Anhydrobiosis: Inside yeast cells.

Under natural conditions yeast cells as well as other microorganisms are regularly subjected to the influence of severe drought, which leads to their serious dehydration. The dry seasons are then changed by rains and there is a restoration of normal water potential inside the cells. To survive such seasonal changes a lot of vegetative microbial cells, which belong to various genera and species, may be able to enter into a state of anhydrobiosis, in which their metabolism is temporarily and reversibly suspended or delayed. This evolutionarily developed adaptation to extreme conditions of the environment is widely used for practical goals - for conservation of microorganisms in collections, for maintenance and long storage of different important strain-producers and for other various biotechnological purposes. This current review presents the most important data obtained mainly in the studies of the structural and functional changes in yeast cells during dehydration. It describes the changes of the main organelles of eukaryotic cells and their role in cell survival in a dry state. The review provides information regarding the role of water in the structure and functions of biological macromolecules and membranes. Some important intracellular protective reactions of eukaryotic organisms, which were revealed in these studies and may have more general importance, are also discussed. The results of the studies of yeast anhydrobiosis summarized in the review show the possibilities of improving the conservation and long-term storage of various microorganisms and of increasing the quality of industrially produced dry microbial preparations.

Maturation of conidia on conidiophores of Aspergillus niger.

Conidia of Aspergillus niger are produced on conidiophores. Here, maturation of conidia on these asexual reproductive structures was studied. Pigmented conidia that had developed on conidiophores for 2, 5, and 8days were similarly resistant to heat and were metabolically active as shown by CO2 release and conversion of the metabolic probe Tempone. A total number of 645-2421 genes showed a ⩾2-fold change in expression when 2-day-old conidia were compared to 5- and 8-day-old spores. Melanin was extracted more easily from the cell wall of 2-day-old conidia when compared to the older spores. In addition, mannitol content and germination rate of the 2-day-old conidia were higher. Dispersal efficiency by water was lower in the case of the 8-day-old conidia but no differences were observed in dispersal by wind and a hydrophobic moving object. These data and the fact that only a minor fraction of the conidia on a conidiophore were dispersed in the assays imply that a single colony of A. niger releases a heterogeneous population of conidia. This heterogeneity would provide a selective advantage in environments with rapidly changing conditions such as availability of water.

A decrease in bulk water and mannitol and accumulation of trehalose and trehalose-based oligosaccharides define a two-stage maturation process towards extreme stress resistance in ascospores of Neosartorya fischeri (Aspergillus fischeri).

Fungal propagules survive stresses better than vegetative cells. Neosartorya fischeri, an Aspergillus teleomorph, forms ascospores that survive high temperatures or drying followed by heat. Not much is known about maturation and development of extreme stress resistance in fungal cells. This study provides a novel two-step model for the acquisition of extreme stress resistance and entry into dormancy. Ascospores of 11- and 15-day-old cultures exhibited heat resistance, physiological activity, accumulation of compatible solutes and a steep increase in cytoplasmic viscosity. Electron spin resonance spectroscopy indicated that this stage is associated with the removal of bulk water and an increase of chemical stability. Older ascospores from 15- to 50-day-old cultures showed no changes in compatible solute content and cytoplasmic viscosity, but did exhibit a further increase of heat resistance and redox stability with age. This stage was also characterized by changes in the composition of the mixture of compatible solutes. Mannitol levels decreased and the relative quantities of trehalose and trehalose-based oligosaccharides increased. Dormant ascospores of N. fischeri survive in low-water habitats. After activation of the germination process, the stress resistance decreases, compatible solutes are degraded and the cellular viscosity drops. After 5 h, the hydrated cells enter the vegetative stage and redox stability has decreased notably.

Functionality and prevalence of trehalose-based oligosaccharides as novel compatible solutes in ascospores of Neosartorya fischeri (Aspergillus fischeri) and other fungi.

