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Experimental workflows for the accurate identification of mitochondrial redox events.

The study of redox biology has been growing constantly since the last decades. Over these years, redox processes have been linked to an extraordinarily wide range of physiological and pathological events, becoming recognized as central mechanisms underlying many of them. In this context, it becomes essential to understand the advantages and limitations of the tools under use, to recognize the specific controls required for each measurement and to accurately distinguish between distinct redox mechanisms. So far, multiple and excellent reviews have dealt with either the tools, the protocols or the mechanisms involved in reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and quenching, a.k.a. redox events. However, a review outlining the workflows to appropriately detect them is still lacking. We define workflow as the combination of tools, methods and mechanistic knowledge that allow the definition of a specific redox event. In this review, we aim to provide an optimal workflow for the research on mitochondrial redox events. To this end, we first summarize the molecular tools available to measure and quench ROS. We then explain the mechanisms of ROS production and scavenging in several of the cellular compartments, with special focus on mitochondria, as well as their implication in physiology and disease. Finally, we use the knowledge in all sections to build a recommended experimental workflow, illustrated by several cases of study. This review will enable the reader to understand how specific mitochondrial redox events can be accurately measured, considering all technical, methodological and mechanistical variables and limitations required for their reliable detection and interpretation.

(Patho)physiology

Hydrogen peroxide dynamics in subcellular compartments of malaria parasites using genetically encoded redox probes.

Redox balance is essential for the survival, growth and multiplication of malaria parasites and oxidative stress is involved in the mechanism of action of many antimalarial drugs. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) plays an important role in redox signalling and pathogen-host cell interactions. For monitoring intra- and subcellular redox events, highly sensitive and specific probes are required. Here, we stably expressed the ratiometric H2O2 redox sensor roGFP2-Orp1 in the cytosol and the mitochondria of Plasmodium falciparum (P. falciparum) NF54-attB blood-stage parasites and evaluated its sensitivity towards oxidative stress, selected antimalarial drugs, and novel lead compounds. In both compartments, the sensor showed reproducible sensitivity towards H2O2 in the low micromolar range and towards antimalarial compounds at pharmacologically relevant concentrations. Upon short-term exposure (4 h), artemisinin derivatives, quinine and mefloquine impacted H2O2 levels in mitochondria, whereas chloroquine and a glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) inhibitor affected the cytosol; 24 h exposure to arylmethylamino steroids and G6PD inhibitors revealed oxidation of mitochondria and cytosol, respectively. Genomic integration of an H2O2 sensor expressed in subcellular compartments of P. falciparum provides the basis for studying complex parasite-host cell interactions or drug effects with spatio-temporal resolution while preserving cell integrity, and sets the stage for high-throughput approaches to identify antimalarial agents perturbing redox equilibrium.

Antimalarials

Nitrogenase X: Mössbauer and EPR studies on reversibly oxidized MoFe protein from Azotobacter vinelandii OP. Nature of the iron centers.

Under anaerobic conditions the molybdenum-iron protein (MoFe protein) from Azotobacter vinelandii can be reversibly oxidized with thionine. Electron paramagnetic resonance studies reveal that the oxidation proceeds in two distinct phases: the MoFe protein can be oxidized by four electrons without loss of the EPR signal from the S = 3/2 cofactor centers. A second oxidation step, involving two electrons, leads to the disappearance of the cofactor EPR signal. In order to correlate the events during the thionine titration with redox reactions involving individual iron centers we have studied the MoFe proteins from A vinelandii and Clostridium pasteurianum with Mössbauer spectroscopy. Spectra were taken in the temperature range from 1.5 K to 200 K in applied magnetic fields of up to 54 kG. Analysis of the Mössbauer data allows us to draw three major conclusions: (1) the holoprotein contains 30 +/- 2 iron atoms. (2) Most probably, 12 iron atoms belong to two, apparently identical, iron clusters (labeled M) which we have shown previously to be structural components of the iron and molybdenum containing cofactor of nitrogenase. The M-centers can be stabilized in three distinct oxidation states, MOXe- in equilibrium MNe- in equilibrium MR. The diamagnetic (S = 0) state MOX is attained by oxidation of the native state MN with either thionine or oxygen. MR is observed under nitrogen fixing conditions. (3) The data strongly suggest that 16 iron atoms are associated with four iron centers which we propose to call P-clusters. Each P-cluster contains four spin-coupled iron atoms. In the native protein the P-clusters are in the diamagnetic state PN, yielding the Mössbauer signature which we have labeled previously 'components D and Fe2+'. Three irons of the D-type and one iron of the Fe2+-type appear to comprise a P-cluster. A one-electron oxidation yields the paramagnetic state POX. Although the state POX is characterized by half-integral electronic spin a peculiar combination of zero-field splitting parameters and spin relaxation renders this state EPR-silent. Spectroscopically, the P-clusters are novel structures; there is, however, evidence that they are closely related to familiar 4Fe-4S centers.

