Metabolic flux ratio analysis and multi-objective optimization revealed a globally conserved and coordinated metabolic response of E. coli to paraquat-induced oxidative stress

13C metabolic flux analysis: Classification and characterization from the perspective of mathematical modeling and application in physiological research of neural cell

¹³C metabolic flux analysis (¹³C-MFA) has emerged as a forceful tool for quantifying in vivo metabolic pathway activity of different biological systems. This technology plays an important role in understanding intracellular metabolism and revealing patho-physiology mechanism. Recently, it has evolved into a method family with great diversity in experiments, analytics, and mathematics. In this review, we classify and characterize the various branch of ¹³C-MFA from a unified perspective of mathematical modeling. By linking different parts in the model to each step of its workflow, the specific technologies of ¹³C-MFA are put into discussion, including the isotope labeling model (ILM), isotope pattern measuring technique, optimization algorithm and statistical method. Its application in physiological research in neural cell has also been reviewed.

Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of serine hydroxymethyltransferase (SHMT) gene family in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)

Serine hydroxymethyltransferase (SHMT) is one of the most important enzyme families in one-carbon metabolic pathway and photorespiration within plant cells. Recently studies reported the active roles of plant SHMTs in defending abiotic stresses. However, genome-scale analysis of SHMT in tomato is currently unknown. In this study, seven SHMT genes were identified in the tomato genome using a genome-wide search approach. In addition, their physicochemical properties, protein secondary structure, subcellular localization, gene structure, conserved motifs, phylogenetic and collinear relationships were analyzed. Our results demonstrated that tomato SHMT members were divided into two group and four subgroups, and they were conserved with the orthologs of other plants. Analysis of cis-acting elements showed that each of the SlSHMT genes contained different kinds of hormones and stress-related cis-acting elements in their promoter regions. Finally, qRT-PCR analysis indicated that SlSHMTs were expressed at different levels in different tissues, and they responded to UV, cold, heat, NaCl, H₂O₂, ABA and PEG treatments. These results provided definite evidence that SlSHMTs might involve in growth, development and stress responses in tomato, which laid a foundation for future functional studies of SlSHMTs.

Modulation of Escherichia coli Translation by the Specific Inactivation of tRNAGly Under Oxidative Stress

Bacterial oxidative stress responses are generally controlled by transcription factors that modulate the synthesis of RNAs with the aid of some sRNAs that control the stability, and in some cases the translation, of specific mRNAs. Here, we report that oxidative stress additionally leads to inactivation of tRNA^Gly in Escherichia coli, inducing a series of physiological changes. The observed inactivation of tRNA^Gly correlated with altered efficiency of translation of Gly codons, suggesting a possible mechanism of translational control of gene expression under oxidative stress. Changes in translation also depended on the availability of glycine, revealing a mechanism whereby bacteria modulate the response to oxidative stress according to the prevailing metabolic state of the cells.

A Biostimulant Obtained from the Seaweed Ascophyllum nodosum Protects Arabidopsis thaliana from Severe Oxidative Stress

Abiotic stresses cause oxidative damage in plants. Here, we demonstrate that foliar application of an extract from the seaweed Ascophyllum nodosum, SuperFifty (SF), largely prevents paraquat (PQ)-induced oxidative stress in Arabidopsis thaliana. While PQ-stressed plants develop necrotic lesions, plants pre-treated with SF (i.e., primed plants) were unaffected by PQ. Transcriptome analysis revealed induction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) marker genes, genes involved in ROS-induced programmed cell death, and autophagy-related genes after PQ treatment. These changes did not occur in PQ-stressed plants primed with SF. In contrast, upregulation of several carbohydrate metabolism genes, growth, and hormone signaling as well as antioxidant-related genes were specific to SF-primed plants. Metabolomic analyses revealed accumulation of the stress-protective metabolite maltose and the tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates fumarate and malate in SF-primed plants. Lipidome analysis indicated that those lipids associated with oxidative stress-induced cell death and chloroplast degradation, such as triacylglycerols (TAGs), declined upon SF priming. Our study demonstrated that SF confers tolerance to PQ-induced oxidative stress in A. thaliana, an effect achieved by modulating a range of processes at the transcriptomic, metabolic, and lipid levels.

