Preparation of stroma, thylakoid membrane, and lumen fractions from Arabidopsis thaliana chloroplasts for proteomic analysis

For many studies regarding important chloroplast processes such as oxygenic photosynthesis, fractionation of the total chloroplast proteome is a necessary first step. Here, we describe a method for isolating the stromal, the thylakoid membrane, and the thylakoid lumen subchloroplast fractions from Arabidopsis thaliana leaf material. All three fractions can be isolated sequentially from the same plant material in a single day preparation. The isolated fractions are suitable for various proteomic analyses such as simple mapping studies or for more complex experiments such as differential expression analysis using two-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE) or mass spectrometry (MS)-based techniques. Besides this, the obtained fractions can also be used for many other purposes such as immunological assays, enzymatic activity assays, and studies of protein complexes by native-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (native-PAGE).

Expression, purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray crystallographic studies of alkyl hydroperoxide reductase (AhpC) from the cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. PCC 7120

Alkyl hydroperoxide reductase (AhpC) is a key component of a large family of thiol-specific antioxidant (TSA) proteins distributed among prokaryotes and eukaryotes. AhpC is involved in the detoxification of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive sulfur species (RSS). Sequence analysis of AhpC from the cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 shows that this protein belongs to the 1-Cys class of peroxiredoxins (Prxs). It has recently been reported that enhanced expression of this protein in Escherichia coli offers tolerance to multiple stresses such as heat, salt, copper, cadmium, pesticides and UV-B. However, the structural features and the mechanism behind this process remain unclear. To provide insights into its biochemical function, AhpC was expressed, purified and crystallized by the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method. Diffraction data were collected to a maximum d-spacing of 2.5 Å using synchrotron radiation. The crystal belonged to space group P2(1)2(1)2(1), with unit-cell parameters a = 80, b = 102, c = 109.6 Å. The structure of AhpC from Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 was determined by molecular-replacement methods using the human Prx enzyme hORF6 (PDB entry 1prx) as the template.

Photosystem II, a growing complex: updates on newly discovered components and low molecular mass proteins

Photosystem II is a unique complex capable of absorbing light and splitting water. The complex has been thoroughly studied and to date there are more than 40 proteins identified, which bind to the complex either stably or transiently. Another special feature of this complex is the unusually high content of low molecular mass proteins that represent more than half of the proteins. In this review we summarize the recent findings on the low molecular mass proteins (<15kDa) and present an overview of the newly identified components as well. We have also performed co-expression analysis of the genes encoding PSII proteins to see if the low molecular mass proteins form a specific sub-group within the Photosystem II complex. Interestingly we found that the chloroplast-localized genes encoding PSII proteins display a different response to environmental and stress conditions compared to the nuclear localized genes. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Photosystem II.

Extraordinary μs-ms backbone dynamics in Arabidopsis thaliana peroxiredoxin Q

Peroxiredoxin Q (PrxQ) isolated from Arabidopsis thaliana belongs to a family of redox enzymes called peroxiredoxins, which are thioredoxin- or glutaredoxin-dependent peroxidases acting to reduce peroxides and in particular hydrogen peroxide. PrxQ cycles between an active reduced state and an inactive oxidized state during its catalytic cycle. The catalytic mechanism involves a nucleophilic attack of the catalytic cysteine on hydrogen peroxide to generate a sulfonic acid intermediate with a concerted release of a water molecule. This intermediate is subsequently relaxed by the reaction of a second cysteine, denoted the resolving cysteine, generating an intramolecular disulfide bond and release of a second water molecule. PrxQ is recycled to the active state by a thioredoxin-dependent reduction. Previous structural studies of PrxQ homologues have provided the structural basis for the switch between reduced and oxidized conformations. Here, we have performed a detailed study of the activity, structure and dynamics of PrxQ in both the oxidized and reduced states. Reliable and experimentally validated structural models of PrxQ in both oxidation states were generated using homology based modeling. Analysis of NMR spin relaxation rates shows that PrxQ is monomeric in both oxidized and reduced states. As evident from R(2) relaxation rates the reduced form of PrxQ undergoes unprecedented dynamics on the slow μs-ms timescale. The ground state of this conformational dynamics is likely the stably folded reduced state as implied by circular dichroism spectroscopy. We speculate that the extensive dynamics is intimately related to the catalytic function of PrxQ.

