Sanz Barrio, Ruth

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https://academica-e.unavarra.es/handle/2454/49999

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Sanz Barrio

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Ruth

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Producción Agraria

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1174439

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3465

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2011 - 20132
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Author: Corral-Martínez, Patricia ×

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    PublicationOpen Access
    Tobacco plastidial thioredoxins as modulators of recombinant protein production in transgenic chloroplasts
    (Wiley, 2011) Sanz Barrio, Ruth; Fernández San Millán, Alicia; Corral-Martínez, Patricia; Seguí-Simarro, José M.; Farrán Blanch, Inmaculada; IdAB. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología / Agrobioteknologiako Institutua; Gobierno de Navarra / Nafarroako Gobernua, Res.17/2004 and IIM10865.RI1
    Thioredoxins (Trxs) are small ubiquitous disulphide proteins widely known to enhance expression and solubility of recombinant proteins in microbial expression systems. Given the common evolutionary heritage of chloroplasts and bacteria, we attempted to analyse whether plastid Trxs could also act as modulators of recombinant protein expression in transgenic chloroplasts. For that purpose, two tobacco Trxs (m and f) with different phylogenetic origins were assessed. Using plastid transformation, we assayed two strategies: the fusion and the co‐expression of Trxs with human serum albumin (HSA), which was previously observed to form large protein bodies in tobacco chloroplasts. Our results indicate that both Trxs behave similarly as regards HSA accumulation, although they act differently when fused or co‐expressed with HSA. Trxs–HSA fusions markedly increased the final yield of HSA (up to 26% of total protein) when compared with control lines that only expressed HSA; this increase was mainly caused by higher HSA stability of the fused proteins. However, the fusion strategy failed to prevent the formation of protein bodies within chloroplasts. On the other hand, the co‐expression constructs gave rise to an absence of large protein bodies although no more soluble HSA was accumulated. In these plants, electron micrographs showed HSA and Trxs co‐localization in small protein bodies with fibrillar texture, suggesting a possible influence of Trxs on HSA solubilization. Moreover, the in vitro chaperone activity of Trx m and f was demonstrated, which supports the hypothesis of a direct relationship between Trx presence and HSA aggregates solubilization in plants co‐expressing both proteins.
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    PublicationOpen Access
    Overexpression of plastidial thioredoxin f leads to enhanced starch accumulation in tobacco leaves
    (Wiley, 2013) Sanz Barrio, Ruth; Corral-Martínez, Patricia; Ancín Rípodas, María; Seguí-Simarro, José M.; Farrán Blanch, Inmaculada; IdAB. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología / Agrobioteknologiako Institutua; Gobierno de Navarra / Nafarroako Gobernua, IIM10865.RI1
    Starch, the most abundant storage carbohydrate in plants, has been a major feedstock for first‐generation biofuels. Growing fuel demands require, however, that the starch yields of energy crops be improved. Leaf starch is synthesised during the day and degraded at night to power nonphotosynthetic metabolism. Redox regulation has been associated with the coordination of the enzymes involved in starch metabolism, but neither the signals nor mechanisms that regulate this metabolism are entirely clear. In this work, the thioredoxin (Trx) f and m genes, which code for key enzymes in plastid redox regulation, were overexpressed from the plastid genome. Tobacco plants overexpressing Trx f, but not Trx m, showed an increase of up to 700% in leaf starch accumulation, accompanied by an increase in leaf sugars, specific leaf weight (SLW), and leaf biomass yield. To test the potential of these plants as a nonfood energy crop, tobacco leaves overexpressing Trx f were subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis, and around a 500% increase in the release of fermentable sugars was recorded. The results show that Trx f is a more effective regulator of photosynthetic carbon metabolism in planta than Trx m. The overexpression of Trx f might therefore provide a means of increasing the carbohydrate content of plants destined for use in biofuel production. It might also provide a means of improving the nutritional properties of staple food crops.