The effect of chaotropic anions on the activation and the activity of spinach chloroplast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase

The effect of chaotropic anions was studied on processes that constitute the chloroplast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase reaction, i.e. enzyme activation and catalysis. The specific activity of chloroplast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase was enhanced by preincubation with dithiothreitol, fructose 1,6-bisphosphate, Ca2+, and a chaotropic anion. When chaotropes were ranked in the order of increasing concentrations required for maximal activation they followed a lyotropic (Hofmeister) series: SCN- less than Cl3C-COO- less than ClO4- less than I- less than Br- less than Cl- less than SO4(2-). On the contrary, salts inhibited the catalytic step. The stimulation of chloroplast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase by chaotropic anions arose from a decrease of the activation kinetic constants of both fructose 1,6-bisphosphate and Ca2+; on the other hand, in catalysis neutral salts caused a decrease of kcat because the S0.5 for both fructose 1,6-bisphosphate and Mg2+ remained unaltered. The molecular weight of chloroplast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase did not change after the activation by incubation with dithiothreitol, fructose 1,6-bisphosphate, Ca2+, and a chaotrope; consequently, the action of these modulators altered the conformation of the enzyme. Modification in the relative position of aromatic residues of chloroplast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase was detected by UV differential spectroscopy. In addition, the concerted action of modulators made the enzyme more sensitive to (a) trypsin attack and (b) S-carboxymethylation by iodoacetamide. These results provide a new insight on the mechanism of light-mediated regulation of chloroplast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase; concurrently to the action of a sugar bisphosphate, a bivalent cation, and a reductant, modifications of hydrophobic interactions in the structure of chloroplast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase play a crucial role in the enhancement of the specific activity.     

Studies on the hysteretic properties of chloroplast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase

Chloroplast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase hysteresis in response to modifiers was uncovered by carrying out the enzyme assays in two consecutive steps. The activity of chloroplast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase, assayed at low concentrations of both fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase and Mg2+, was enhanced by preincubating the enzyme with dithiothreitol, thioredoxin f, fructose 1,6-bisphosphate, and Ca2+. In the time-dependent activation process, fructose 1,6-bisphosphate and Ca2+ could be replaced by other sugar biphosphates and Mn2+, respectively. Once activated, chloroplast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase hydrolyzed fructose 1,6-bisphosphate and sedoheptulose 1,7-bisphosphate in the presence of Mg2+, Mn2+, or Fe2+. The A0.5 for fructose 1,6-bisphosphate (activator) was lowered by reduced thioredoxin f and remained unchanged when Mg2+ was varied during the assay of activity. On the contrary, the S0.5 for fructose 1,6-bisphosphate (substrate) was unaffected by reduced thioredoxin f and depended on the concentration of Mg2+. Ca2+ played a dual role on the activity of chloroplast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase; it was a component of the concerted activation and an inhibitor in the catalytic step. Provided dithiothreitol was present, the activating effectors were not required to maintain the enzyme in the active form. Considered together these results strongly suggest that the regulation of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase in chloroplast occurs at two different levels, the activation of the enzyme and the catalysis.     

Studies on the regulation of chloroplast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase. Activation by fructose 1,6-bisphosphate

Chloroplast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (D-fructose 1,6-bisphosphate 1-phosphohydrolase, EC 3.1.3.11) isolated from spinach leaves, was activated by preincubation with fructose 1,6-bisphosphate. The rate of activation was slower than the rate of catalysis, and dependent upon the temperature and the concentration of fructose 1,6-bisphosphate. The addition of other sugar diphosphates, sugar monophosphates or intermediates of the reductive pentose phosphate cycle neither replaced fructose 1,6-bisphosphate nor modified the activation process. Upon activation with the effector the enzyme was less sensitive to trypsin digestion and insensitive to mercurials. The activity of chloroplast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase, preincubated with fructose 1,6-bisphosphate, returned to its basal activity after the concentration of the effector was lowered in the preincubation mixture. The results provide evidence that fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase resembles other regulatory enzymes involved in photosynthetic CO2 assimilation in its activation by chloroplast metabolites.     

