pH-driven solubilization and isoelectric precipitation of proteins from the brown seaweed -effects of osmotic shock, water volume and temperature.

In the light of the global search for novel and sustainable protein sources, macroalgal proteins are becoming an attractive target. To date, mainly red and green macroalgae have been investigated in this respect, whereas the brown species are less studied, possibly because of the lower content of protein. In a biorefinery context, however, the protein content of brown macroalgae can still be economically interesting due to fast growth and the possibility to co-extract other compounds, such as alginates.

Strain improvement of Pichia kudriavzevii TY13 for raised phytase production and reduced phosphate repression.

In this work, we present the development and characterization of a strain of Pichia kudriavzevii (TY1322), with highly improved phytate-degrading capacity. The mutant strain TY1322 shows a biomass-specific phytate degradation of 1.26 mmol g  h after 8 h of cultivation in a high-phosphate medium, which is about 8 times higher compared with the wild-type strain.

Elucidating the response of Kluyveromyces lactis to arsenite and peroxide stress and the role of the transcription factor KlYap8.

All organisms need to sense and respond to a range of stress conditions. In this study, we used transcriptional profiling to identify genes and cellular processes that are responsive during arsenite and tert-butyl hydroperoxide exposure in Kluyveromyces lactis. Many arsenite-responsive genes encode proteins involved in redox processes, protein folding and stabilization, and transmembrane transport.

Application of a peptide-based assay to characterize inhibitors targeting protein kinases from yeast.

Chemical molecules that inhibit protein kinase activity are important tools to assess the functions of protein kinases in living cells. To develop, test and characterize novel inhibitors, a convenient and reproducible kinase assay is of importance. Here, we applied a biotinylated peptide-based method to assess adenosine triphosphate-competitive inhibitors that target the yeast kinases Hog1, Elm1 and Elm1-as.

Modulation of Leishmania major aquaglyceroporin activity by a mitogen-activated protein kinase.

Leishmania major aquaglyceroporin (LmjAQP1) adventitiously facilitates the uptake of antimonite [Sb(III)], an active form of Pentostam® or Glucantime®, which are the first line of defence against all forms of leishmaniasis. The present paper shows that LmjAQP1 activity is modulated by the mitogen-activated protein kinase, LmjMPK2. Leishmania parasites coexpressing LmjAQP1 and LmjMPK2 show increased Sb(III) uptake and increased Sb(III) sensitivity.

Determination of primary sequence specificity of Arabidopsis MAPKs MPK3 and MPK6 leads to identification of new substrates.

MAPKs (mitogen-activated protein kinases) are signalling components highly conserved among eukaryotes. Their diverse biological functions include cellular differentiation and responses to different extracellular stress stimuli. Although some substrates of MAPKs have been identified in plants, no information is available about whether amino acids in the primary sequence other than proline-directed phosphorylation (pS-P) contribute to kinase specificity towards substrates.

Design, synthesis, and characterization of a highly effective Hog1 inhibitor: a powerful tool for analyzing MAP kinase signaling in yeast.

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae High-Osmolarity Glycerol (HOG) pathway is a conserved mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signal transduction system that often serves as a model to analyze systems level properties of MAPK signaling. Hog1, the MAPK of the HOG-pathway, can be activated by various environmental cues and it controls transcription, translation, transport, and cell cycle adaptations in response to stress conditions. A powerful means to study signaling in living cells is to use kinase inhibitors; however, no inhibitor targeting wild-type Hog1 exists to date.

Positional scanning peptide libraries for kinase substrate specificity determinations: straightforward and reproducible synthesis using pentafluorophenyl esters.

An efficient method to synthesize positional scanning synthetic combinatorial libraries (PS-SCLs) for studying the specificity of protein kinases is presented. Isokinetic ratios for pentafluorophenyl esters were determined iteratively using a new approach incorporating high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) quantification and statistical experimental design. In the development process a large amount of work was put in to find efficient ways of screening for new isokinetic mixtures and to optimize the process of PS-SCL synthesis.