The PsbW protein stabilizes the supramolecular organization of photosystem II in higher plants

PsbW, a 6.1-kDa low-molecular-weight protein, is exclusive to photosynthetic eukaryotes, and associates with the photosystem II (PSII) protein complex. In vivo and in vitro comparison of Arabidopsis thaliana wild-type plants with T-DNA insertion knock-out mutants completely lacking the PsbW protein, or with antisense inhibition plants exhibiting decreased levels of PsbW, demonstrated that the loss of PsbW destabilizes the supramolecular organization of PSII. No PSII-LHCII supercomplexes could be detected or isolated in the absence of the PsbW protein. These changes in macro-organization were accompanied by a minor decrease in the chlorophyll fluorescence parameter F(V) /F(M) , a strongly decreased PSII core protein phosphorylation and a modification of the redox state of the plastoquinone (PQ) pool in dark-adapted leaves. In addition, the absence of PsbW protein led to faster redox changes in the PQ pool, i.e. transitions from state 1 to state 2, as measured by changes in stationary fluorescence (F(S) ) kinetics, compared with the wild type. Despite these dramatic effects on macromolecular structure, the transgenic plants exhibited no significant phenotype under normal growth conditions. We suggest that the PsbW protein is located close to the minor antenna of the PSII complex, and is important for the contact and stability between several PSII-LHCII supercomplexes.

Thioredoxin targets of the plant chloroplast lumen and their implications for plastid function

The light-dependent regulation of stromal enzymes by thioredoxin (Trx)-catalysed disulphide/dithiol exchange is known as a classical mechanism for control of chloroplast metabolism. Recent proteome studies show that Trx targets are present not only in the stroma but in all chloroplast compartments, from the envelope to the thylakoid lumen. Trx-mediated redox control appears to be a common feature of important pathways, such as the Calvin cycle, starch synthesis and tetrapyrrole biosynthesis. However, the extent of thiol-dependent redox regulation in the thylakoid lumen has not been previously systematically explored. In this study, we addressed Trx-linked redox control in the chloroplast lumen of Arabidopsis thaliana. Using complementary proteomics approaches, we identified 19 Trx target proteins, thus covering more than 40% of the currently known lumenal chloroplast proteome. We show that the redox state of thiols is decisive for degradation of the extrinsic PsbO1 and PsbO2 subunits of photosystem II. Moreover, disulphide reduction inhibits activity of the xanthophyll cycle enzyme violaxanthin de-epoxidase, which participates in thermal dissipation of excess absorbed light. Our results indicate that redox-controlled reactions in the chloroplast lumen play essential roles in the function of photosystem II and the regulation of adaptation to light intensity.

The TL29 protein is lumen located, associated with PSII and not an ascorbate peroxidase

The TL29 protein is one of the more abundant proteins in the thylakoid lumen of plant chloroplasts. Based on its sequence homology to ascorbate peroxidases, but without any supporting biochemical evidence, TL29 was suggested to be involved in the plant defense system against reactive oxygen species and consequently renamed to APX4. Our in vivo and in vitro analyses failed to show any peroxidase activity associated with TL29; it bound neither heme nor ascorbate. Recombinant overexpressed TL29 had no ascorbate-dependent peroxidase activity, and various mutational analyses aiming to convert TL29 into an ascorbate peroxidase failed. Furthermore, in the thylakoid lumen no such activity could be associated with TL29 and, additionally, TL29 knock-out mutants did not show any decreased peroxidase activity or increased content of radical oxygen species when grown under light stress. Instead we could show that TL29 is a lumen-located component associated with PSII.