The effect of organic solvents on the activation and the activity of spinach chloroplast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase

A two-stage assay was used to study the effect of organic solvents on the activation of and the catalysis by chloroplast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase. Irrespective of chemical structure, all the organic solvents tested had a dual effect on the enzyme. In the activation they stimulated and inhibited at low and high concentrations, respectively, in a process that required dithiothreitol, fructose 1,6-bisphosphate, and Ca2+. Conversely, organic solvents inhibited catalysis. The enhancement in fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase activity did not arise from a change in the molecular weight of the enzyme and correlated positively with the hydrophobic character of the organic solvent. In the presence of 2-propanol, all the activation constants for modulators (fructose 1,6-bisphosphate, a2+, thioredoxin-f) were lower than in a strictly aqueous medium. Monothiols were also functional in the activation of chloroplast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase, although they were less effective than dithiols. Sulfhydryl compounds decreased the concentration of fructose 1,6-bisphosphate required for the activation of the enzyme, and 2-propanol lowered this requirement further. Arrhenius plots were nonlinear for the enzyme activation and linear for the hydrolytic step. The anomalous temperature dependence of the chloroplast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase activation was indicative of a cooperative process. The data obtained in this study indicate that the concerted activation of chloroplast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase is favored in a medium less polar than water.     

Ferredoxin-thioredoxin reductase, an iron-sulfur enzyme linking light to enzyme regulation in oxygenic photosynthesis: purification and properties of the enzyme from C3, C4, and cyanobacterial species

Ferredoxin-thioredoxin reductase (FTR), an enzyme involved in the light regulation of chloroplast enzymes, was purified to homogeneity from leaves of spinach (a C3 plant) and corn (a C4 plant) and from cells of a cyanobacterium (Nostoc muscorum). The enzyme is a yellowish brown iron-sulfur protein, containing four nonheme iron and labile sulfide groups, that catalyzes the activation of NADP-malate dehydrogenase and fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase in the presence of ferredoxin and of thioredoxin m and f, respectively. FTR is synonymous with the protein earlier called ferralterin. FTR showed an Mr of about 30,000 (determined by sedimentation equilibrium ultracentrifugation, amino acid composition, gel filtration, and gradient gel electrophoresis) and was composed of two dissimilar subunits (as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis). One of the FTR subunits from each source was similar both in Mr (about 13,000) and immunological properties, while the other subunit (of variable molecular weight) was characteristic of a particular organism. The similar subunit contained a disulfide group that was rapidly reduced by a dithiol (dithiothreitol) but not by monothiols (2-mercaptoethanol or reduced glutathione). Homogeneous FTR formed a tight noncovalent complex with ferredoxin on affinity columns. The basis for the structural variation in the different FTR enzymes remains to be determined.     

The effect of high hydrostatic pressure on the modulation of regulatory enzymes from spinach chloroplasts.

High hydrostatic pressure enhanced the specific activity of regulatory enzymes of the Benson-Calvin cycle (fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase, glyceraldehyde-3-P dehydrogenase, phosphoribulokinase) which are modulated by the ferredoxin-thioredoxin system. High activity of chloroplast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase required dithiothreitol, fructose 1,6-bisphosphate, and Ca2+. At 100 bar the A0.5 for fructose 1,6-bisphosphate (0.3 mM) was lower than that at 1 bar (1.5 mM), whereas similar variations of pressure did not alter the A0.5 for Ca2+ (55 microM). The response of chloroplast glyceraldehyde-3-P dehydrogenase exposed to 500 bar was a 4-fold increase in the NADP-linked activity; conversely, the NAD-dependent activity remained unchanged. The concerted action of high pressure and Pi (or ATP), both activators of chloroplast glyceraldehyde-3-P dehydrogenase, led to inactivation. On the other hand, the activity of phosphoribulokinase increased 10-fold when the enzyme was incubated at 1500 bar; the activation process was strictly dependent on the presence of dithiothreitol. At variance with these enzymes, bovine liver fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase, yeast glyceraldehyde-3-P dehydrogenase, and chloroplast ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase, whose activities are not modulated by reduced thioredoxin, were inactivated by high pressure. The comparison of oligomeric enzymes revealed that the stimulation of specific activity by high pressure correlated with thioredoxin-mediated activation, and it did not depend on a particular subunit composition. Present results show that high pressure resembled thioredoxin, cosolvents, and chaotropic anions in its action on regulatory enzymes of the Benson-Calvin cycle. The comparison of physiological and non-physiological modulators suggested that thioredoxin-mediated modifications of noncovalent interactions is an important event in light-dependent regulation of chloroplast enzymes.     

