Mycobacterium marinum MMAR_2380, a predicted transmembrane acyltransferase, is essential for the presence of the mannose cap on lipoarabinomannan

Lipoarabinomannan (LAM) is a major glycolipid in the mycobacterial cell envelope. LAM consists of a mannosylphosphatidylinositol (MPI) anchor, a mannan core and a branched arabinan domain. The termini of the arabinan branches can become substituted with one to three α(1→2)-linked mannosyl residues, the mannose cap, producing ManLAM. ManLAM has been associated with a range of different immunomodulatory properties of Mycobacterium tuberculosis during infection of the host. In some of these effects, the presence of the mannose cap on ManLAM appears to be crucial for its activity. So far, in the biosynthesis of the mannose cap on ManLAM, two enzymes have been reported to be involved: a mannosyltransferase that adds the first mannosyl residue of the mannose caps to the arabinan domain of LAM, and another mannosyltransferase that elongates the mannose cap up to three mannosyl residues. Here, we report that a third gene is involved, MMAR_2380, which is the Mycobacterium marinum orthologue of Rv1565c. MMAR_2380 encodes a predicted transmembrane acyltransferase. In M. marinum ΔMMAR_2380, the LAM arabinan domain is still intact, but the mutant LAM lacks the mannose cap. Additional effects of mutation of MMAR_2380 on LAM were observed: a higher degree of branching of both the arabinan domain and the mannan core, and a decreased incorporation of [1,2-14C]acetate into the acyl chains in mutant LAM as compared with the wild-type form. This latter effect was also observed for related lipoglycans, i.e. lipomannan (LM) and phosphatidylinositol mannosides (PIMs). Furthermore, the mutant strain showed increased aggregation in liquid cultures as compared with the wild-type strain. All phenotypic traits of M. marinum ΔMMAR_2380, the deficiency in the mannose cap on LAM and changes at the cell surface, could be reversed by complementing the mutant strain with MMAR_2380. Strikingly, membrane preparations of the mutant strain still showed enzymic activity for the arabinan mannose-capping mannosyltransferase similar to that of the wild-type strain. Although the exact function of MMAR_2380 remains unknown, we show that the protein is essential for the presence of a mannose cap on LAM

Structural characterization of a partially arabinosylated lipoarabinomannan variant isolated from a Corynebacterium glutamicum ubiA mutant

Arabinan polysaccharide side-chains are present in both Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Corynebacterium glutamicum in the heteropolysaccharide arabinogalactan (AG), and in M. tuberculosis in the lipoglycan lipoarabinomannan (LAM). This study shows by quantitative sugar and glycosyl linkage analysis that C. glutamicum possesses a much smaller LAM version, Cg-LAM, characterized by single t-Araf residues linked to the α(1→6)-linked mannan backbone. MALDI-TOF MS showed an average molecular mass of 13 800–15 400 Da for Cg-LAM. The biosynthetic origin of Araf residues found in the extracytoplasmic arabinan domain of AG and LAM is well known to be provided by decaprenyl-monophosphoryl-d-arabinose (DPA). However, the characterization of LAM in a C. glutamicum : : ubiA mutant devoid of prenyltransferase activity and devoid of DPA-dependent arabinan deposition into AG revealed partial formation of LAM, albeit with a slightly altered molecular mass. These data suggest that in addition to DPA utilization as an Araf donor, alternative pathways exist in Corynebacterianeae for Araf delivery, possibly via an unknown sugar nucleotide

