Biography
Ales Tomcala has completed his PhD at the age of 29 years from University of South Bohemia. Postdoctoral studies were done in Institute of organic chemistry and biochemistry of CAS and Institute of parasitology of CAS. He is now scietist assistent in laboratory of evolutionary protistology dealing with mas spectrometry of lipids and metabolomics. He has published more than 25 papers in reputed journals
Abstract
Chromera velia and Vitrella brassicaformis are photoautotrophic alveolates recently found in Australian corals and shown to be the closest known photosynthetic relatives of apicomplexans. Parasites from the phylum Apicomplexa, such as Plasmodium, cause malaria and other deadly diseases in humans and animals. Chromera velia and V. brassicaformis present extraordinary model organisms to study the evolution of parasitism in apicomplexans. Fatty acid biosynthesis is one of the most important biosynthetic pathways and provides building blocks for membranes. Combined genomic studies and analytical biochemistry techniques represent powerful tools that allow for detailed study of de novo synthesis of fatty acids. Both algae utilize type II fatty acid biosynthesis localized in the plastid to produce myristic, palmitic, and stearic acid. Subsequent modifications of saturated fatty acids are performed by elongases and desaturases localized in the lumen or membrane of the endoplasmic reticulum. Moreover, extensive lipidomic studies of fast growing C. velia revealed a surprisingly high ability to produce and accumulate fatty acids in the form of triacylglycerols. This feature of an apicomplexan photosynthetic cousin opens up the possibility of biotechnological applications.
Biography
Gabriela Alvite has completed her MSc in 2006 and her PhD in 2014 from Sciences Faculty, University of the Republic (PEDECIBA, Uruguay). She works as a research assistant and professor in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Section in the Sciences Faculty (UdelaR, Uruguay). She belongs to the Uruguayan National Investigation System (SNI). She has participated in several national and international scientific research projects and has published more than 10 papers in reputed journals. Her research focuses on the study of the structure and function of parasitic platyhelminthes fatty acid binding proteins.
Abstract
Fatty acid binding proteins (FABPs) are intracellular proteins that bind long chain fatty acids and other hydrophobic ligands. They differ in their tissue distribution, the specificity and affinity for its ligands. The specific function of FABPs is still under investigation, however recently promising findings have been obtained. Some members would be involved in cell proliferation and growth modulation, in gene expression regulation and could collaborate with membrane transporters for fatty acid uptake from the extracellular medium. We have studied FABPs´ roles in the uptake and intracellular transport of BODIPY FL C-16 fatty acid in the parasitic platyhelminth Mesocestoides vogae. It is worth mentioning that these parasites are unable to synthesize de novo their own fatty acids. For this reason they should capture these molecules from the host, which would make FABPs essential molecules for their survival. Parasite larvae were submitted to immunomicroscopy analysis in toto and in cryosections, showing a diffuse cytosolic distribution of FABPs with some expression in nuclei and mitochondria. FABPs distribution was confirmed by mass spectrometry identification from 2D-electrophoresis of larvae subcellular fractions. Furthermore, the ability of these proteins to bind the fluorescent ligand was in vitro analyzed. Our results indicate that FABPs are strong candidates for the intracellular transport of fatty acids, carrying them to different cell compartments including the nucleus. In this sense, M. vogae FABPs could participate in several cellular processes fulfilling most of the functions attributed to vertebrate’s counterparts.