A theoretical study of the H-abstraction reactions from HOI by moist air radiolytic products (H, OH, and O (3P)) and iodine atoms ( 2P3/2)

The rate constants of the reactions of HOI molecules with H, OH, O ( 3P), and I (2P3/2) atoms have been estimated over the temperature range 300-2500 K using four different levels of theory. Geometry optimizations and vibrational frequency calculations are performed using MP2 methods combined with two basis sets (cc-pVTZ and 6-311G(d,p)). Single-point energy calculations are performed with the highly correlated ab initio coupled cluster method in the space of single, double, and triple (pertubatively) electron excitations CCSD(T) using the cc-pVTZ, cc-pVQZ, 6-311+G(3df,2p), and 6-311++G(3df,3pd) basis sets. Reaction enthalpies at 0 K were calculated at the CCSD(T)/cc-pVnZ//MP2/cc-pVTZ (n = T and Q), CCSD(T)/6-311+G(3df,2p)//MP2/6-311G(d,p), and CCSD(T)/6-311++G(3df,3pd)//MP2/6- 311G(d,p) levels of theory and compared to the experimental values taken from the literature. Canonical transition-state theory with an Eckart tunneling correction is used to predict the rate constants as a function of temperature. The computational procedure has been used to predict rate constants for H-abstraction elementary reactions because there are actually no literature data to which the calculated rate constants can be directly compared. The final objective is to implement kinetics of gaseous reactions in the ASTEC (accident source term evaluation code) program to improve speciation of fission products, which can be transported along the reactor coolant system (RCS) of a pressurized water reactor (PWR) in the case of a severe accident. © 2011 American Chemical Society

Etude au niveau des chloroplastes de modalités d'expression de la résistance des Triticinées au piétin-verse

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Diacylglycerol kinases activate tobacco NADPH oxidase-dependent oxidative burst in response to cryptogein

SPE IPM UB INRA SUPDATInternational audienceCryptogein is a 10 kDa-protein secreted by the oomycete Phytophthora cryptogea that activates defence mechanisms in tobacco plants. Among early signalling events triggered by this microbial-associated molecular pattern is a transient apoplastic oxidative burst which is dependent on the NADPH oxidase activity of the RESPIRATORY BURST OXIDASE HOMOLOG (RBOH) isoform D. Using radioactive [33P]-orthophosphate labelling of tobacco Bright Yellow-2 suspension cells, we here provide in vivo evidence for a rapid accumulation of phosphatidic acid (PA) in response to cryptogein due to the coordinated onset of phosphoinositide-dependent phospholipase C and diacylglycerol kinase (DGK) activities. Both enzyme specific inhibitors and silencing of the phylogenetic cluster III of the tobacco DGK family were found to reduce PA production upon elicitation and to strongly decrease the RBOHD-mediated oxidative burst. Therefore, it appears that PA originating from DGK controls NADPH-oxidase activity. Amongst cluster III DGKs, the expression of DGK5-like was up-regulated in response to cryptogein. Besides DGK5-like is likely to be the main cluster III DGK isoform silenced in one of our mutant line, making it a strong candidate for the observed response to cryptogein. The relevance of these results is discussed with regard to early signalling lipid-mediated events in plant immunity

A genomics approach reveals the global genetic polymorphism, structure, and functional diversity of ten accessions of the marine model diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum

Diatoms emerged in the Mesozoic period and presently constitute one of the main primary producers in the world's ocean and are of a major economic importance. In the current study, using whole genome sequencing of ten accessions of the model diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum, sampled at broad geospatial and temporal scales, we draw a comprehensive landscape of the genomic diversity within the species. We describe strong genetic subdivisions of the accessions into four genetic clades (A-D) with constituent populations of each clade possessing a conserved genetic and functional makeup, likely a consequence of the limited dispersal of P. tricornutum in the open ocean. We further suggest dominance of asexual reproduction across all the populations, as implied by high linkage disequilibrium. Finally, we show limited yet compelling signatures of genetic and functional convergence inducing changes in the selection pressure on many genes and metabolic pathways. We propose these findings to have significant implications for understanding the genetic structure of diatom populations in nature and provide a framework to assess the genomic underpinnings of their ecological success and impact on aquatic ecosystems where they play a major role. Our work provides valuable resources for functional genomics and for exploiting the biotechnological potential of this model diatom species

The Arabidopsis DREB2 genetic pathway is constitutively repressed by basal phosphoinositide-dependent phospholipase C coupled to diacylglycerol kinase