Concerted action of cosolvents, chaotropic anions and thioredoxin on chloroplast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase. Reactivity to iodoacetamide

The incubation of chloroplast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase with both dithiothreitol and protein denaturants made sulfhydryl groups available for reaction with [1-14C]iodoacetamide (10-12 mol iodoacetamide incorporated/mol enzyme). Digestion of S-carboxyamidomethylated enzyme with trypsin and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, in the presence of sodium dodecylsulfate, yielded two 14C-labeled fragments whose apparent molecular mass were 10 kDa and 16 kDa. In the absence of either dithiothreitol or protein denaturants the incorporation of iodoacetamide to the enzyme was lower than 4 mol. When chloroplast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase was initially incubated with dithiothreitol (2.5 mM) and (a) high concentrations of both fructose 1,6-bisphosphate (4 mM) and Ca2+ (0.3 mM) or (b) low concentrations of both fructose 1,6-bisphosphate (0.8 mM) and Ca2+ (0.05 mM) in the presence of either 2-propanol (15%, by vol.), trichloroacetate (0.15 M) or chloroplast thioredoxin-f (0.5 microM) and subsequently subjected to proteolysis and electrophoresis, S-carboxyamidomethylated tryptic fragments had similar molecular masses. Thus, conditions that stimulated the specific activity of chloroplast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase caused conformational changes which favoured both the reduction of disulfide bridges and the exposure of sulfhydryl groups. In this aspect, thioredoxin exerted structural and kinetic effects similar to compounds not involved in redox reactions (organic solvents, chaotropic anions). These results indicated that the modification of hydrophobic (intramolecular) interactions in chloroplast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase constituted the underlying mechanism in light-activation by the ferredoxin-thioredoxin system.     

Amino acid sequence homology among fructose-1,6-bisphosphatases

The hydrolysis of fructose 1,6-bisphosphate to fructose 6-phosphate is a key reaction of carbohydrate metabolism. The enzyme that catalyzes this reaction, fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase, appears to be present in all forms of living organisms. Regulation of the enzyme activity, however, occurs by a variety of distinct mechanisms. These include AMP inhibition (most sources), cyclic AMP-dependent phosphorylation (yeast), and light-dependent activation (chloroplast). In the present studies, we have made a comparison of the primary structure of mammalian fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase with the sequence of peptides isolated from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Escherichia coli, and spinach chloroplast enzymes. Our results demonstrate a high degree of sequence homology, suggesting a common evolutionary origin for all fructose-1,6-bisphosphatases.     

Association of a thioredoxin-like protein with chloroplaast coupling factor (CF1).

The δ subunit isolated from chloroplast coupling factor (CF₁) preparations partially replaced thioredoxin in the dithiothreitol-linked activation of chloroplast fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase. The δ subunit fraction also stimulated the dithiothreitol-dependent ATPase of heated CF₁ in a manner analogous to that obseryed with each of the three thioredoxins isolated from spinach leaves (thioredoxins f, m, and c). The δ subunit used in most of these experiments was obtained from CF₁ that had been isolated by a newly devised procedure based on acid precipitation.     

