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When plants are exposed to stress, generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is often one of the first responses. In order to survive, cells attempt to down-regulate the production of ROS, while at the same time scavenging ROS. Photorespiration is now appreciated as an important part of stress responses in green tissues for preventing ROS accumulation. Photorespiratory reactions can dissipate excess reducing equivalents and energy either directly (using ATP, NAD(P)H and reduced ferredoxin) or indirectly (e.g., via alternative oxidase (AOX) and providing an internal CO2 pool). Photorespiration, however, is also a source of H2 O2 that is possibly involved in signal transduction, resulting in modulation of gene expression. We propose that photorespiration can assume a major role in the readjustment of redox homeostasis. Protection of photosynthesis from photoinhibition through photorespiration is well known. Photorespiration can mitigate oxidative stress under conditions of drought/water stress, salinity, low CO2 and chilling. Adjustments to even mild disturbances in redox status, caused by a deficiency in ascorbate, AOX or chloroplastic NADP-malate dehydrogenase, comprise increases in photorespiratory components such as catalase, P-protein of glycine decarboxylase complex (GDC) and glycine content. The accumulation of excess reducing equivalents or ROS in plant cells also affects mitochondria. Therefore, a strong interaction between the chloroplast redox status and photorespiration is not surprising, but highlights interesting properties evident in plant cells. We draw attention to the fact that a complex network of multiple and dynamic systems, including photorespiration, prevents oxidative damage while optimising photosynthesis. Further experiments are necessary to identify and validate the direct targets of redox signals among photorespiratory components.

Plant respiration is characterized by two pathways for electron transfer to O(2), namely the cytochrome pathway (CP) that is linked to ATP production, and the alternative pathway (AP), where electrons from ubiquinol are directly transferred to O(2) via an alternative oxidase (AOX) without concomitant ATP production. This latter pathway is well suited to dispose of excess electrons in the light, leading to optimized photosynthetic performance. We have characterized T-DNA-insertion mutant lines of Arabidopsis thaliana that do not express the major isoform, AOX1A. In standard growth conditions, these plants did not show any phenotype, but restriction of electron flow through CP by antimycin A, which induces AOX1A expression in the wild-type, led to an increased expression of AOX1D in leaves of the aox1a-knockout mutant. Despite the increased presence of the AOX1D isoform in the mutant, antimycin A caused inhibition of photosynthesis, increased ROS, and ultimately resulted in amplified membrane leakage and necrosis when compared to the wild-type, which was only marginally affected by the inhibitor. It thus appears that AOX1D was unable to fully compensate for the loss of AOX1A when electron flow via the CP is restricted. A combination of inhibition studies, coupled to metabolite profiling and targeted expression analysis of the P-protein of glycine decarboxylase complex (GDC), suggests that the aox1a mutants attempt to increase their capacity for photorespiration. However, given their deficiency, it is intriguing that increase in expression neither of AOX1D nor of GDC could fully compensate for the lack of AOX1A to optimize photosynthesis when treated with antimycin A. We suggest that the aox1a mutants can further be used to substantiate the current models concerning the influence of mitochondrial redox on photosynthetic performance and gene expression.

The nuclear-encoded chloroplast NADP-dependent malate dehydrogenase (NADP-MDH) is a key enzyme controlling the malate valve, to allow the indirect export of reducing equivalents. Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. T-DNA insertion mutants of NADP-MDH were used to assess the role of the light-activated NADP-MDH in a typical C3 plant. Surprisingly, even when exposed to high-light conditions in short days, nadp-mdh knockout mutants were phenotypically indistinguishable from the wild type. The photosynthetic performance and typical antioxidative systems, such as the Beck–Halliwell–Asada pathway, were barely affected in the mutants in response to high-light treatment. The reactive oxygen species levels remained low, indicating the apparent absence of oxidative stress, in the mutants. Further analysis revealed a novel combination of compensatory mechanisms in order to maintain redox homeostasis in the nadp-mdh plants under high-light conditions, particularly an increase in the NTRC/2-Cys peroxiredoxin (Prx) system in chloroplasts. There were indications of adjustments in extra-chloroplastic components of photorespiration and proline levels, which all could dissipate excess reducing equivalents, sustain photosynthesis, and prevent photoinhibition in nadp-mdh knockout plants. Such metabolic flexibility suggests that the malate valve acts in concert with other NADPH-consuming reactions to maintain a balanced redox state during photosynthesis under high-light stress in wild-type plants.