Impact of ROS-Induced Damage of TCA Cycle Enzymes on Metabolism and Virulence of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (STM) is exposed to reactive oxygen species (ROS) originating from aerobic respiration, antibiotic treatment, and the oxidative burst occurring inside the Salmonella-containing vacuole (SCV) within host cells. ROS damage cellular compounds, thereby impairing bacterial viability and inducing cell death. Proteins containing iron–sulfur (Fe–S) clusters are particularly sensitive and become non-functional upon oxidation. Comprising five enzymes with Fe–S clusters, the TCA cycle is a pathway most sensitive toward ROS. To test the impact of ROS-mediated metabolic perturbations on bacterial physiology, we analyzed the proteomic and metabolic profile of STM deficient in both cytosolic superoxide dismutases (ΔsodAB). Incapable of detoxifying superoxide anions (SOA), endogenously generated SOA accumulate during growth. ΔsodAB showed reduced abundance of aconitases, leading to a metabolic profile similar to that of an aconitase-deficient strain (ΔacnAB). Furthermore, we determined a decreased expression of acnA in STM ΔsodAB. While intracellular proliferation in RAW264.7 macrophages and survival of methyl viologen treatment were not reduced for STM ΔacnAB, proteomic profiling revealed enhanced stress response. We conclude that ROS-mediated reduced expression and damage of aconitase does not impair bacterial viability or virulence, but might increase ROS amounts in STM, which reinforces the bactericidal effects of antibiotic treatment and immune responses of the host.

The synthesis of pillar[5]arene functionalized graphene as a fluorescent probe for paraquat in living cells and mice

As complex organisms vary in vivo, it remains a challenging task to get fluorescence ‘turn on’ imaging for special targets.

Elementary Flux Mode Analysis Revealed Cyclization Pathway as a Powerful Way for NADPH Regeneration of Central Carbon Metabolism

NADPH regeneration capacity is attracting growing research attention due to its important role in resisting oxidative stress. Besides, NADPH availability has been regarded as a limiting factor in production of industrially valuable compounds. The central carbon metabolism carries the carbon skeleton flux supporting the operation of NADPH-regenerating enzyme and offers flexibility in coping with NADPH demand for varied intracellular environment. To acquire an insightful understanding of its NADPH regeneration capacity, the elementary mode method was employed to compute all elementary flux modes (EFMs) of a network representative of central carbon metabolism. Based on the metabolic flux distributions of these modes, a cluster analysis of EFMs with high NADPH regeneration rate was conducted using the self-organizing map clustering algorithm. The clustering results were used to study the relationship between the flux of total NADPH regeneration and the flux in each NADPH producing enzyme. The results identified several reaction combinations supporting high NADPH regeneration, which are proven to be feasible in cells via thermodynamic analysis and coincident with a great deal of previous experimental report. Meanwhile, the reaction combinations showed some common characteristics: there were one or two decarboxylation oxidation reactions in the combinations that produced NADPH and the combination constitution included certain gluconeogenesis pathways. These findings suggested cyclization pathways as a powerful way for NADPH regeneration capacity of bacterial central carbon metabolism.

High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry Based Proteomic Analysis of the Response to Vancomycin-Induced Cell Wall Stress in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2)

Understanding how bacteria survive periods of cell wall stress is of fundamental interest and can help generate ideas for improved antibacterial treatments. In this study we use tandem mass tagging to characterize the proteomic response of vancomycin resistant Streptomyces coelicolor to the exposure to sublethal levels of the antibiotic. A common set of 804 proteins were identified in triplicate experiments. Contrasting changes in the abundance of proteins closely associated with the cytoplasmic membrane with those taking place in the cytosol identified aspects of protein spatial localization that are associated with the response to vancomycin. Enzymes for peptidoglycan precursor, mycothiol, ectoine and menaquinone biosynthesis together with a multisubunit nitrate reductase were recruited to the membrane following vancomycin treatment. Many proteins with regulatory functions (including sensor protein kinases) also exhibited significant changes in abundance exclusively in the membrane-associated protein fraction. Several enzymes predicted to be involved in extracellular peptidoglycan crossbridge formation became significantly depleted from the membrane. A comparison with data previously acquired on the changes in gene transcription following vancomycin treatment identified a common high-confidence set of changes in gene expression. Generalized changes in protein abundance indicate roles for proteolysis, the pentose phosphate pathway and a reorganization of amino acid biosynthesis in the stress response.