Ascospores of Neosartorya, Byssochlamys and Talaromyces can be regarded as the most stress-resistant eukaryotic cells. They can survive exposure at temperatures as high as 85°C for 100 min or more. Neosartorya fischeri ascospores are more viscous and more resistant to the combined stress of heat and desiccation than the ascospores of Talaromyces macrosporus which contain predominantly trehalose. These ascospores contain trehalose-based oligosaccharides (TOS) that are novel compatible solutes, which are accumulated to high levels. These compounds are also found in other members of the genus Neosartorya and in some other genera within the order Eurotiales that also include Byssochlamys and Talaromyces. The presence of oligosaccharides was observed in species that had a relatively high growth temperature. TOS glasses have a higher glass transition temperature (Tg ) than trehalose, and they form a stable glass with crystallizing molecules, such as mannitol. Our data indicate that TOS are important for prolonged stabilization of cells against stress. The possible unique role of these solutes in protection against dry heat conditions is discussed.

Glass-forming property of hydroxyectoine is the cause of its superior function as a desiccation protectant.

We were able to demonstrate that hydroxyectoine, in contrast to ectoine, is a good glass-forming compound. Fourier transform infrared and spin label electron spin resonance studies of dry ectoine and hydroxyectoine have shown that the superior glass-forming properties of hydroxyectoine result from stronger intermolecular H-bonds with the OH group of hydroxyectoine. Spin probe experiments have also shown that better molecular immobilization in dry hydroxyectoine provides better redox stability of the molecules embedded in this dry matrix. With a glass transition temperature of 87°C (vs. 47°C for ectoine) hydroxyectoine displays remarkable desiccation protection properties, on a par with sucrose and trehalose. This explains its accumulation in response to increased salinity and elevated temperature by halophiles such as Halomonas elongata and its successful application in ``anhydrobiotic engineering'' of both enzymes and whole cells.

Combination of neural networks and DFT calculations for the comprehensive analysis of FDMPO radical adducts from fast isotropic electron spin resonance spectra.

The 4-hydroxy-5,5-dimethyl-2-trifluoromethylpyrroline-1-oxide (FDMPO) spin trap is very attractive for spin trapping studies due to its high stability and high reaction rates with various free radicals. However, the identification of FDMPO radical adducts is a challenging task since they have very comparable Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) spectra. Here we propose a new method for the analysis and interpretation of the ESR spectra of FDMPO radical adducts. Thus, overlapping ESR spectra were analyzed using computer simulations. As a result, the N- and F-hyperfine splitting constants were obtained. Furthermore, an artificial neural network (ANN) was adopted to identify radical adducts formed during various processes (e.g., Fenton reaction, cleavage of peracetic acid over MnO(2), etc.). The ANN was effective on both "known" FDMPO radical adducts measured in slightly different solvents and not a priori "known" FDMPO radical adducts. Finally, the N- and F-hyperfine splitting constants of ·OH, ·CH(3), ·CH(2)OH, and CH(3)(C═O)O(·) radical adducts of FDMPO were calculated using density functional theory (DFT) at the B3LYP/6-31G(d,p)//B3LYP/6-31G++//B3LYP/EPR-II level of theory to confirm the experimental data.

Free radical reaction pathway, thermochemistry of peracetic acid homolysis, and its application for phenol degradation: spectroscopic study and quantum chemistry calculations.

The homolysis of peracetic acid (PAA) as a relevant source of free radicals (e.g., *OH) was studied in detail. Radicals formed as a result of chain radical reactions were detected with electron spin resonance and nuclear magnetic resonance spin trapping techniques and subsequently identified by means of the simulation-based fitting approach. The reaction mechanism, where a hydroxyl radical was a primary product of O-O bond rupture of PAA, was established with a complete assessment of relevant reaction thermochemistry. Total energy analysis of the reaction pathway was performed by electronic structure calculations (ab initio and semiempirical methods) at different levels and basis sets [e.g., HF/6-311G(d), B3LYP/6-31G(d)]. Furthermore, the heterogeneous MnO2/PAA system was tested for the elimination of a model aromatic compound, phenol from aqueous solution. An artificial neural network (ANN) was designed to associate the removal efficiency of phenol with relevant process parameters such as concentrations of both the catalyst and PAA and the reaction time. Results were used to train and test ANN to identify an optimized network structure, which represented the correlations between the operational parameters and removal efficiency of phenol.