High level expression in Escherichia coli,purification and properties of chloroplast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase from rapeseed (Brassica napus) leaves

In chloroplasts, the light-modulated fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase catalyzes the formation of fructose 6-bisphosphate for the photosynthetic assimilation of CO₂ and the biosynthesis of starch. We report here the construction of a plasmid for the production of chloroplast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase in a bacterial system and the subsequent purification to homogeneity of the genetically engineered enzyme. To this end, a DNA sequence that coded for chloroplast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase of rapeseed (Brassica napus) leaves was successively amplified by PCR, ligated into the Ndel/EcoRI restriction site of the expression vector pET22b, and introduced into Escherichia coli cells. When gene expression was induced by isopropyl--d-thiogalactopyranoside, supernatants of cell lysates were extremely active in the hydrolysis of fructose 1,6-bisphosphate. Partitioning bacterial soluble proteins by ammonium sulfate followed by anion exchange chromatography yielded 10 mg of homogeneous enzyme per 1 of culture. Congruent with a preparation devoid of contaminating proteins, the Edman degradation evinced an unique N-terminal amino acid sequence [A-V-A-A-D-A-T-A-E-T-K-P-]. Gel filtration experiments and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis indicated that the (recombinant) rapeseed chloroplast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatases was a tetramer [160 kDa] comprised of four identical subunits. Like other chloroplast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatases, the recombinant enzyme was inactive at 1 mM fructose 1,6-bisphosphate and 1 mM Mg²⁺ but became fully active after an incubation in the presence of either 10 mM dithiothreitol or 1 mM dithiothreitol and chloroplast thioredoxin. However, at variance with counterparts isolated from higher plant leaves, the low activity observed in absence of reductants was not greatly enhanced by high concentrations of fructose 1,6-bisphosphate (3 mM) and Mg²⁺ (10 mM). In the catalytic process, all chloroplast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatases had identical features; viz., the requirement of Mg²⁺ as cofactor and the inhibition by Ca²⁺. Thus, the procedure described here should prove useful for the structural and kinetic analysis of rapeseed chloroplast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase in view that this enzyme was not isolated from leaves.Abbreviation DTT dithiothreitol - PCR polymerase chain reaction - EDTA (ethylenedinitrilo)tetraacetic     

Chloroplast alkaline fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase exists in a membrane-bound form

An alkaline fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase activity associated with soybean (Glycine max cv Beeson) chloroplasts appears to be membrane-bound. The pH optimum of the membrane-associated activity corresponds to that found for activity associated with the stroma. Illumination of washed thylakoids results in an increase in alkaline fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase activity in the absence of any added stromal factors. Exposure to pH 8.0 results in a partial release of enzyme activity from the membrane. The activation status of the enzyme does not appear to alter its association with the membrane.     

Kinetics of the conformational transition of the spinach chloroplast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase induced by fructose 2,6-bisphosphate.

The activation of oxidized chloroplast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase by fructose 2,6-bisphosphate and magnesium previously described at pH 7.5 [Soulié et al. (1988) Eur. J. Biochem. 176, 111-117] has now been studied at pH 8, the pH which prevails under light conditions in the chloroplast stroma. The process obeys a hysteretic mechanism but the rate of activation is considerably increased with half-times down to 50 s and the apparent dissociation constant of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate from the enzyme is lowered from 1 mM at pH 7.5 to 3.3 microM at pH 8. The process is strictly metal-dependent with a half-saturation concentration of 2.54 mM for magnesium. The conformational transition postulated in our hysteretic model has been investigated through both the spectrophometric and chemical modification approaches. The activation of the enzyme by fructose 2,6-bisphosphate in the presence of magnesium results in a slow modification of the ultraviolet absorption spectrum of the enzyme with an overall increase of 3% at 290 nm. The same treatment leads to the protection of two free sulfhydryls and an increased reactivity of one sulfhydryl group/enzyme monomer to modification by 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid). The titration of the exposed cysteinyl residue prevents the relaxation of enzyme species induced by fructose 2,6-bisphosphate to the native form. The activation of chloroplast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase by fructose 2,6-bisphosphate is discussed both with respect to the understanding of the overall regulation properties of the enzyme and to a possible physiological significance of this process.     

