-DIGE) and protein identification by mass spectrometry. We found altered expression of proteins related to mitochondrial energy metabolism, cardiac remodeling, and oxidative stress in the 3 patient groups. Pathways analysis of proteins differentially expressed in CCC disclosed mitochondrial dysfunction, fatty acid metabolism and transmembrane potential of mitochondria. CCC patients’ myocardium displayed reduced expression of 22 mitochondrial proteins belonging to energy metabolism pathways, as compared to 17 in DCM and 3 in IC. Significantly, 6 beta-oxidation enzymes were reduced in CCC, while only 2 of them were down-regulated in DCM and 1 in IC. We also observed that the cytokine IFN-gamma, previously described with increased levels in CCC, reduces mitochondrial membrane potential in cardiomyocytes. Results suggest a major reduction of mitochondrial energy metabolism and mitochondrial dysfunction in CCC myocardium which may be in part linked to IFN-gamma. This may partially explain the worse prognosis of CCC as compared to DCM or IC.

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Mitochondrial matrix calcium ions regulate energy production in myocardium: A cytochemical study

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100134429 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 48 (2) ◽

pp. 166-167

Author(s):

W.A. Jacob ◽

R. Hertsens ◽

A. Van Bogaert ◽

M. De Smet

Keyword(s):

Energy Metabolism ◽

Calcium Ions ◽

Energy Production ◽

Regulation Of Respiration ◽

Free Calcium ◽

Mitochondrial Matrix ◽

Cytochemical Study ◽

Nmr Techniques

In the past most studies of the control of energy metabolism focus on the role of the phosphorylation potential ATP/ADP.Pi on the regulation of respiration. Studies using NMR techniques have demonstrated that the concentrations of these compounds for oxidation phosphorylation do not change appreciably throughout the cardiac cycle and during increases in cardiac work. Hence regulation of energy production by calcium ions, present in the mitochondrial matrix, has been the object of a number of recent studies.Three exclusively intramitochondnal dehydrogenases are key enzymes for the regulation of oxidative metabolism. They are activated by calcium ions in the low micromolar range. Since, however, earlier estimates of the intramitochondnal calcium, based on equilibrium thermodynamic considerations, were in the millimolar range, a physiological correlation was not evident. The introduction of calcium-sensitive probes fura-2 and indo-1 made monitoring of free calcium during changing energy metabolism possible. These studies were performed on isolated mitochondria and extrapolation to the in vivo situation is more or less speculative.

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