Anisotropies et couplages magnétiques de ferrofluides texturables

Ferrofluids are colloidal suspensions of magnetic nanoparticles dispersed in a carrier liquid. The intimate interaction between the magnetic nanoparticles and the liquid provides a unique system, from both fundamental and industrial application point of views, whose flow and properties can be precisely controlled using an external magnetic field. Magnetic nanoparticles of spinel ferrites MFe2O4 (M = Fe2+, Co2+, Mn2+…) are of particular scientific interest and have been extensively studied for their electrical and magnetic properties. Spinel ferrites find potential applications, notably in storage devices, for computers, or hyperthermia, for cancer treatment, where high magnetic anisotropy energies are required at the nanoscale. However, deeper knowledges of the fine mechanisms playing a significant role on the magnetic anisotropies existing in the nanospinels are necessary to help the creation of rationalized materials with controlled magnetic anisotropies for the requirement of the system. In this thesis, we have used X-ray Magnetic Circular Dichroism (XMCD) as an original approach for probing the magnetic anisotropies and magnetic couplings of nanospinels obtained in ferrofluids. The nanoparticles are iron bearing spinels for which cobalt ions have been introduced in the spinel structure of the nanoparticles as a true makers of magnetic anisotropy. First, magnetic nanospinels have been synthesized by tuning their size and composition and using different synthesis processes. XMCD investigations revealed that the coercive field of the nanospinels is governed by the concentration of Co2+ ions sitting in octahedral sites of the spinel structure, and this can be directly linked to some synthesis parameters. Then, we have investigated core@shell nanoparticles, which can be synthesized with an appropriate choice of magnetic anisotropies for the core and the shell in order to tailor optimal magnetic properties. In the case of MnFe2O4@CoFe2O4, our findings reveal that the very thin CoFe2O4 shell imposes a strong magnetic anisotropy to the otherwise very soft MnFe2O4 core. The other class of ferrofluids that has been investigated during this thesis are binary ferrofluids that are constituted of two different types of magnetic nanoparticles. For such systems, the carrier liquid must be preserved to understand the magnetic interactions in the ferrofluid as they are. Another motivation of this thesis was thus to extend XMCD to the in situ investigation of the nanospinels dispersed in ferrofluids. We have been started a liquid cell development in the DEIMOS beamline at SOLEIL. The setup is still in progress and is aimed at being compatible with soft X-Rays short penetration depth and ultra-high vacuum environment. Hard X-ray photon-in/photon-out spectroscopy coupled to XMCD (1s2p RIXS-MCD) can be a very valuable alternative to soft X-ray XMCD at K-edge of 3d elements when liquid cell sample environment is required. The instrumental development of a liquid cell used with 1s2p RIXS-MCD spectroscopy allowed us to investigate the nanoparticles directly in the ferrofluids revealing interparticles magnetic couplings in binary ferrofluids.Les ferrofluides sont des suspensions colloïdales de nanoparticules magnétiques dispersées dans un liquide porteur. La possibilité de moduler les propriétés des ferrofluides in situ en appliquant un champ magnétique externe leur procure un fort potentiel d’étude, à la fois d’un point de vue fondamental ou pour des applications industrielles variées. En particulier, les nanospinels de ferrite ferrimagnétiques MFe2O4 (M = Fe2+, Co2+, Mn2+…) sont largement étudiés pour leurs propriétés électriques et magnétiques. Plus spécifiquement, une forte énergie d’anisotropie de ces matériaux à l’échelle nanométrique est requise pour des applications dans le stockage de l’information ou l’hyperthermie pour lesquels ils sont considérés. Une connaissance fine des mécanismes régissant ces propriétés d’anisotropies magnétiques est ainsi primordiale pour la création de nouveaux objets aux propriétés magnétiques contrôlées à l’échelle nanométrique. L’originalité de notre approche consiste à utiliser une technique fine du magnétisme, le dichroïsme magnétique circulaire des rayons X (XMCD) à l’étude des anisotropies et couplages magnétiques des nanospinels composants les ferrofluides. Au cours de cette thèse, nous nous sommes intéressés à différentes stratégies possibles pour induire une forte énergie d’anisotropie aux nanospinels de ferrite par l’utilisation de cobalt. Des nanoparticules de tailles et compositions variées ont été obtenues par différentes voies de synthèse, et nous démontrons que l’anisotropie magnétique de ces systèmes est fortement gouvernée par la symétrie de site du Co2+ en structure spinel qui peut être directement corrélé au processus de synthèse utilisé. Nous nous sommes aussi intéressés à l’ordre et au couplage magnétique de ferrite spinels structurés en coeur-coquille, dont le cœur et la coquille sont réalisés à partir de matériaux aux propriétés magnétiques intrinsèques différentes. Nous montrons ainsi que pour des nanospinels MnFe2O4@CoFe2O4, la très fine coquille formée de CoFe2O4 impose une forte anisotropie magnétique au cœur doux de MnFe2O4. Enfin, nous nous sommes intéressés à une troisième classe de ferrofluide à base de nanospinels, les ferrofluides binaires, constitué d’un mélange physique de ferrofluides aux propriétés magnétiques intrinsèques différentes. Pour de tels systèmes, il est essentiel de préserver le liquide porteur du ferrofluide pour ne pas dénaturer les interactions entre particules existantes. L’un des objectifs de cette thèse fut donc d’étendre la technique du XMCD à l’étude d’échantillons de ferrofluides in situ, dans leur phase liquide ou gelée. Nous avons débuté la conception d’une cellule liquide compatible avec les rayons X mous et un environnement ultra-vide sur la ligne de lumière DEIMOS (SOLEIL) qui est toujours en développement..