International audiencePhosphoinositide-dependent phospholipases C (PI-PLCs) are activated in response to various stimuli. They utilize substrates provided by type III-Phosphatidylinositol-4 kinases (PI4KIII) to produce inositol triphosphate and diacylglycerol (DAG) that is phosphorylated into phosphatidic acid (PA) by DAG-kinases (DGKs). The roles of PI4KIIIs, PI-PLCs, and DGKs in basal signaling are poorly understood. We investigated the control of gene expression by basal PI-PLC pathway in Arabidopsis thaliana suspension cells. A transcriptome-wide analysis allowed the identification of genes whose expression was altered by edelfosine, 30 μM wortmannin, or R59022, inhibitors of PI-PLCs, PI4KIIIs, and DGKs, respectively. We found that a gene responsive to one of these molecules is more likely to be similarly regulated by the other two inhibitors. The common action of these agents is to inhibit PA formation, showing that basal PI-PLCs act, in part, on gene expression through their coupling to DGKs. Amongst the genes up-regulated in presence of the inhibitors, were some DREB2 genes, in suspension cells and in seedlings. The DREB2 genes encode transcription factors with major roles in responses to environmental stresses, including dehydration. They bind to C-repeat motifs, known as Drought-Responsive Elements that are indeed enriched in the promoters of genes up-regulated by PI-PLC pathway inhibitors. PA can also be produced by phospholipases D (PLDs). We show that the DREB2 genes that are up-regulated by PI-PLC inhibitors are positively or negatively regulated, or indifferent, to PLD basal activity. Our data show that the DREB2 genetic pathway is constitutively repressed in resting conditions and that DGK coupled to PI-PLC is active in this process, in suspension cells and seedlings. We discuss how this basal negative regulation of DREB2 genes is compatible with their stress-triggered positive regulation

Capture of Gaseous Iodine in Isoreticular Zirconium‐Based UiO‐n Metal‐Organic Frameworks: Influence of Amino Functionalization, DFT Calculations, Raman and EPR Spectroscopic Investigation

International audienceA series of Zr-based UiO-n MOF materials (n=66, 67, 68) have been studied for iodine capture. Gaseous iodine adsorption was collected kinetically from a home-made set-up allowing the continuous measurement of iodine content trapped within UiO-n compounds, with organic functionalities (−H, −CH3, −Cl, −Br, −(OH)2, −NO2, −NH2, (−NH2)2, −CH2 NH2) by in-situ UV-Vis spectroscopy. This study emphasizes the role of the amino groups attached to the aromatic rings of the ligands connecting the {Zr6O4(OH)4} brick. In particular, the preferential interaction of iodine with lone-pair groups, such as amino functions, has been experimentally observed and is also based on DFT calculations. Indeed, higher iodine contents were systematically measured for amino-functionalized UiO-66 or UiO-67, compared to the pristine material (up to 1211 mg/g for UiO-67-(NH2)2). However, DFT calculations revealed the highest computed interaction energies for alkylamine groups (−CH2NH2) in UiO-67 (−128.5 kJ/mol for the octahedral cavity), and pointed out the influence of this specific functionality compared with that of an aromatic amine. The encapsulation of iodine within the pore system of UiO-n materials and their amino-derivatives has been analyzed by UV-Vis and Raman spectroscopy. We showed that a systematic conversion of molecular iodine (I2) species into anionic I− ones, stabilized as I−⋅⋅⋅I2 or I3− complexes within the MOF cavities, occurs when I2@UiO-n samples are left in ambient light.La série de matériaux MOF UiO-n à base de Zr (n = 66, 67, 68) a été étudiée pour la capture de l'iode. L'adsorption gazeuse d'iode a été collectée cinétiquement à partir d'un montage artisanal permettant la mesure en continu de la teneur en iode piégé dans les composés UiO-n, avec des fonctionnalités organiques (-H, -CH3, -Cl, -Br, -(OH)2 , -NO2, -NH2, (-NH2)2, -CH2NH2) par spectroscopie UV-Vis in situ. Cette étude met l'accent sur le rôle des groupements aminés attachés aux cycles aromatiques des ligands reliant la brique {Zr6O4(OH)4}. En particulier, l'interaction préférentielle de l'iode avec les groupes de paires d'électrons isolés, tels que les fonctions amino, a été observée expérimentalement, et est également basée sur les calculs DFT. En effet, des teneurs en iode plus élevées ont été systématiquement mesurées pour les UiO-66 ou UiO-67 à fonction amino, par rapport aux vierges (jusqu'à 1211 mg.g -1 pour UiO-67_(NH2)2). Cependant, les calculs DFT ont révélé les énergies d'interaction calculées les plus élevées pour les groupes alkylamines (-CH2 NH2) dans l'UiO-67 (-128,5 kJ.mol -1 pour la cavité octaédrique), et ont souligné l'influence de cette fonctionnalité spécifique par rapport à amine aromatique. L'encapsulation de l'iode dans le système de pores de UiO-n et de leurs dérivés aminés a été analysée par spectroscopie UV-Vis et Raman. Nous avons montré qu'une conversion systématique des espèces d'iode moléculaire (I2) en I- un anionique, (stabilisé sous forme de complexe I - ···I2 ou I3- dans les cavités MOF), se produit lorsque I2 @UiO-n échantillons sont laissés à la lumière du jour ambiant