Metabolic Response of Escherichia coli upon Treatment with Hypochlorite at Sub-Lethal Concentrations

Hypochlorite is a reactive oxygen species that is worldwide as an antibacterial disinfectant. Hypochlorite exposure is known to cause oxidative damage to DNA and proteins. As a response to these effects, the metabolite profiles of organisms treated with sub-lethal doses of hypochlorite are assumed to be severely modified; however, the nature of these changes is hardly understood. Therefore, using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and gas chromatography-coupled mass spectrometry, we analyzed the time-dependent impact of hypochlorite exposure with a sub-lethal concentration (50 µM) on the metabolite profile of the Escherichia coli strain MG1655. Principle component analysis clearly distinguished between the metabolite profiles of bacteria treated for 0, 5,10, 20, 40, or 60 min. Major changes in the relative amounts of fatty acids, acetic acid, and formic acid occurred within the first 5 min. Comparative gas chromatography-coupled mass spectrometry analyses revealed that the amounts of free methionine and alanine were significantly decreased in the treated cells, demonstrating their susceptibility to hypochlorite exposure. The concentrations of succinate, urea, orotic acid, 2-aminobutyric acid, and 2-hydroxybutyric acid were also severely affected, indicating general changes in the metabolic network by hypochlorite. However, most metabolite levels relaxed to the reference values of untreated cells after 40–60 min, reflecting the capability of E. coli to rapidly adapt to environmental stress factors such as the presence of sub-lethal oxidant levels.

Flux and reflux: metabolite reflux in plant suspension cells and its implications for isotope-assisted metabolic flux analysis

Isotope-assisted metabolic flux analysis (MFA) is a powerful methodology to quantify intracellular fluxes via isotope labeling experiments (ILEs). In batch cultures, which are often convenient, inexpensive or inevitable especially for eukaryotic systems, MFA is complicated by the presence of the initially present biomass. This unlabeled biomass may either mix with the newly synthesized labeled biomass or reflux into the metabolic network, thus masking the true labeling patterns in the newly synthesized biomass. Here, we report a detailed investigation of such metabolite reflux in cell suspensions of the tree poplar. In ILEs supplying 28% or 98% U-(13)C glucose as the sole organic carbon source, biomass components exhibited lower (13)C enrichments than the supplied glucose as well as anomalous isotopomers not explainable by simple mixing of the initial and newly synthesized biomass. These anomalous labeling patterns were most prominent in a 98% U-(13)C glucose ILE. By comparing the performance of light- and dark-grown cells as well as by analyzing the isotope labeling patterns in aspartic and glutamic acids, we eliminated photosynthetic or anaplerotic fixation of extracellular (12)CO2 as explanations for the anomalous labeling patterns. We further investigated four different metabolic models for interpreting the labeling patterns and evaluating fluxes: (i) a carbon source (glucose) dilution model, (ii) an isotopomer correction model with uniform dilution for all amino acids, (iii) an isotopomer correction model with variable dilution for different amino acids, and (iv) a comprehensive metabolite reflux model. Of these, the metabolite reflux model provided a substantially better fit for the observed labeling patterns (sum of squared residues: 538) than the other three models whose sum of squared residues were (i) 4626, (ii) 4983, and (iii) 1748, respectively. We compared fluxes determined using the metabolite reflux model to those determined using an independent methodology involving an excessively long ILE to wash out initial biomass and a minimal reflux model. This comparison showed identical or similar distributions for a majority of fluxes, thus validating our comprehensive reflux model. In summary, we have demonstrated the need for quantifying interactions between initially present biomass and newly synthesized biomass in batch ILEs, especially through the use of ≈100% U-(13)C carbon sources. Our ILEs reveal a high amount of metabolite reflux in poplar cell suspensions, which is well explained by a comprehensive metabolite reflux model.