Azotobacter

N-glycan remodeling by α-D-mannosidase and β-D-N-acetylhexosaminidase regulates fruit softening, redox balance, and post-harvest pathogen resistance.

Post-harvest loss of fruits and vegetables poses significant challenges to food security and economic sustainability, primarily due to ripening-associated excessive softening that shortens shelf life and increases susceptibility to pathogens. N-glycans, N-glycoproteins, and their processing enzymes are integral to various plant processes, including fruit ripening. Among these, α-D-mannosidase (α-Man) and β-D-N-acetylhexosaminidase (β-Hex) are key ripening-specific enzymes that modulate fruit softening. Previously, we have shown that RNAi-mediated suppression of α-Man or β-Hex improves fruit shelf life and firmness in both climacteric and non-climacteric fruits. However, the underlying molecular and biochemical basis of fruit softening regulation by α-Man and β-Hex was not well understood. In this study, we developed transgenic tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants by silencing α-Man and β-Hex simultaneously using RNAi. Suppression of these enzymes reduces N-glycoprotein degradation, downregulates pectin dissolution, and inhibits ripening-related gene expression. RNAi fruits exhibited enhanced shelf life, greater firmness, reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and increased resistance against post-harvest pathogens without affecting plant growth, fruit development, yield, or nutritional quality. To further explore the molecular mechanism of α-Man and β-Hex function, we purified and quantified N-glycans in RNAi fruits and other ripening-impaired mutants, identifying key N-glycan species. We also carried out iTRAQ-based quantitative proteome profiling to investigate the abundance of proteins in ripened fruit affected by silencing of α-Man and β-Hex. Molecular insights revealed that N-glycan processing and degradation are key events during ripening, influencing cell wall softening, fruit redox state, and post-harvest quality attributes. This study highlights the potential of co-silencing α-Man and β-Hex as a novel approach to extending the shelf life of fruits, regardless of their climacteric behavior, without compromising quality or yield.

Fruit

Isolation and spectral characteristics of the photochemical reaction center of Rhodopseudomonas viridis.

A method is described for isolation of the Rhodopseudomonas viridis reaction center complex free of altered, 685 nm absorbing pigment. This improved preparation contains two c-type cytochromes in the ratio P-960: cytochrome c-558: cytochrome c-553 of 1:2:2 to 3. The near infrared spectral forms of the reduced preparation are located at 790, 832, 846, and 987 nm at 77 K; the oxidized complex absorbs at 790, 808, 829 and approx. 1310 nm. The 790 nm band is attributed to bacteriophaeophytin b and the other absorbances to bacteriochlorophyll b, The visible absorption bands may be assigned to these pigments and to the cytochromes present and, probably to a carotenoid. The presence of two bacteriochlorophyll b spectral forms in the P+-830 band suggests that exciton interactions occur among pigments in the oxidized, as well as the reduced, reaction center. Changes in the 790 and 544 nm bands upon illumination of the reaction center preparation at low redox potential may be indicative of a role for bacteriophaeophytin b in primary photochemical events.

Bacteriochlorophylls

Chloroplasts.

Illuminated chloroplast fragments, which can convert light into chemical energy (NADPH2 and ATP), contain a number of soluble and insoluble electron carriers that have been arranged, on the basis of their redox potentials and on kinetic and other evidence, in sequences (analogous to those in mitochondria) to describe the events involved in the light reactions of photosynthesis. Fractionation of chloroplasts allows separation of two light-dependent partial reactions: the evolution of oxygen and the reduction of pyridine nucleotide, accompanied by ATP synthesis. The stoichiometry of the latter reaction is still uncertain. Chloroplasts contain a directional proton-translocating ATPase (CF1) needed for the phosphorylation of ADP in the light. The CF1 also catalyses synthesis of ATP from ADP. When a pH gradient is applied in the dark across the phosphorylating membranes, the amount of ATP synthesized is related to both the change in pH and the electrical potential. During its catalytic activity, the CF1 protein undergoes reversible conformational changes, but this is not the source of the driving force for ATP synthesis.

Adenosine Triphosphate

Hepatic effects of jejunoileal bypass for morbid obesity.

