Publikationen - Molekulare Signalverarbeitung

Free amino acids (FAAs), the major constituents of the natural moisturizing factor (NMF), are very important for maintaining the moisture balance of human skin and their deficiency results in dry skin conditions. There is a great interest in the identification and use of nature-based sources of these molecules for such cosmeceutical applications. The objective of the present study was, therefore, to investigate the FAA contents of selected Ethiopian plant and fungi species; and select the best sources so as to use them for the stated purpose. About 59 different plant species and oyster mushroom were included in the study and the concentrations of 27 FAAs were analyzed. Each sample was collected, lyophilized, extracted using aqueous solvent, derivatized with Fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl chloride (Fmoc-Cl) prior to solid-phase extraction and quantified using Liquid Chromatography Electrospray Ionization Tandem Mass Spectrometric (LC-ESI–MS/MS) system. All the 27 FAAs were detected in most of the samples. The dominant FAAs that are part of the NMF were found at sufficiently high concentration in the mushroom and some of the plants. This indicates that FAAs that could be included in the preparations for the management of dry skin condition can be obtained from a single natural resource and the use of these resources for the specified purpose have both economic and therapeutic advantage in addition to fulfilling customer needs.

Concurrent suboptimal supply of several nutrients requires the coordination of nutrient-specific transcriptional, phenotypic, and metabolic changes in plants in order to optimize growth and development in most agricultural and natural ecosystems. Phosphate (Pi) and iron (Fe) deficiency induce overlapping but mostly opposing transcriptional and root growth responses in Arabidopsis thaliana. On the metabolite level, Pi deficiency negatively modulates Fe deficiency-induced coumarin accumulation, which is controlled by Fe as well as Pi deficiency response regulators. Here, we report the impact of Fe availability on seedling growth under Pi limiting conditions and on Pi deficiency-induced accumulation of amino acids and organic acids, which play important roles in Pi use efficiency. Fe deficiency in Pi replete conditions hardly changed growth and metabolite profiles in roots and shoots of Arabidopsis thaliana, but partially rescued growth under conditions of Pi starvation and severely modulated Pi deficiency-induced metabolic adjustments. Analysis of T-DNA insertion lines revealed the concerted coordination of metabolic profiles by regulators of Fe (FIT, bHLH104, BRUTUS, PYE) as well as of Pi (SPX1, PHR1, PHL1, bHLH32) starvation responses. The results show the interdependency of Pi and Fe availability and the interplay between Pi and Fe starvation signaling on the generation of plant metabolite profiles.