Membrane chemical stability and seed longevity.

Here, we investigate the relationships between the chemical stability of the membrane surface and seed longevity. Dry embryos of long-lived tomato and short-lived onion seeds were labeled with 5-doxyl-stearic acid (5-DS). Temperature-induced loss of the electron spin resonance signal caused by chemical conversion of 5-DS to nonparamagnetic species was used to characterize the membrane surface chemical stability. No difference was found between temperature plots of 5-DS signal intensity in dry onion and tomato below 345 K. Above this temperature, the 5-DS signal remained unchanged in tomato embryos and irreversibly disappeared in onion seeds. The role of the physical state and chemical status of the membrane environment in the chemical stability of membrane surfaces was estimated for model systems containing 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC) dried alone or in the presence of trehalose or glucose. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to follow temperature-induced structural changes in dry POPC. Spin-label technique was used to relate the chemical stability of 5-DS with the dynamic properties of the bilayer and 5-DS motion behavior. In all the models, the decrease in 5-DS signal intensity was always observed above T(m) for the membrane surface. The 5-DS signal was irreversibly lost at high temperature when dry POPC was embedded in a glucose matrix. The loss of 5-DS signal was moderate when POPC was dried alone or in the presence of trehalose. Comparison of model and in vivo data shows that the differences in longevity between onion and tomato seeds are caused by differences in the chemical status of the membrane surface rather than the degree of its immobilization.

Water replacement hypothesis in atomic detail--factors determining the structure of dehydrated bilayer stacks.

According to the water replacement hypothesis, trehalose stabilizes dry membranes by preventing the decrease of spacing between membrane lipids under dehydration. In this study, we use molecular-dynamics simulations to investigate the influence of trehalose on the area per lipid (APL) and related structural properties of dehydrated bilayers in atomic detail. The starting conformation of a palmitoyloleolylphosphatidylcholine lipid bilayer in excess water was been obtained by self-assembly. A series of molecular-dynamics simulations of palmitoyloleolylphosphatidylcholine with different degrees of dehydration (28.5, 11.7, and 5.4 waters per lipid) and different molar trehalose/lipid ratios (<1:1, 1:1, and >1:1) were carried out in the NPT ensemble. Water removal causes the formation of multilamellar "stacks" through periodic boundary conditions. The headgroups reorient from pointing outward to inward with dehydration. This causes changes in the electrostatic interactions between interfaces, resulting in interface interpenetration. Interpenetration creates self-spacing of the bilayers and prevents gel-phase formation. At lower concentrations, trehalose does not separate the interfaces, and acting together with self-spacing, it causes a considerable increase of APL. APL decreases at higher trehalose concentrations when the layer of sugar physically separates the interfaces. When interfaces are separated, the model confirms the water replacement hypothesis.

ESR ST study of hydroxyl radical generation in wet peroxide system catalyzed by heterogeneous ruthenium.

Ru-based catalysts gained popularity because of their applicability for a variety of processes, including carbon monoxide oxidation, wet air catalytic oxidation and wastewater treatment. The focus of a current study was generation of hydroxyl radicals in the wet peroxide system catalyzed by heterogeneous ruthenium, spin-trapped by DEPMPO and DIPPMPO by means of electron spin resonance spin-trapping technique (ESR ST). The mechanism of free radicals formation was proposed via direct cleavage of hydrogen peroxide over ruthenium active sites. The chemical reactions occurring in the system were introduced according to the experimental results. Also, radical production rate was assessed based on concentration changes of species involved in the bulk liquid phase oxidation.

Membrane fluidity adjustments in ethanol-stressed Oenococcus oeni cells.