A novel extended family of stromal thioredoxins

Thioredoxins play key regulatory roles in chloroplasts by linking photosynthetic light reactions to a series of plastid functions. In addition to the established groups of thioredoxins, f, m, x, and y, novel plant thioredoxins were also considered to include WCRKC motif proteins, CDSP32, the APR proteins, the lilium proteins and HCF164. Despite their important roles, the subcellular locations of many novel thioredoxins has remained unknown. Here, we report a study of their subcellular location using the cDNA clone resources of TAIR. In addition to filling all gaps in the subcellular map of the established chloroplast thioredoxins f, m, x and y, we show that the members of the WCRKC family are targeted to the stroma and provide evidence for a stromal location of the lilium proteins. The combined data from this and related studies indicate a consistent stromal location of the known Arabidopsis chloroplast thioredoxins except for thylakoid-bound HCF164.

Light induced changes in protein expression and uniform regulation of transcription in the thylakoid lumen of Arabidopsis thaliana

In plants oxygenic photosynthesis is performed by large protein complexes found in the thylakoid membranes of chloroplasts. The soluble thylakoid lumen space is a narrow and compressed region within the thylakoid membrane which contains 80–200 proteins. Because the thylakoid lumen proteins are in close proximity to the protein complexes of photosynthesis, it is reasonable to assume that the lumen proteins are highly influenced by the presence of light.

To identify light regulated proteins in the thylakoid lumen of Arabidopsis thaliana we developed a faster thylakoid preparation and combined this with difference gel electrophoresis (DIGE) of dark-adapted and light-adapted lumen proteomes. The DIGE experiments revealed that 19 lumen proteins exhibit increased relative protein levels after eight hour light exposure. Among the proteins showing increased abundance were the PsbP and PsbQ subunits of Photosystem II, major plastocyanin and several other proteins of known or unknown function. In addition, co-expression analysis of publicly available transcriptomic data showed that the co-regulation of lumen protein expression is not limited to light but rather that lumen protein genes exhibit a high uniformity of expression.

The large proportion of thylakoid lumen proteins displaying increased abundance in light-adapted plants, taken together with the observed uniform regulation of transcription, implies that the majority of thylakoid lumen proteins have functions that are related to photosynthetic activity. This is the first time that an analysis of the differences in protein level during a normal day/night cycle has been performed and it shows that even a normal cycle of light significantly influences the thylakoid lumen proteome. In this study we also show for the first time, using co-expression analysis, that the prevalent lumenal chloroplast proteins are very similarly regulated at the level of transcription.

Mutants, overexpressors, and interactors of Arabidopsis plastocyanin isoforms: revised roles of plastocyanin in photosynthetic electron flow and thylakoid redox state

Two homologous plastocyanin isoforms are encoded by the genes PETE1 and PETE2 in the nuclear genome of Arabidopsis thaliana. The PETE2 transcript is expressed at considerably higher levels and the PETE2 protein is the more abundant isoform. Null mutations in the PETE genes resulted in plants, designated pete1 and pete2, with decreased plastocyanin contents. However, despite reducing plastocyanin levels by over approximately 90%, a pete2 null mutation on its own affects rates of photosynthesis and growth only slightly, whereas pete1 knockout plants, with about 60-80% of the wild-type plastocyanin level, did not show any alteration. Hence, plastocyanin concentration is not limiting for photosynthetic electron flow under optimal growth conditions, perhaps implying other possible physiological roles for the protein. Indeed, plastocyanin has been proposed previously to cooperate with cytochrome c(6A) (Cyt c(6A)) in thylakoid redox reactions, but we find no evidence for a physical interaction between the two proteins, using interaction assays in yeast. We observed homodimerization of Cyt c(6A) in yeast interaction assays, but also Cyt c(6A) homodimers failed to interact with plastocyanin. Moreover, phenotypic analysis of atc6-1 pete1 and atc6-1 pete2 double mutants, each lacking Cyt c(6A) and one of the two plastocyanin-encoding genes, failed to reveal any genetic interaction. Overexpression of either PETE1 or PETE2 in the pete1 pete2 double knockout mutant background results in essentially wild-type photosynthetic performance, excluding the possibility that the two plastocyanin isoforms could have distinct functions in thylakoid electron flow.

