The Large Observatory for x-ray timing

The Large Observatory For x-ray Timing (LOFT) was studied within ESA M3 Cosmic Vision framework and participated in the final down-selection for a launch slot in 2022-2024. Thanks to the unprecedented combination of effective area and spectral resolution of its main instrument, LOFT will study the behaviour of matter under extreme conditions, such as the strong gravitational field in the innermost regions of accretion flows close to black holes and neutron stars, and the supra-nuclear densities in the interior of neutron stars. The science payload is based on a Large Area Detector (LAD, 10 m2 effective area, 2-30 keV, 240 eV spectral resolution, 1° collimated field of view) and a WideField Monitor (WFM, 2-50 keV, 4 steradian field of view, 1 arcmin source location accuracy, 300 eV spectral resolution). The WFM is equipped with an on-board system for bright events (e.g. GRB) localization. The trigger time and position of these events are broadcast to the ground within 30 s from discovery. In this paper we present the status of the mission at the end of its Phase A study

The LOFT mission concept: a status update

The Large Observatory For x-ray Timing (LOFT) is a mission concept which was proposed to ESA as M3 and M4 candidate in the framework of the Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 program. Thanks to the unprecedented combination of effective area and spectral resolution of its main instrument and the uniquely large field of view of its wide field monitor, LOFT will be able to study the behaviour of matter in extreme conditions such as the strong gravitational field in the innermost regions close to black holes and neutron stars and the supra-nuclear densities in the interiors of neutron stars. The science payload is based on a Large Area Detector (LAD, >8m2 effective area, 2-30 keV, 240 eV spectral resolution, 1 degree collimated field of view) and a Wide Field Monitor (WFM, 2-50 keV, 4 steradian field of view, 1 arcmin source location accuracy, 300 eV spectral resolution). The WFM is equipped with an on-board system for bright events (e.g., GRB) localization. The trigger time and position of these events are broadcast to the ground within 30 s from discovery. In this paper we present the current technical and programmatic status of the mission

Quantitative proteomische Methoden für die Untersuchung von Blatt Senescence in Arabidopsis thaliana\textit {Arabidopsis thaliana}

Im Vergleich zu $\textit {Arabidopsis thaliana}$ Wildtyppflanzen zeigen $\textit {onset of leaf death (old)}$ Mutanten vorgezogene Blattseneszenz. Ziel der Arbeit war es, mittels relativ quantitativer Proteomics molekulare Prozesse der frühen Blattseneszenz zu analysieren. Zwei-dimensionale "difference gel electrophoresis" (DIGE) wurde eingesetzt, um Unterschiede in den Proteinkonzentrationen von $\textit {A. thaliana}$ mit normaler und veränderter Blattseneszenz zu bestimmen. Die regulierten Proteine wurden durch Massenspektrometrie (MS) identifiziert. Es zeigten sich Unterschiede bei Untereinheiten der Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphat-Carboxylase/-Oxygenase und Glutathion-S-Transferasen der Klasse Phi. Zudem wurde erstmalig metabolische $^{15}$N-Markierung kombiniert mit MS für eine relativ quantitative Proteomanalyse von $\textit {A. thaliana}$ verwendet. Beim Vergleich der Genauigkeit der Bestimmung von Proteinkonzentrationsverhältnissen mittels DIGE und $^{15}$N-Markierung ergab sich eine gute Korrelation der erzielten Ergebnisse.In comparison with $\textit {Arabidopsis thaliana}$ wild type plants, $\textit {onset of leaf death (old)}$ mutants show advanced leaf senescence. The aim of this work was to investigate the molecular processes of early leaf senescence by relative quantitative proteomics. Two-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis (DIGE) was employed to determine differences in protein concentration in $\textit {A. thaliana}$ with normal and altered leaf senescence. The identity of regulated proteins was determined by mass spectrometry (MS). Differences in subunits of ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase and several members of glutathione S-transferase phi-class were found. A further approach was developed to assess for the first time the applicability of metabolic $^{15}$N-labeling combined with MS to relative quantitative proteomic analysis of $\textit {A. thaliana}$. The two quantification methods, DIGE and $^{15}$N-labeling combined with MS for the accurate determination of protein concentration ratios, showed a good correlation

Psb27, a Cyanobacterial Lipoprotein, Is Involved in the Repair Cycle of Photosystem II