Oral streptococci, such as Streptococcus gordonii, are the predominant early colonizers that initiate biofilm formation on tooth surfaces. Investigation of an S. gordonii::Tn917-lac biofilm-defective mutant isolated by using an in vitro biofilm formation assay showed that the transposon insertion is near the 3 end of an open reading frame (ORF) encoding a protein homologous to Streptococcus mutans FruK. Three genes, fruR, fruK, and fruI, were predicted to encode polypeptides that are part of the fructose phosphotransferase system (PTS) in S. gordonii. These proteins, FruR, FruK, and FruI, are homologous to proteins encoded by the inducible fruRKI operon of S. mutans. In S. mutans, FruR is a transcriptional repressor, FruK is a fructose-1-phosphate kinase, and FruI is the fructose-specific enzyme II (fructose permease) of the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent sugar PTS. Reverse transcription-PCR confirmed that fruR, fruK, and fruI are cotranscribed as an operon in S. gordonii, and the transposon insertion in S. gordonii fruK::Tn917-lac resulted in a nonpolar mutation. Nonpolar inactivation of either fruK or fruI generated by allelic replacement resulted in a biofilm-defective phenotype, whereas a nonpolar mutant with an inactivated fruR gene retained the ability to form a biofilm. Expression of fruK, as measured by the ␤-galactosidase activity of the fruK::Tn917-lac mutant, was observed to be growth phase dependent and was enhanced when the mutant was grown in media with high levels of fructose, sucrose, xylitol, and human serum, indicating that the fructose PTS operon was fructose and xylitol inducible, similar to the S. mutans fructose PTS. The induction by fructose was inhibited by the presence of glucose, indicating that glucose is able to catabolite repress fruK expression. Nonpolar inactivation of the fruR gene in the fruK::Tn917-lac mutant resulted in a greater increase in ␤-galactosidase activity when the organism was grown in media supplemented with fructose, confirming that fruR is a transcriptional repressor of the fructose PTS operon. These results suggest that the regulation of fructose transport and metabolism in S. gordonii is intricately tied to carbon catabolite control and the ability to form biofilms. Carbon catabolite control, which modulates carbon flux in response to environmental nutritional levels, appears to be important in the regulation of bacterial biofilms.The process of bacterial accumulation and proliferation after initial bacterial adhesion leads to the formation of persistent, complex, organized sessile communities on oral surfaces. The multistep process of oral biofilm formation is a complex developmental process initiated by attachment to saliva-conditioned oral surfaces of primary colonizers, such as viridans streptococci (including Streptococcus gordonii), which constitute a majority of the cultivable bacteria found in dental plaque (21). Subsequent accumulation and growth of attached bacteria result in microcolonies that increase in size and eventually form biofilms. Fully develo...