Isolation of highly active photosystem II core complexes with a His-tagged Cyt b559 subunit from transplastomic tobacco plants

Photosystem II (PSII) is a huge multi-protein-complex consisting, in higher plants and green algae, of the PS II core and the adjacent light harvesting proteins. In the study reported here, N-terminal His-tags were added to the plastome-encoded alpha-subunit of cytochrome b559, PsbE, in tobacco plants, thus facilitating rapid, mild purification of higher plant PSII. Biolistic chloroplast transformation was used to replace the wildtype psbE gene by His-tagged counterparts. Transgenic plants did not exhibit an obvious phenotype. However, the oxygen evolution capacity of thylakoids prepared from the mutants compared to the wildtype was reduced by 10-30% depending on the length of the His-tag, although Fv/Fm values differed only slightly. Homoplasmic F1 plants were used to isolate PSII cores complexes. The cores contained no detectable traces of LHC or PsaA/B polypeptides, but the main core subunits of PSII could be identified using immunodetection and mass spectroscopy. In addition, Psb27 and PsbS were detected. The presence of the former was presumably due to the preparation method, since PSII complexes located in the stroma are also isolated. In contrast to previous reports, PsbS was solely found as a monomer on SDS-PAGE in the PSII core complexes of tobacco.

Immunophilin AtFKBP13 sustains all peptidyl-prolyl isomerase activity in the thylakoid lumen from Arabidopsis thaliana deficient in AtCYP20-2

The physiological roles of immunophilins are unclear, but many possess peptidyl-prolyl isomerase (PPIase) activity, and they have been found in all organisms examined to date, implying that they are involved in fundamental, protein-folding processes. The chloroplast thylakoid lumen of the higher plant Arabidopsis thaliana contains up to 16 immunophilins (five cyclophilins and 11 FKBPs), but only two of them, AtCYP20-2 and AtFKBP13, have been found to be active PPIases, indicating that the other immunophilins in this cellular compartment may have lost their putative PPIase activities. To assess this possibility, we characterized two independent Arabidopsis knockout lines lacking AtCYP20-2 in enzymological and quantitative proteomic analyses. The PPIase activity in thylakoid lumen preparations of both mutants was equal to that of corresponding wild-type preparations, and comparative two-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis analyses of the lumenal proteins of the mutants and wild type showed that none of the potential PPIases was more abundant in the AtCYP20-2 deficient plants. Enzymatic analyses established that all PPIase activity in the mutant thylakoid lumen was attributable to AtFKBP13, and oxidative activation of this enzyme compensated for the lack of AtCYP20-2. Accordingly, sequence analyses of the potential catalytic domains of lumenal cyclophilins and FKBPs demonstrated that only AtCYP20-2 and AtFKBP13 possess all of the amino acid residues found to be essential for PPIase activity in earlier studies of human cyclophilin A and FKBP12. Thus, none of the immunophilins in the chloroplast thylakoid lumen of Arabidopsis except AtCYP20-2 and AtFKBP13 appear to possess prolyl isomerase activity toward peptide substrates.

The PsbP-like protein (sll1418) of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 stabilises the donor side of Photosystem II

The PsbP-like protein of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 is a peripheral component of Photosystem II, located at the lumenal side of the thylakoid membrane. Removal of this protein leads to decreased competitive potential of a PsbP-like deletion mutant when grown in a mixture with wild-type cells. Flash-induced oxygen evolution traces of the mutant show a higher probability of misses, correlated with increased amplitudes of the S-states decay in the dark. Thermoluminescence emission traces demonstrate a changed charge recombination pattern in the mutant, the S(3)Q(B)(-) couple becoming the major species instead of the S(2)Q(B)(-). Our data suggest a possible role of the PsbP-like protein in stabilisation of the charge separation in Photosystem II of cyanobacteria through interaction with the Mn cluster.

The Prx Q protein ofArabidopsis thalianais a member of the luminal chloroplast proteome

Peroxiredoxins have been discovered in many organisms ranging from eubacteria to mammals, and their known biological functions include both oxidant defense and signal transduction. The genome of Arabidopsis thaliana encodes for ten individual peroxiredoxins, of which four are located in the chloroplast. The best-characterized member of the chloroplast peroxiredoxins is 2-Cys Prx that is associated with the stroma side of the thylakoid membrane and is considered to participate in antioxidant defense and protection of photosynthesis. This study addressed the chloroplast peroxiredoxin Prx Q and showed that its subcellular location is the lumen of the thylakoid membrane. To get insight in the biological function of the Prx Q protein of Arabidopsis, the protein levels of the Prx Q protein in thylakoid membranes were studied under different light conditions and oxidative stress. A T-DNA knockout mutant of Prx Q did not show any visible phenotype and had normal photosynthetic performance with a slightly increased oxygen evolving activity.

