A5017253862- Photosynthetic Processes and Mechanisms
- Aquatic Ecosystems and Phytoplankton Dynamics
- Cellular transport and secretion
- Algal biology and biofuel production
- Cassava research and cyanide
- Allelopathy and phytotoxic interactions
- Enzyme Production and Characterization
- Vibrio bacteria research studies
- Peptidase Inhibition and Analysis
- Cell death mechanisms and regulation
- Weed Control and Herbicide Applications
- Plant Parasitism and Resistance
- X-ray Diffraction in Crystallography
- Biofuel production and bioconversion
- Plant nutrient uptake and metabolism
- Biochemical and Structural Characterization
- Biochemical and Molecular Research
- Microbial Metabolic Engineering and Bioproduction
- Protease and Inhibitor Mechanisms
- Plant tissue culture and regeneration
- Signaling Pathways in Disease
- Marine Toxins and Detection Methods
- Phytase and its Applications
- Crystallization and Solubility Studies
- Crystallography and molecular interactions
University of Ljubljana
2013-2024
University of Maribor
2023
Umeå University
2017-2022
VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology
2022
Forschungszentrum Jülich
2022
Park Plaza Hospital
2022
Stress granules (SGs) are highly conserved cytoplasmic condensates that assemble in response to stress and contribute maintaining protein homeostasis. These membraneless organelles dynamic, disassembling once the is no longer present. Persistence of SGs due mutations or chronic has been often related age-dependent protein-misfolding diseases animals. Here, we find metacaspase MC1 dynamically recruited into upon proteotoxic Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Two predicted disordered regions,...
Summary Caspases are a family of cysteine‐dependent proteases known to be involved in the process programmed cell death metazoans. Recently, cyanobacteria were also found contain caspase‐like proteins, but their existence has only been identified silico up now. Here, we present first experimental characterisation prokaryotic caspase homologue. We have expressed putative gene MaOC 1 from toxic bloom‐forming cyanobacterium M icrocystis aeruginosa PCC 7806 E scherichia coli . Kinetic showed...
Proteins extracted from microalgae for food, personal care products and cosmetics must be of high purity, requiring solvent-free extraction techniques despite their generally considerably lower protein yield higher energy consumption. Here, three such approaches green proteins Chlorella vulgaris were evaluated: ultrasound, freeze-thawing, electroporation; chemical lysis was used as positive control (maximal achievable extraction), no treatment negative control. Compared to lysis,...
Summary Metacaspases are a subgroup of caspase homologues represented in bacteria, algae and plants. Although type I II metacaspases present plants, recently discovered uncharacterized III can only be found which have undergone secondary endosymbiosis. We analysed the expression levels all 13 cryptophyte Guillardia theta vivo biochemically characterized its metacaspase, Gt MC 2, vitro . Type metacaspase 2 was shown to an endopeptidase with preference for basic amino acids P1 position,...
Secreted modular calcium-binding proteins 1 and 2 (SMOC-1 SMOC-1) are extracellular calcium- binding belonging to the BM-40 family of proteins. In this work we have identified a highly basic region in (EC) domain SMOC-1 similar other known glycosaminoglycan-binding motifs. Size-exclusion chromatography shows that full length as well its C-terminal EC alone bind heparin heparan sulfate, but not related chondroitin sulfate or dermatan glycosaminoglycans. Intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence...
Proteases, essential regulators of plant stress responses, remain enigmatic in their precise functional roles. By employing activity-based probes for real-time monitoring, this study aimed to delve into protease activities Chlamydomonas reinhardtii exposed oxidative induced by hydrogen peroxide. However, our work revealed that the strongly labelled three non-proteolytic proteins—PsbO, PsbP, and PsbQ—integral components photosystem II's oxygen-evolving complex. Subsequent biochemical assays...
Orthocaspases are prokaryotic caspase homologs - proteases, which cleave their substrates after positively charged residues using a conserved histidine cysteine (HC) dyad situated in catalytic p20 domain. However, orthocaspases pseudo-variants have been identified, instead of the HC contain tyrosine and serine, respectively. The presence distribution these presumably proteolytically inactive p20-containing enzymes has until now escaped attention. We performed detailed analysis all available...
Alginate-gelatin bicomposite hydrogels have gained prominence in biomedicine and tissue engineering for their biocompatibility, biodegradability, customizable properties. Since one of the most promising applications is use as patches wound healing reliant to oxygen, we prepared alginate-gelatin with constant 2% (w/v) alginate increasing concentration gelatin (up 1% (w/v), crosslinked a solution 0.43% CaCl2 used them encapsulate photosynthetic cells unicellular alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii....
Plant metacaspases type I (MCA-Is), the closest structural homologs of caspases, are key proteases in stress-induced regulated cell death processes plants. However, no plant MCA-Is have been characterized vitro to date. Here, we show that only contain a highly hydrophobic loop within C terminus their p10 domain. When removed, soluble and proteolytically active can be designed recombinantly produced. We activity MCA-I depends on calcium ions removal does not affect cleavage covalent binding...
Metacaspases are essential cysteine proteases present in plants, fungi, and protists that regulated by calcium binding proteolytic maturation through mechanisms not yet understood. Here, we developed validated activity-based probes for the three main metacaspase types, used them to study calcium-mediated activation of metacaspases from their precursors vitro. By combining substrate-inspired tetrapeptide containing an acyloxymethylketone (AOMK) reactive group, with purified representatives...
The bloom-forming cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa is known for its global distribution and the production of toxic compounds. In genome M. PCC 7806, we discovered that gene coding MaOC1, a caspase homolog protease, followed by toxin-antitoxin module, flanked on each side direct repeat. We therefore investigated their possible interaction at protein level. Our results suggest this module belongs to ParE/ParD-like superfamily type II systems. solution, antitoxin predominantly...
Cyanobacteria are an important group of microorganisms displaying a range morphologies that enable phenotypic differentiation between the major lineages cyanobacteria, often to genus level, but rarely species or strain level. We focused on unicellular Synechocystis includes model cyanobacterial PCC 6803. For 11 members obtained from cell culture collections, we sequenced variable part 16S rRNA-encoding region and - 23S internally transcribed spacer (ITS), both standardly used in taxonomy. In...
A series of thirteen 2-acyl-6,7-dihydro-1H,5H-pyrazolo[1,2-a]pyrazole derivatives were synthesized by using a copper-catalyzed azomethine-imine-alkyne cycloaddition as key step. These bimane-related fluorescent compounds with λex = 338–400 nm and λem 522–644 exhibit interesting promising optical properties, including remarkably large Stokes shift (150–268 nm), positive solvatochromism, strong dependence emission intensity on pH in range 2–10. The benzotriazolide- N-succinimidyl...
Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) and Bohemian × bohemica) are invasive plants that use allelopathy as an additional mechanism for colonization of the new habitat. Allelochemicals affect growth roots neighboring plants. In present study, we analyze early changes associated with inhibited root radish seedlings exposed to aqueous extracts rhizomes 3 days. Here, show cells in cap treated exhibited reduced cell length displayed several ultrastructural changes, including increased abundance...
Caspases are proteases, best known for their involvement in the execution of apoptosis—a subtype programmed cell death, which occurs only animals. These proteases composed two structural building blocks: a proteolytically active p20 domain and regulatory p10 domain. Although homologs appear representatives all other organisms, functional homology, i.e., death depending on proteolytical activity, is still much disputed. Additionally, pseudo-caspases pseudo-metacaspases, catalytic...