Browsing by Subject "2D-DIGE"

Cyanobacteria are aquatic and terrestrial organisms that have photosynthetic cababilities. Cyanobacteria are classified to five orders according to their morphology. These are Chroococcales, Pleurocapsales, Oscillatoriales, Nostocales and Stigonematales. Anabaena sp. 90 is a filamentous cyanobacterium in the order of Nostocales. A sample of this cyanobacterium was isolated from the lake Vesijärvi in 1986. Anabaena sp. 90 produces a variety of bioactive peptides such as microcystins, anabaenopeptins and anabaenopeptilides which are the most commonly studied of the peptides produced by the strain. Majority of the bioactive peptides are produced by non-ribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPS). The way these compounds affect cyanobacteria is currently unclear. Anabaenopeptilide deficient mutant (apd-) variety has been developed from the Anabaena sp 90 wild type (WT). The mutant is unable to produce anabaenopeptilides. The aim of my Master´s thesis was to study the changes in proteomes of WT and apd- strains by conducting a six day cultivation experiment. The purpose was to evaluate the possible differences in the amount of proteins that the different cultivation stocks were able to produce. The secondary purpose was to examine the transcription of anabaenopeptilide synthetase genes. Proteomic study was performed using a procedure called two dimensional differential gel electrophoresis (2D DIGE). The differences in the proteomes´ statistics were examined by using the Student´s t test. Transcription of anabaenopeptilide synthetase genes were studied using a reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The data collected from these studies concluded that there were differences in the proteomes of WT and apd- strains. In eighteen cases there were significant differences in the protein amounts between the strains. The single protein counts were often higher in the apd- than in the WT strain. Anabaenopeptilide synthetase genes were transcribed in both strains which suggests that the mutation in the apd- strain did not hinder the ability of the strain to produce anabaenopeptilide transcripts. The identification of significant proteins would yield more detailed knowledge of the metabolical functions of WT and apd- strains.