Bruno Silva Andrade

Alternative oxidase (AOX) constitutes a small family of proteins in Citrus clementina and Citrus sinensis L. Osb

The alternative oxidase (AOX) protein is present in plants, fungi, protozoa and some invertebrates. It is involved in the mitochondrial respiratory chain, providing an alternative route for the transport of electrons, leading to the reduction of oxygen to form water. The present study aimed to characterize the family of AOX genes in mandarin (Citrus clementina) and sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) at nucleotide and protein levels, including promoter analysis, phylogenetic analysis and C. sinensis gene expression. This study also aimed to do the homology modeling of one AOX isoform (CcAOXd). Moreover, the molecular docking of the CcAOXd protein with the ubiquinone (UQ) was performed. Four AOX genes were identified in each citrus species. These genes have an open reading frame (ORF) ranging from 852 bp to 1150 bp and a number of exons ranging from 4 to 9. The 1500 bp-upstream region of each AOX gene contained regulatory cis-elements related to internal and external response factors. CsAOX genes showed a differential expression in citrus tissues. All AOX proteins were predicted to be located in mitochondria. They contained the conserved motifs LET, NERMHL, LEEEA and RADE-H as well as several putative post-translational modification sites. The CcAOXd protein was modeled by homology to the AOX of Trypanosona brucei (45% of identity). The 3-D structure of CcAOXd showed the presence of two hydrophobic helices that could be involved in the anchoring of the protein in the inner mitochondrial membrane. The active site of the protein is located in a hydrophobic environment deep inside the AOX structure and contains a diiron center. The molecular docking of CcAOXd with UQ showed that the binding site is a recessed pocket formed by the helices and submerged in the membrane. These data are important for future functional studies of citrus AOX genes and/or proteins, as well as for biotechnological approaches leading to AOX inhibition using UQ homologs.

Molecular docking between the RNA polymerase of the Moniliophthora perniciosa mitochondrial plasmid and Rifampicin produces a highly stable complex.

BackgroundMoniliophthora perniciosa (Stahel) Aime & Phillips-Mora is the causal agent of witches’ broom disease (WBD) in cacao (Theobroma cacao). When the mitochondrial genome of this fungus had been completely sequenced, an integrated linear-type plasmid that encodes viral-like RNA polymerases was found. The structure of this polymerase was previously constructed using a homology modeling approach.MethodsUsing a virtual screening process, accessing the Kegg, PubChem and ZINC databases, we selected the eight most probable macrocyclic polymerase inhibitors to test against M. perniciosa RNA polymerase (RPO). AutoDock Vina was used to perform docking calculations for each molecule. This software returned affinity energy values for several ligand conformations. Subsequently, we used PyMOL 1.4 and Ligand Scout 3.1 to check the stereochemistry of chiral carbons, substructure, superstructure, number of rotatable bonds, number of rings, number of donor groups, and hydrogen bond receptors.ResultsOn the basis of this evidence we selected Rifampicin, a bacterial RNA polymerase inhibitor, and then AMBER 12 was used to simulate the behavior of the RPO-Rifampicin complex after a set of 5000 ps and up to 300 K in water. This calculation returned a graph of potential energy against simulation time and showed that the ligand remained inside the active site after the simulation was complete, with an average energy of -15 x 102 Kcal/Mol.ConclusionsThe results indicate that Rifampicin could be a good inhibitor for testing in vitro and in vivo against M. perniciosa.