Proteomic identification of glucocorticoid receptor interacting proteins

The glucocorticoid receptor (GR) acts as a ligand dependent transcription factor but can also cross talk with other signaling pathways via protein-protein interactions. In this paper we describe methods to study novel cytosolic GR interacting proteins, using mAb based immunoaffinity chromatography of GR from rat liver cytosol. Co-purifying proteins were identified by 2-DE in combination with MALDI-TOF-MS. Non-liganded/non-activated and in vitro liganded/activated GR, respectively, co-purifies with specific sets of proteins. Of these 34 were conclusively identified, seven have previously been reported to be part of the GR-complex, revealing 27 new possible interacting candidates for the GR-complex. Of the novel GR interacting proteins the major vault protein, TATA binding interacting protein 49a and glycoprotein PP63 were of special interest. Furthermore, using 2-D DIGE we show that the set of proteins interacting with non-liganded GR is distinctly different in protein amount compared to the proteins found with liganded/activated GR. This suggests the presence of different GR complexes in the cell, which was further substantiated by the finding of several separate GR native protein complexes, "GR-receptosomes", using blue native gel electrophoresis. Our findings suggest the existence of several new mechanisms for GR signaling and regulation.

Functional analysis of the PsbP-like protein (sll1418) in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803

A recent proteomic analysis of the thylakoid lumen of Arabidopsis thaliana revealed the presence of several PsbP-like proteins, and a homologue to this gene family was detected in the genome of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 (Schubert M, Petersson UA, Haas BJ, Funk C, Schröder WP, Kieselbach T (2002) J Biol Chem 277, 8354-8365). Using a peptide-directed antibody against this cyanobacterial PsbP-like protein (sll1418) we could show that it was localized in the thylakoid membrane and associated with Photosystem II. While salt washes did not remove the PsbP-like protein from the thylakoid membrane, it was partially lost during the detergent-based isolation of PSII membrane fractions. In total cell extracts this protein is present in the same amount as the extrinsic PsbO protein. We did not see any significant functional difference between the wild-type and a PsbP-like insertion mutant.

The low molecular mass subunits of the photosynthetic supracomplex, photosystem II

The photosystem II (PSII) complex is located in the thylakoid membrane of higher plants, algae and cyanobacteria and drives the water oxidation process of photosynthesis, which splits water into reducing equivalents and molecular oxygen by solar energy. Electron and X-ray crystallography analyses have revealed that the PSII core complex contains between 34 and 36 transmembrane alpha-helices, depending on the organism. Of these helices at least 12-14 are attributed to low molecular mass proteins. However, to date, at least 18 low molecular mass (<10 kDa) subunits are putatively associated with the PSII complex. Most of them contain a single transmembrane span and their protein sequences are conserved among photosynthetic organisms. In addition, these proteins do not have any similarity to any known functional proteins in any type of organism, and only two of them bind a cofactor. These findings raise intriguing questions about why there are so many small protein subunits with single-transmembrane spans in the PSII complex, and their possible functions. This article reviews our current knowledge of this group of proteins. Deletion mutations of the low molecular mass subunits from both prokaryotic and eukaryotic model systems are compared in an attempt to understand the function of these proteins. From these comparisons it seems that the majority of them are involved in stabilization, assembly or dimerization of the PSII complex. The small proteins may facilitate fast dynamic conformational changes that the PSII complex needs to perform an optimal photosynthetic activity.

Isolation of Outer Membrane of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and Its Proteomic Characterization

In this report, we describe a newly developed method for isolating outer membranes from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 cells. The purity of the outer membrane fraction was verified by immunoblot analysis using antibodies against membrane-specific marker proteins. We investigated the protein composition of the outer membrane using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry followed by database identification. Forty-nine proteins were identified corresponding to 29 different gene products. All of the identified proteins have a putative N-terminal signal peptide. About 40% of the proteins identified represent hypothetical proteins with unknown function. Among the proteins identified are a Toc75 homologue, a protein that was initially found in the outer envelope of chloroplasts in pea, as well as TolC, putative porins, and a pilus protein. Other proteins identified include ABC transporters and GumB, which has a suggested function in carbohydrate export. A number of proteases such as HtrA were also found in the outer membrane of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803.