The most common hepatic consequence of jejunoileal bypass for morbid obesity is triglyceride accumulation (steatosis), which usually appears to be maximal during the period of acute weight loss. In certain patients, however, because of unknown factors such as the degree of steatosis, its duration, or an as yet undefined unusual patient susceptibility, probably of a metabolic nature, a chain of events is initiated which produces inflammation and fibrosis, culminating in cirrhosis. Certain analogies with alcohol-induced steatosis and its consequences are possible. Given differences between the two states for increased intracellular hepatocyte redox potential and possibly different predominant sources for fatty acid mobilization and production affecting increased intracellular triglyceride synthesis, the remainder of the pathway proposed for the development of cirrhosis from ethanolic liver disease may equally apply to the cirrhosis seen in postbypass patients. This complication, although rare (approximately 3%), has been the subject recently of more frequent reports, with death or near-death from hepatic failure. Suggested studies are indicated to support or refute the hypotheses put forward here.

Alcoholic Intoxication

Computer simulation of metabolism in pyruvate-perfused rat heart. II. Krebs cycle.

A realistic metabolic model of the tricarboxylic acid cycle in the perfused rat heart was constructed to help explain the sequence of biochemical events regulating the metabolism of exogenous pyruvate following a large increase in work load. The unchelated Mg2+ level was the most important controlling factor. The resulting mixture of chelated and unchelated nucleotides and tribasic acids effected coordinated control of citrate synthase, aconitase, isocitrate dehydrogenase, succinyl CoA synthetase, fumarase, and nucleoside diphosphokinase, because Mg2+-chelates are generally substrates whereas unchelated species are inhibitors. Succinate dehydrogenase is largely controlled by the ubiquinone redox potential. The fluxes through alpha-ketoglutarate and malate dehydrogenases are largely dependent on thepyridine nucleotide redox potential, but the succinyl CoA-to-CoASH ratio strongly affects the former enzyme as well. The model predicts an accumulation of succinate during the transition to higher work output.

Animals

Oxidative response to aldosterone of pyridine nucleotide in rat kidney in situ.

In an attempt to elucidate early biochemical events in the action of aldosterone on rat kidney in situ, the response of the pyridine nucleotide oxidation-reduction state of surface cells was directly and continuously recorded with an organ-fluorometer. Intravenous administration of aldosterone induced a rapid (maximum response in 10 min) and dose-related (2.5-25 microng/100 g rat) oxidative response that was specific to aldosterone and to the kidney. The oxidative response was 1) detectable with minute dise (approximately 0.2 microng/100 g rat) of hormone: 2) reproduced by other mineralocorticoids; 3) enhanced by a maneuver for expanding the extracellular fluid compartment or by adrenalectomy; and 4) prevented by spironolactone, progesterone, actinomycin D, and cycloheximide. All of these data argue that the redox response is related to the subsequent changes in aldosteronemediated ion transport. Experiments with an uncoupler and with redox substrates showed that mitochondrial NADH was the major nucleotide pool responding to hormone. The oxidation was not accompanied by changes in the adenylate energy charge level of the whole organ. These observations support the view that aldosterone acts on energy metabolism of tubular cells before developing apparent cation transport effects.

Adenine Nucleotides

Glutathione peroxidase: fact and fiction.

The present knowledge of glutathione (GSH) peroxidase is briefly reviewed: GSH peroxidase has a molecular weight of about 85,000, consists of four apparently-identical subunits and contains four g atom of selenium/mol. The enzyme-bound selenium can undergo a substrate-induced redox change and is obviously essential for activity. In accordance with the assumption that a selenol group is reversibly oxidized during catalysis, ping-pong kinetics are observed. Limiting maximum velocities and Michaelis constants, indicating the formation of an enzyme-substrate complex, are not detectable. The enzyme is highly specific for GSH but reacts with many hydroperoxides. It can be deduced from the kinetic analysis of GSH peroxidase that in physiological conditions removal of hydroperoxide is largely independent of fluctuations in the cellular concentration of GSH. However, the system will abruptly collapse if the rate of hydroperoxide formation exceeds that of regeneration of GSH. By these considerations, the pathophysiological manifestation of disorders in GSH metabolism and pentose-phosphate shunt may be explained. With regard to its low specificity for hydroperoxides, GSH peroxidase could be involved in various metabolic events such as H2O2 removal in compartments low in catalase, hydroperoxide-mediated mutagenesis, protection of unsaturated lipids in biomembranes, prostaglandin biosynthesis, and regulation of prostacyclin formation.

Amino Acids

Heat stress in cereal crops: reproductive development and grain filling.