Pioneer oral bacteria, including Streptococcus gordonii, initiate the formation of oral biofilms on tooth surfaces, which requires differential expression of genes that recognize unique environmental cues. An S. gordonii::Tn917-lac biofilm-defective mutant was isolated by using an in vitro biofilm formation assay. Subsequent inverse PCR and sequence analyses identified the transposon insertion to be near the 3 end of an open reading frame (ORF) encoding a protein homologous to a Streptococcus pneumoniae repressor, AdcR. The S. gordonii adc operon, consisting of the four ORFs adcR, adcC, adcB, and adcA, is homologous to the adc operon of S. pneumoniae, which plays a role in zinc and/or manganese transport and genetic competence in S. pneumoniae. AdcR is a metal-dependent repressor protein containing a putative metal-binding site, AdcC contains a consensus-binding site for ATP, AdcB is a hydrophobic protein with seven hydrophobic membranespanning regions, and AdcA is a lipoprotein permease with a putative metal-binding site. The three proteins (AdcC through -A) are similar to those of the binding-lipoprotein-dependent transport system of gram-positive bacteria. Reverse transcriptase PCR confirmed that adcRCBA are cotranscribed as an operon in S. gordonii and that the transposon insertion in S. gordonii adcR::Tn917-lac had resulted in a polar mutation. Expression of adcR, measured by the ␤-galactosidase activity of the adcR::Tn917-lac mutant, was growth phase dependent and increased when the mutant was grown in media with high levels of manganese (>1 mM) and to a lesser extent in media with zinc, indicating that AdcR may be a regulator at high levels of extracellular manganese. A nonpolar inactivation of adcR generated by allelic replacement resulted in a biofilm-and competence-defective phenotype. The biofilm-defective phenotype observed suggests that AdcR is an active repressor when synthesized and acts at a distant site(s) on the chromosome. Thus, the adc operon is involved in manganese acquisition in S. gordonii and manganese homeostasis and appears to modulate sessile growth in this bacterium.Oral streptococci (viridans streptococci) initiate the formation of oral biofilms known as dental plaque and are ubiquitous primary colonizers that are the predominant cultivable bacteria found in supragingival plaque (45). Viridans streptococci are also frequent etiologic agents of bacterial endocarditis (21, 64) and are becoming significant opportunistic pathogens and a major cause of bacteremia in immunocompromised patients, accounting for 40% of infections in neutropenic patients (25,32). Fully developed, surface-attached oral biofilms are highly structured, with distinct architectural and physiochemical properties commonly observed with other biofilm communities (12). Sessile bacteria found in biofilms represent a distinct mode of growth that differs from planktonic cells, characterized by differences in gene expression and cellular physiology and an increased resistance to antibiotics.The multistep process of biofil...

In higher plants, [2Fe-2S] ferredoxin (Fd) proteins are the unique electron acceptors from photosystem I (PSI).. Whereas FdC1 was capable of electron transfer with FNR, redox potentiometry showed that it had a more positive redox potential than photosynthetic Fds by around 220 mV. These results indicate that FdC1 electron donation to FNR is prevented because it is thermodynamically unfavorable. Based on our data, we speculate that FdC1 has a specific function in conditions of acceptor limitation at PSI, and channels electrons away from NADP ؉ photoreduction.Ferredoxins (Fds) 3 are small soluble electron carrier proteins. In the final reaction of photosynthetic electron transfer (PET), photosystem I (PSI) donates electrons to Fd (1), which acts as the soluble electron donor to various acceptors in the chloroplast stroma and can also return electrons to the thylakoid in cyclic electron flow (CET) (2). The electron cascade to supply carbon fixation requires photoreduction of NADP ϩ by Fd, catalyzed by Fd-NADP(H) oxidoreductase (FNR) (3). Many other plastid enzymes accept electrons directly from Fd for metabolic processes. These include, but are not limited to, nitrite reductase and sulfite reductase, which are essential for assimilation of inorganic nitrogen and sulfur, respectively, and Fd-dependent glutamine oxoglutarate aminotransferase and fatty acid desaturase, which catalyze key steps in amino acid and fatty acid metabolism, respectively (4). In addition, Fd donation to thioredoxin via the Fd:thioredoxin reductase translates the redox state of the electron transfer chain into a regulatory signal controlling the activity of many enzymes (5). Fds are also capable of accepting electrons from NADPH via FNR, in a reversal of the photosynthetic reaction (6), allowing electron donation from reduced Fd to different acceptors under non-photosynthetic conditions. Most higher plants studied possess genes for several different Fd isoproteins (7-9). There is always an isoprotein that is more abundant in non-photosynthetic tissues and has higher affinity than photosynthetic and PetF-type Fds for FNR in the non-photosynthetic (often called "root") cascade (9, 10), where electrons are transferred from NADPH to Fd. In all plants for which we possess significant EST and cDNA information at least 2 separate photosynthetic isoproteins have been identified (7,8). In the C4-plant maize, different functions have been identified for two of the leaf-type Fds (11). There is a higher demand for ATP (which is disproportionately produced in CET) in the bundle sheath cells of NADP ϩ malic enzyme type C4 plants, and maize FdI and FdII are differentially expressed in mesophyll and bundle sheath cells, respectively (12). FdII has decreased affinity for FNR (13) and demonstrates a higher activity in CET around the photosystems, whereas FdI drives linear electron flow (11). In C3 plants, this spatial distribution is not observed, but duplicate photosynthetic Fds are still present, and there is some evi-* This work was supported by Deutsche For...

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