The role of Ferredoxin 3 in hydrogen metabolism in the hyperthermophilic archaeon Thermococcus kodakarensis
| dc.contributor.author | Stettler, Meghan, author | |
| dc.contributor.author | Santangelo, Thomas, advisor | |
| dc.contributor.author | Hansen, Jeffrey, committee member | |
| dc.contributor.author | Peers, Graham, committee member | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2022-08-29T10:16:17Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2022-08-29T10:16:17Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2022 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Life faces innumerable challenges to cellular maintenance and reproduction, including access to sufficient energy. As such, all domains of life ubiquitously utilize energetically conservative mechanisms to maximize energy gains from the environment. Use of proteinaceous electron carriers, like ferredoxins, allows cells to harness energy from catabolic reactions that would otherwise be lost to the system as entropy or enthalpy. The hyperthermophilic, anaerobic archaeon Thermococcus kodakarensis is of particular interest as a target for bioengineering to maximize total energy gains, as it natively produces hydrogen gas resulting from terminal electron transport through a Membrane Bound Hydrogenase. T. kodakarensis encodes for three physiologically distinct ferredoxins. Prior to this thesis, only the sequence and molecular weight of the T. kodakarensis ferredoxins were known. Efforts in this thesis laid the groundwork for the biophysical characterization of each ferredoxin isoform via protein-film voltammetry and x-ray crystallography by the development of a reliable recombinant expression and purification scheme. Preliminary biophysical assay trials resulted in a Ferredoxin 1 crystal capable of diffracting to 1.1 Ã…ngstroms, and midpoint reduction potentials for Ferredoxin 1 and Ferredoxin 3 confirming the predicted redox center geometry, demonstrating the efficacy of the developed protein expression and purification scheme for producing high-quality samples. Further investigation into the activity of the ferredoxins resulted in the generation of T. kodakarensis strains encoding for a tether protein between Ferredoxin 3 and its presumed sole electron acceptor Membrane Bound Hydrogenase at two respective locations. The parent strain includes a deletion of Ferredoxin 3, resulting in a deficient phenotype during sulfur-independent growth. The tethered strains of T. kodakarensis demonstrates a full recovery of sulfur-independent growth. Additionally, western-blotting revealed retention of the tethered protein in-vivo, and headspace measurements demonstrated restoration of hydrogen gas production compared to the parent deletion strain, and a reduction in total hydrogen gas output per cell compared to the lab parent strain. These findings implicate the importance of Ferredoxin 3 in hydrogen metabolism in T. kodakarensis and indicate Ferredoxin 3 as a potential target for bioengineering. Furthermore, this thesis is the foundation for further characterization of the T. kodakarensis ferredoxins as proteinaceous electron carriers with potential applications outside of this model organism. | |
| dc.format.medium | born digital | |
| dc.format.medium | masters theses | |
| dc.identifier | Stettler_colostate_0053N_17385.pdf | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10217/235637 | |
| dc.language | English | |
| dc.language.iso | eng | |
| dc.publisher | Colorado State University. Libraries | |
| dc.relation.ispartof | 2020- | |
| dc.rights | Copyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright. | |
| dc.subject | ferredoxin | |
| dc.subject | metabolism | |
| dc.subject | hydrogen | |
| dc.subject | Archaea | |
| dc.title | The role of Ferredoxin 3 in hydrogen metabolism in the hyperthermophilic archaeon Thermococcus kodakarensis | |
| dc.type | Text | |
| dcterms.rights.dpla | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights (https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/). You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). | |
| thesis.degree.discipline | Biochemistry and Molecular Biology | |
| thesis.degree.grantor | Colorado State University | |
| thesis.degree.level | Masters | |
| thesis.degree.name | Master of Science (M.S.) |
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