Increasingly frequent extreme heat events threaten cereal production and food security under a changing climate. The reproductive-to-grain formation continuum of cereals is particularly vulnerable to elevated temperatures, as heat stress disrupts developmental processes from inflorescence formation and fertilization to grain filling and quality establishment. These disruptions reduce reproductive success, impair yield formation, and compromise grain quality. A comprehensive understanding of the developmental, physiological, molecular, and genetic basis of cereal heat tolerance is therefore essential for developing climate-adapted crops. This review summarizes recent advances in understanding heat stress during cereal reproduction and grain filling across major cereal crops. We first discuss how heat stress affects sequential developmental processes, including inflorescence development, gametophyte development, flowering and pollination, fertilization, and grain filling. We then integrate emerging evidence on cross-cutting mechanisms that connect stage-specific heat responses, focusing on hormonal and redox homeostasis, carbohydrate metabolism and source-sink coordination, proteostasis and endomembrane organization, and genome stability and multilayered gene regulation. Finally, we summarize the genetic basis of cereal heat tolerance by highlighting genetic determinants, favorable alleles, and their potential applications in breeding. We further discuss current bottlenecks and future opportunities for breeding heat-tolerant cereals.

Cereals

From stress signaling to yield stability: physiological and molecular mechanisms of wheat resilience to heat and drought stress.

Wheat resilience depends on coordinated signaling, reproductive protection, and source-sink regulation, providing a framework to breed robust trait combinations that stabilize yield under combined heat and drought. Climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of heat and drought events, posing a major threat to wheat productivity, yield stability, and food security. Because these stresses often coincide in the field, their combined effects can impair growth, reproductive development, grain filling, and final yield more severely than either stress alone. Wheat resilience under such conditions depends on coordinated physiological adjustment and molecular regulation that sustain cellular homeostasis, protect reproductive tissues, and preserve yield-related traits. This review synthesizes current knowledge on the physiological and molecular bases of wheat resilience to heat and drought, with emphasis on their combined effects. We discuss major physiological responses, including photosynthetic adjustment, stomatal regulation, canopy cooling, osmotic balance, antioxidant defense, membrane stability, and source-sink coordination. We also examine key regulatory pathways involved in stress perception and adaptation, including calcium and reactive oxygen species signaling, mitogen-activated protein kinase cascades, phytohormonal crosstalk, transcriptional regulation, heat shock proteins, late embryogenesis abundant proteins, and osmoprotective and redox-associated pathways. In addition, we highlight the growing contribution of transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and phenomics to the identification of candidate genes, biomarkers, and adaptive traits. Finally, we consider how mechanistic insights can be translated into wheat improvement through molecular markers, genomic selection, gene editing, and climate-realistic phenotyping. An integrated understanding of stress signaling and adaptive trait deployment will be essential for developing wheat cultivars with improved resilience and yield stability under future climates.

Triticum

Delayed fluorescence from Rhodopseudomonas viridis following single flashes.

Delayed fluorescence from Rhodopseudomonas viridis membrane fragments has been studies using a phosphoroscope employing single, short actinic flashes, under conditions of controlled redox potential and temperature. The emission spectrum shows that delayed fluorescence is emitted by the bulk, antenna bacteriochlorophyll. The energy for delayed fluorescence, however, must be stored in a reaction-center complex including the photooxidized form (P+) of the primary electron-donor (P) and the photoreduced form (X MINUS) of the primary electron-acceptor. This is shown by the following observations: (1) Delayed luminescence is quenched (a) at low redox potentials which allow cytochromes to reduce P+ rapidly after the flash, (b) at higher redox potentials which, by oxidizing P chemically, prevent the photochemical formation of P+X minus, and (c) upon transfer of an electron from X minus to a secondary acceptor, Y. (2) Under conditions that prevent the reduction of P+ by cytochromes and the oxidation of X minus by Y, the decay kinetics of delayed fluorescence are identical with those of P+X minus, as measured from optical absorbance changes. The main decay route for P+X minus under these conditions has a rate-constant of approximately 10-3-s-minus 1. In contrase, a comparison of the intensities of delayed and prompt fluorescence indicates that the process in which P+X minus returns energy to the bulk bacteriochlorophyll has a rate-constant of 3.7 s-minus 1, at 295 degrees K and pH 7.8. The decay kinetics of P+X minus and delayed fluorescence change little with temperature, whereas the intensity of delayed fluorescence increases with increasing temperature, having an activation energy of 12.5 kcal mol-mol- minus 1. We conclude that the main decay route involves tunneling of an electron from X minus to P+, without the promotion of P to an excited state. Delayed fluorescence requires such a promotion, followed by transfer of energy to the bulk bacteriochlorophyll, and this combination of events is rare. The activation energy, taken with potentiometric data, indicates that the photochemical conversion of PX to P+X minus results in increases of both the energy and the entropy of the system, by 16.6 kcal-mol- minus 1 and 8.8 cal-mol- minus 1-deg- minus 1. The intensity of delayed fluorescence depends strongly on the pH; the origin of this effect remains unclear.

Calorimetry