A novel plant protein undergoing light-induced phosphorylation and release from the photosynthetic thylakoid membranes

The characteristics of a phosphoprotein with a relative electrophoretic mobility of 12 kDa have been unknown during two decades of studies on redox-dependent protein phosphorylation in plant photosynthetic membranes. Digestion of this protein from spinach thylakoid membranes with trypsin and subsequent tandem nanospray-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry of the peptides revealed a protein sequence that did not correspond to any previously known protein. Sequencing of the corresponding cDNA uncovered a gene for a precursor protein with a transit peptide followed by a strongly basic mature protein with a molecular mass of 8,640 Da. Genes encoding homologous proteins were found on chromosome 3 of Arabidopsis and rice as well as in ESTs from 20 different plant species, but not from any other organisms. The protein can be released from the membrane with high salt and is also partially released in response to light-induced phosphorylation of thylakoids, in contrast to all other known thylakoid phosphoproteins, which are integral to the membrane. On the basis of its properties, this plant-specific protein is named thylakoid soluble phosphoprotein of 9 kDa (TSP9). Mass spectrometric analyses revealed the existence of non-, mono-, di-, and triphosphorylated forms of TSP9 and phosphorylation of three distinct threonine residues in the central part of the protein. The phosphorylation and release of TSP9 from the photosynthetic membrane on illumination favor participation of this basic protein in cell signaling and regulation of plant gene expression in response to changing light conditions.

Update on chloroplast proteomics

Currently, relatively few proteomics studies of chloroplast have been published, but the field has just started emerging and is likely to develop more rapidly in the future. While the complex membrane structure of the chloroplast makes it difficult to study its entire proteome by global approaches, proteomics has considerably increased our knowledge of the proteins of single compartments such as, for instance, the envelope and the thylakoid lumen. Proteomics has also succeeded in the subunit characterisation of select protein complexes such as the ribosomes and the cytochrome b (6)f complex. In addition, proteomics was successfully applied to find new potential target pathways for thioredoxin-mediated signal transduction. In this review, we present an overview of the latest developments in the field of chloroplast proteomics and discuss their impact on photosynthesis research. In addition, we summarise the current state of research in proteomics of the photosynthetic cyanobactrium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803.

The proteome of the chloroplast lumen of higher plants

Recent research in proteomics of the higher plant chloroplast has achieved considerable progress and added to our knowledge of lumenal chloroplast proteins. This work shows that chloroplast lumen has its own specific proteome and may comprise as many as 80 proteins. Although the new map of the lumenal proteome provides a great deal of information, it also raises numerous questions because the physiological functions of most of the novel lumenal proteins are unknown. In this Minireview, we summarize the latest discoveries regarding lumenal proteins and present the currently known facts about the lumenal chloroplast proteome of higher plants.

Proteome map of the chloroplast lumen of Arabidopsis thaliana

The thylakoid membrane of the chloroplast is the center of oxygenic photosynthesis. To better understand the function of the luminal compartment within the thylakoid network, we have carried out a systematic characterization of the luminal thylakoid proteins from the model organism Arabidopsis thaliana. Our data show that the thylakoid lumen has its own specific proteome, of which 36 proteins were identified. Besides a large group of peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerases and proteases, a family of novel PsbP domain proteins was found. An analysis of the luminal signal peptides showed that 19 of 36 luminal precursors were marked by a twin-arginine motif for import via the Tat pathway. To compare the model organism Arabidopsis with another typical higher plant, we investigated the proteome from the thylakoid lumen of spinach and found that the luminal proteins from both plants corresponded well. As a complement to our experimental investigation, we made a theoretical prediction of the luminal proteins from the whole Arabidopsis genome and estimated that the thylakoid lumen of the chloroplast contains approximately 80 proteins.