Photosystem II (PSII) performs one of the key reactions on our planet: the light-driven oxidation of water. This fundamental but very complex process requires PSII to act in a highly coordinated fashion. Despite detailed structural information on the fully assembled PSII complex, the dynamic aspects of formation, processing, turnover, and degradation of PSII with at least 19 subunits and various cofactors are still not fully understood. Transient complexes are especially difficult to characterize due to low abundance, potential heterogeneity, and instability. Here, we show that Psb27 is involved in the assembly of the water-splitting site of PSII and in the turnover of the complex. Psb27 is a bacterial lipoprotein with a specific lipid modification as shown by matrix-assisted laser-desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry. The combination of HPLC purification of four different PSII subcomplexes and (15)N pulse label experiments revealed that lipoprotein Psb27 is part of a preassembled PSII subcomplex that represents a distinct intermediate in the repair cycle of PSII

MS Imaging-Guided Microproteomics for Spatial Omics on a Single Instrument

Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) allows investigating the spatial distribution of chemical compounds directly in biological tissues. As the analytical depth of MSI is limited, MSI needs to be coupled to more sensitive local extraction-based omics approaches to achieve a comprehensive molecular characterization. For this, it is important to retain the spatial information provided by MSI for follow-up omics studies. It has been shown that regiospecific MSI data can be used to guide a laser microdissection system for ultra-sensitive liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analyses. So far, this combination has required separate and specialized mass spectrometry (MS) instrumentation. Recent advances in dual-source instrumentation, harboring both matrix assisted laser/desorption ionization (MALDI) and electrospray ionization (ESI) sources, promise state-of-the-art MSI and liquid-based proteomic capabilities on the same MS instrument. This study demonstrates that such an instrument can offer both fast lipid-based MSI at high mass and high lateral resolution and sensitive LC-MS on local protein extracts from the exact same tissue section

MS Imaging‐Guided Microproteomics for Spatial Omics on a Single Instrument

Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) allows investigating the spatial distribution of chemical compounds directly in biological tissues. As the analytical depth of MSI is limited, MSI needs to be coupled to more sensitive local extraction-based omics approaches to achieve a comprehensive molecular characterization. For this, it is important to retain the spatial information provided by MSI for follow-up omics studies. It has been shown that regiospecific MSI data can be used to guide a laser microdissection system for ultra-sensitive liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analyses. So far, this combination has required separate and specialized mass spectrometry (MS) instrumentation. Recent advances in dual-source instrumentation, harboring both matrix assisted laser/desorption ionization (MALDI) and electrospray ionization (ESI) sources, promise state-of-the-art MSI and liquid-based proteomic capabilities on the same MS instrument. This study demonstrates that such an instrument can offer both fast lipid-based MSI at high mass and high lateral resolution and sensitive LC-MS on local protein extracts from the exact same tissue section

Study of early leaf senescence in Arabidopsis thaliana by quantitative proteomics using reciprocal N-14/N-15 Labeling and difference gel electrophoresis

Leaf senescence represents the final stage of leaf development and is associated with fundamental changes on the level of the proteome. For the quantitative analysis of changes in protein abundance related to early leaf senescence, we designed an elaborate double and reverse labeling strategy simultaneously employing fluorescent two-dimensional DIGE as well as metabolic N-15 labeling followed by MS. Reciprocal N-14/N-15 labeling of entire Arabidopsis thaliana plants showed that full incorporation of N-15 into the proteins of the plant did not cause any adverse effects on development and protein expression. A direct comparison of DIGE and N-15 labeling combined with MS showed that results obtained by both quantification methods correlated well for proteins showing low to moderate regulation factors. Nano HPLC/ESI-MS/MS analysis of 21 protein spots that consistently exhibited abundance differences in nine biological replicates based on both DIGE and MS resulted in the identification of 13 distinct proteins and protein subunits that showed significant regulation in Arabidopsis mutant plants displaying advanced leaf senescence. Ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase large and three of its four small subunits were found to be down-regulated, which reflects the degradation of the photosynthetic machinery during leaf senescence. Among the proteins showing higher abundance in mutant plants were several members of the glutathione S-transferase family class phi and quinone reductase. Up-regulation of these proteins fits well into the context of leaf senescence since they are generally involved in the protection of plant cells against reactive oxygen species which are increasingly generated by lipid degradation during leaf senescence. With the exception of one glutathione S-transferase isoform, none of these proteins has been linked to leaf senescence before