Insights into the Role of Specific Lipids in the Formation and Delivery of Lipid Microdomains to the Plasma Membrane of Plant Cells

The existence of sphingolipid- and sterol-enriched microdomains, known as lipid rafts, in the plasma membrane (PM) of eukaryotic cells is well documented. To obtain more insight into the lipid molecular species required for the formation of microdomains in plants, we have isolated detergent (Triton X-100)-resistant membranes (DRMs) from the PM of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) and leek (Allium porrum) seedlings as well as from Arabidopsis cell cultures. Here, we show that all DRM preparations are enriched in sterols, sterylglucosides, and glucosylceramides (GluCer) and depleted in glycerophospholipids. The GluCer of DRMs from leek seedlings contain hydroxypalmitic acid. We investigated the role of sterols in DRM formation along the secretory pathway in leek seedlings. We present evidence for the presence of DRMs in both the PM and the Golgi apparatus but not in the endoplasmic reticulum. In leek seedlings treated with fenpropimorph, a sterol biosynthesis inhibitor, the usual Δ(5)-sterols are replaced by 9β,19-cyclopropylsterols. In these plants, sterols and hydroxypalmitic acid-containing GluCer do not reach the PM, and most DRMs are recovered from the Golgi apparatus, indicating that Δ(5)-sterols and GluCer play a crucial role in lipid microdomain formation and delivery to the PM. In addition, DRM formation in Arabidopsis cells is shown to depend on the unsaturation degree of fatty acyl chains as evidenced by the dramatic decrease in the amount of DRMs prepared from the Arabidopsis mutants, fad2 and Fad3+, affected in their fatty acid desaturases

Acyl Chains of Phospholipase D Transphosphatidylation Products in Arabidopsis Cells: A Study Using Multiple Reaction Monitoring Mass Spectrometry

<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Phospholipases D (PLD) are major components of signalling pathways in plant responses to some stresses and hormones. The product of PLD activity is phosphatidic acid (PA). PAs with different acyl chains do not have the same protein targets, so to understand the signalling role of PLD it is essential to analyze the composition of its PA products in the presence and absence of an elicitor.</p> <h3>Methodology/Principal findings</h3><p>Potential PLD substrates and products were studied in <em>Arabidopsis thaliana</em> suspension cells treated with or without the hormone salicylic acid (SA). As PA can be produced by enzymes other than PLD, we analyzed phosphatidylbutanol (PBut), which is specifically produced by PLD in the presence of <em>n</em>-butanol. The acyl chain compositions of PBut and the major glycerophospholipids were determined by multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mass spectrometry. PBut profiles of untreated cells or cells treated with SA show an over-representation of 160/18∶2- and 16∶0/18∶3-species compared to those of phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine either from bulk lipid extracts or from purified membrane fractions. When microsomal PLDs were used in <em>in vitro</em> assays, the resulting PBut profile matched exactly that of the substrate provided. Therefore there is a mismatch between the acyl chain compositions of putative substrates and the <em>in vivo</em> products of PLDs that is unlikely to reflect any selectivity of PLDs for the acyl chains of substrates.</p> <h3>Conclusions</h3><p>MRM mass spectrometry is a reliable technique to analyze PLD products. Our results suggest that PLD action in response to SA is not due to the production of a stress-specific molecular species, but that the level of PLD products <em>per se</em> is important. The over-representation of 160/18∶2- and 16∶0/18∶3-species in PLD products when compared to putative substrates might be related to a regulatory role of the heterogeneous distribution of glycerophospholipids in membrane sub-domains.</p> </div

PBut profiles analyzed before and after SA addition.

<p>Cell medium was supplemented with 0.1% (v/v) <i>n</i>-butanol. After 45 minutes, 750 µM SA was added, and lipids were extracted 100 min later. (A) Black bars, PBut in untreated cells; white bars, PBut in SA treated cells; striped bars, PC; grey bars, PE. (B) PBut in the presence of SA compared to PC. Black bars, PBut in presence of SA; white bars, PC. Insert: for molecular species representing more than 1% of the species of PBut and PC, we calculated the ratio of the value obtained in PBut to the value obtained in PC. Results are represented on a <i>log2</i> scale. (C) PBut in the presence of SA compared to PE. Black bars, PBut in the presence of SA; white bars, PE. Insert: for molecular species representing more than 1% of the species of PBut and PE, we calculated the ratio of the value obtained in PBut to the value obtained in PE. Results are represented on a <i>log2</i> scale.</p