Control of Photosynthetic Sucrose Synthesis by Fructose 2,6-Bisphosphate : II. Partitioning between Sucrose and Starch

The role of fructose 2,6 bisphosphate in partitioning of photosynthate between sucrose and starch has been studied in spinach (Spinacia oleracea U.S. hybrid 424). Spinach leaf material was pretreated to alter the sucrose content, so that the rate of starch synthesis could be varied. The level of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate and other metabolites was then related to the accumulation of sucrose and the rate of starch synthesis. The results show that fructose 2,6-bisphosphate is involved in a sequence of events which provide a fine control of sucrose synthesis so that more photosynthate is diverted into starch in conditions when sucrose has accumulated to high levels in the leaf tissue. (a) As sucrose levels in the leaf rise, there is an accumulation of triose phosphates and hexose phosphates, implying an inhibition of sucrose phosphate synthase and cytosolic fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase. (b) In these conditions, fructose 2,6-bisphosphate increases. (c) The increased fructose 2,6-bisphosphate can be accounted for by the increased fructose 6-phosphate in the leaf. (d) Fructose 2,6-bisphosphate inhibits the cytosolic fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase so more photosynthate is retained in the chloroplast, and converted to starch.     

Chloroplast-Diphenyl Ether Interactions II

Acifluorfen, a p-nitrodiphenyl ether herbicide, is inhibitory to those photosynthetic functions that require a functioning chloroplast envelope. Functions involving the stroma are also affected. Acifluorfen does not lyse intact spinach chloroplasts, yet does increase the sensitivity of CO₂-dependent O₂ evolution to exogenous inorganic phosphate without directly affecting the function of the phosphate translocator. Acifluorfen penetrates into the chloroplast stroma in a light-independent fashion. Once inside, it causes the inactivation of light and dithiothreitol-activated fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase. Light-activated glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (NADP) is also inactivated by acifluorfen.

These data suggest that acifluorfen stimulates a pathway for inactivation of fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (NADP) which uses oxygen as a terminal oxidant and which involves thioredoxin and ferredoxin-thioredoxin reductase.

     

Physiochemical properties of ferralterin. A regulatory iron-sulfur protein functional in oxygenic photosynthesis

Ferralterin, an iron-sulfur protein identified earlier in chloroplasts and cyanobacteria, was purified to homogeneity from spinach leaves and Nostoc muscorum cells. When isolated from both sources, ferralterin showed a molecular weight of about 28,000 and was comprised of three subunits: one of molecular weight 12,000 and two, apparently identical, of molecular weight 7000. Based on the Lowry method of protein estimation, ferralterin contained approximately 3 g atoms each of nonheme iron and acid-labile sulfide per mole. The iron-sulfur cluster of ferralterin showed unusual redox and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) properties. Ferralterin was EPR silent as isolated and did not show an EPR signal on addition of reductants such as sodium dithionite or on exposure to illuminated chloroplast membranes. These reducing conditions also had no significant effect on the absorption spectrum of isolated ferralterin. The ferralterin iron-sulfur cluster was oxidized selectively by ferricyanide and showed a midpoint redox potential of +410 mV. Ferricyanide-oxidized ferralterin was characterized by a low-temperature EPR signal with g values of 2.10, 2.05, and 2.00 (spinach) and 2.09, 2.04, and 1.98 (Nostoc). When oxidized by ferricyanide, the iron-sulfur cluster could be reduced by a variety of reductants, including illuminated chloroplast membranes. The results are consistent with the conclusion that, like several other iron-sulfur enzymes (aconitase, glutamine phospho-ribosylpyrophosphate amidotransferase, hydrogenase), ferralterin achieves its catalytic effect via an active group independently of a redox change in the iron-sulfur chromophore.     

The purification and properties of sucrose-phosphate synthetase from spinach leaves: the involvement of this enzyme and fructose bisphosphatase in the regulation of sucrose biosynthesis

The properties of spinach leaf sucrose-phosphate synthetase (EC 2.4.1.14) and cytosolic fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (EC 3.1.3.11) have been studied. These two enzymes have been considered to be important in the control of sucrose synthesis. Sucrose-phosphate synthetase from leaf tissue has not been studied in detail previously and we report a technique for purifying this enzyme 50-fold by chromatography on AH-Sepharose 4B. This method frees the enzyme from contaminants which interfere with assay procedures with little or no loss of activity. The partially purified enzyme has a K_m for UDP-glucose of 7.1 mm and for fructose 6-phosphate of 0.8 mm. Fructose 1,6-bisphosphate, inorganic phosphate and UDP are strong inhibitors. The inhibition patterns of these suggest that the enzyme operates either by an ordered bi-bi or a Theorell-Chance mechanism. Partially purified cytosolic fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase is not only inhibited by AMP as previously reported, but is also inhibited by fructose 6-phosphate and UDP. From our observations, we conclude that sucrose biosynthesis is indeed controlled through these two enzymes and it appears that the rate of sucrose synthesis is largely dependent upon the supply of triose phosphate and ATP from the chloroplast.     