The effect of ethanol on the cytoplasmic membrane of Oenococcus oeni cells and the role of membrane changes in the acquired tolerance to ethanol were investigated. Membrane tolerance to ethanol was defined as the resistance to ethanol-induced leakage of preloaded carboxyfluorescein (cF) from cells. To probe the fluidity of the cytoplasmic membrane, intact cells were labeled with doxyl-stearic acids and analyzed by electron spin resonance spectroscopy. Although the effect of ethanol was noticeable across the width of the membrane, we focused on fluidity changes at the lipid-water interface. Fluidity increased with increasing concentrations of ethanol. Cells responded to growth in the presence of 8% (vol/vol) ethanol by decreasing fluidity. Upon exposure to a range of ethanol concentrations, these adapted cells had reduced fluidity and cF leakage compared with cells grown in the absence of ethanol. Analysis of the membrane composition revealed an increase in the degree of fatty acid unsaturation and a decrease in the total amount of lipids in the cells grown in the presence of 8% (vol/vol) ethanol. Preexposure for 2 h to 12% (vol/vol) ethanol also reduced membrane fluidity and cF leakage. This short-term adaptation was not prevented in the presence of chloramphenicol, suggesting that de novo protein synthesis was not involved. We found a strong correlation between fluidity and cF leakage for all treatments and alcohol concentrations tested. We propose that the protective effect of growth in the presence of ethanol is, to a large extent, based on modification of the physicochemical state of the membrane, i.e., cells adjust their membrane permeability by decreasing fluidity at the lipid-water interface.

The role of amphiphiles.

This paper reviews our work on the partitioning of amphiphilic compounds from the cytoplasm into membranes during drying of plant systems, and discusses how relevant this phenomenon might be for anhydrobiosis. Amphiphilic guest molecules do partition into membranes and oil bodies, as demonstrated by the results of in vivo electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy on incorporated spin probes. Arguments for the likelihood of endogenous cytoplasmic amphiphiles behaving similarly during dehydration and rehydration of plant systems are presented. Negative and positive aspects of the partitioning are summarized. Positive aspects are the automatic insertion of amphiphilic antioxidants into membranes of the dehydrating organism, and the control of membrane fluidity and the phase transition temperature. A negative aspect is the perturbation of membrane structure, leading to increased permeability and loss of function. The finding that after an initial fluidization during dehydration, the membrane surface becomes immobilized in desiccation-tolerant systems and not in desiccation-sensitive systems, is discussed in the light of a strict control of the effect of partitioning. The adaptive significance of amphiphile partitioning into the membranes of anhydrobiotes is discussed.

Membrane behavior as influenced by partitioning of amphiphiles during drying: a comparative study in anhydrobiotic plant systems.

During cellular desiccation, reduction in volume can in principle cause amphiphilic compounds to partition from the cytoplasm into membranes, with structural perturbance as the result. Here, we studied the effect of partitioning of endogenous amphiphiles on membrane surface dynamics in desiccation-tolerant and -intolerant, higher and lower plant systems, using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spin probe techniques. Labeling cells with the amphiphilic spin probe perdeuterated TEMPONE (PDT) enabled partitioning into the various phases to be followed. During drying, PDT molecules preferentially partitioned from the aqueous cytoplasm into the membrane surface and, at advanced stages of water loss, also into oil bodies. There was no specific partition behavior that could be correlated with lower/higher plants or with desiccation-tolerance. In vivo labeling with 5-doxylstearate (5-DS) enabled membrane surface fluidity to be characterized. In hydrated plants, the 5-DS spectra contained an immobile and a fluid component. The characteristics of the immobile component could not be specifically correlated with either lower or higher plants, or with desiccation tolerance. The relative contribution of the fluid component to the 5-DS spectra was higher in lower plants than in higher plants, but considerably decreased with drying in all desiccation-tolerant organisms. In contrast, the proportion of the fluid component in desiccation-sensitive wheat seedling root was higher than that in desiccation-tolerant wheat axis and considerably increased at the onset of water loss. We suggest that partitioning of amphipaths fluidize the membrane surface, but that in desiccation-tolerant systems the membranes are protected from excessive fluidization.