Photoactivation and Regulation of Spinach Leaf Fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase

Fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase, in isolated intact chloroplast from spinach leaves, is photoactivated by ferredoxin/thioredoxin system. The mechanism involved is conversion of enzyme disulfide to sulfhydryl groups as the photoactivation is inhibited by sulfhydryl group modifying agents which are able to penetrate the chloroplast envelope. Reduction of ferredoxin on the reducing side of photosystem I is found to be a key event and active electron flow to ferredoxin must be maintained for keeping the enzyme in activated state. DCMU - a classical electron transport chain inhibitor and other exogenously added electron acceptors, which intercept electrons on or before ferredoxin cause deactivation of fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase in light. The rate of deactivation, in dark, is also enhanced by exogenously added electron acceptors and sulfhydryl group modifying agents. The mechanism of regulation of fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase is discussed.     

Characterization of rat muscle fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase

Fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase has been purified from rat muscle. Although the specific activity of the enzyme in the crude extract of rat muscle was extremely low, purification by the present procedure is highly reproducible. The purified enzyme showed a single band in SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The subunit molecular weight of the muscle enzyme was 37,500 in contrast to 43,000 in the case of the liver enzyme. Immunoreactivity of the muscle enzyme to anti-muscle and anti-liver fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase sera was clearly distinct from that of the liver enzyme. All one-dimensional peptide mappings of the muscle enzyme with staphylococcal V8 protease, chymotrypsin, and papain showed different patterns from those of the liver enzyme. When incubated with subtilisin, the extent of activation of muscle fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase at pH 9.1 was smaller than that of the liver enzyme. The subtilisin digestion pattern of the muscle enzyme on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was distinct from that of the liver enzyme. The AMP-concentration giving 50% inhibition of the muscle enzyme was 0.54 microM, whereas that of the liver enzyme was 85 microM. The concentrations of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate that gave 50% inhibition of rat muscle and liver enzymes were 6.3 and 1.5 microM, respectively. Fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase protein was not detected in soleus muscle by immunoelectroblotting with anti-muscle fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase serum.     

Regulation of chloroplast phosphoribulokinase by the ferredoxin/thioredoxin system

A newly found form of chloroplast phosphoribulokinase (designated the “regulatory form”) required reduced thioredoxin for activity. A second form of the enzyme (the “nonregulatory form”) was not appreciably affected by thioredoxin. The thioredoxin required for activation of the regulatory enzyme could be reduced (i) photochemically by chloroplast membranes that were supplemented with ferredoxin and ferredoxin-thioredoxin reductase or (ii) chemically in the dark with the sulfhydryl reagent dithiothreitol. Following activation by reduced thioredoxin, phosphoribulokinase was deactivated by the soluble chloroplast oxidants dehydroascorbate and oxidized glutathione. The results suggest that the regulatory form of phosphoribulokinase resembles fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase in its mode of regulation by the ferredoxin/thioredoxin system.     

Control of Photosynthetic Sucrose Synthesis by Fructose 2,6-Bisphosphate : III. Properties of the Cytosolic Fructose 1,6-Bisphosphatase

The cytosolic fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase from spinach (Spinacia oleracea U.S. hybrid 424) leaves has been partially purified and its response to fructose 2,6-bisphosphate, AMP, and fructose 1,6-bisphosphate studied, using concentrations present in the cytosol during photosynthesis. In the presence of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate, the substrate saturation kinetics for fructose 1,6-bisphosphate are sigmoidal, with half-maximal activity being attained in 0.1 to 1 millimolar concentration range. The inhibition is enhanced by AMP. Using these results, and information published elsewhere on metabolite concentrations, it is discussed how fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase activity will vary in vivo in response to alterations in the availability of triose phosphate and AMP, and the accumulation of the product, fructose 6-phosphate.