Regulation of C4 photosynthesis: mechanism of activation and inactivation of extracted pyruvate, inorganic phosphate dikinase in relation to dark/light regulation

Requirements for activation of inactive pyruvate, inorganic phosphate (P_i) dikinase extracted from darkened maize leaves were examined. Incubation with P_i plus dithiothreitol resulted in a rapid recovery of activity comparable to that in illuminated leaves. However, contrary to previous findings, most of this activity (60–95%) was recovered by adding P_i alone. There was no activation with dithiothreitol alone. Dependency on dithiothreitol, in addition to P_i was minimal at about pH 7.5 but was substantial at higher pH. Anaerobic conditions did not enhance P_i-dependent activation. Active enzyme, isolated from illuminated leaves, was inactivated by incubating with ADP and this occurred in the presence of dithiothreitol. ATP and AMP were not effective but ATP may be a corequirment for ADP-dependent inactivation. Enzyme inactivated by ADP required P_i for reactivation. We conclude that interconversion of dithiol and disulfide forms of the enzyme is not critical for the dark/light regulation of pyruvate, P_i dikinase. The primary mechanism apparently involves an ADP-induced transformation to an inactive form which undergoes a P_i-mediated reactivation.     

Effects of glycerol on the in vitro stability and regulatory activation/inactivation of pyruvate,orthophosphate dikinase of Zea mays L.

Glycerol stabilizes the activity of pyruvate, orthophosphate dikinase extracted from darkened or illuminated maize leaves. It serves as a better protectant of activity than dithiothreitol for the active day-form and the glycerol concentration needed for full protection is inversely related to the level of protein. The night-form of the enzyme is also protected by glycerol not only against inactivation, but also against partial reactivation in storage. Glycerol does not prevent the P_i-dependent activation nor the ADP-dependent inactivation of pyruvate, orthophosphate dikinase, but the rates of both processes are substantially decreased. The ability of the inactive night-form for P_i-dependent activation is also sustained by glycerol for at least 2 h at 20°C, apparently through stabilization of the labile regulatory protein.Abbreviations BSA bovine serum albumin - G-6-P glucose-6-phosphate - MDH malate dehydrogenase - PCMB p-chloromercuribenzoate - PEP phosphoenolpyruvate - PEPCase phosphoenol-pyruvate carboxylase - PPDK pyruvate, orthophosphate dikinase - PVP polyvinylpyrrolidone     

Porcine liver succinyltrialanine p-nitroanilide hydrolytic enzyme. Its purification and characterization as a post-proline cleaving enzyme

Succinyltrialanine p-nitroanilide(STANA)-hydrolytic enzyme was purified 5,200-fold from porcine liver soluble fraction with a yield of 75% by ammonium sulfate fractionation and chromatographies on DEAE-Sephacel, Sephadex G-150, and hydroxylapatite columns. The purified enzyme was homogeneous as judged by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence and absence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The pI of the enzyme was 4.9 by dis gel electrofocusing and the molecular weight was calculated to be 72,000 by gel filtration on a Sephadex G-150 column and 74,000 by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Acidic amino acids amounted to 17.2% of the total amino acid residues, and the basic ones, 12.9%. No hexosamine was detected. The STANA-hydrolytic enzyme showed maximal activity at pH 7.4 against succinyltrialanine p-nitroanilide and at pH 6.5 against succinyl-Gly-Pro-4-methylcoumaryl 7-amide (MCA), and was stable between pH 6 and 7 in the presence of dithiothreitol. This enzyme hydrolyzed succinyl-Gly-Pro-Leu-Gly-Pro-MCA, succinyl-Gly-Pro-MCA, succinyl-Ala-Pro-Ala-MCA, and several proline-containing natural peptides in addition to succinyltrialanine p-nitroanilide, but was unable to hydrolyze the substrates of aminopeptidases, dipeptidylaminopeptidase IV, trypsin, and chymotrypsin. Elastatinal and chymostatin were effective inhibitors and their IC50 values were 8.7 micrograms/ml and 18.2 micrograms/ml, respectively. The enzyme was completely inhibited by 10(-7) M p-chloromercuribenzoic acid (pCMB), 10(-7) M p-chloromercuriphenylsulfonic acid (pCMPS), and 10(-4) M diisopropyl phosphofluoridate (DFP), but not by 1 mM E-64, which is known as an inhibitor specific to thiol proteinase. The enzyme was easily inactivated by agitation in a Vortex mixer, and its activity was recovered by the addition of thiol compounds such as dithiothreitol, 2-mercaptoethanol and cysteine. The effects of inhibitors and thiol compounds were substantially identical when the enzyme activity was measured with either succinyltrialanine p-nitroanilide or succinyl-Gly-Pro-MCA as a substrate. These results indicate that the STANA-hydrolytic enzyme in the liver soluble fraction is a post-proline cleaving enzyme [EC 3.4.21.26].     

Regulation of C4 photosynthesis: characterization of a protein factor mediating the activation and inactivation of NADP-malate dehydrogenase.

The leaf NADP-malate dehydrogenase of Zea mays is rapidly activated when leaves are illuminated and inactivated in the dark. The present studies show that inactive enzyme isolated from darkened leaves was activated by dithiothreitol and that the active enzyme was rapidly inactivated by oxygen in dithiothreitol-free solutions. Following the fractionation of leaf extracts, both the activation and inactivation of NADP-malate dehydrogenase in vitro were partially or totally dependent upon a separate small molecular weight protein factor. Activation and inactivation were largely or solely dependent upon this factor at pH 8.0 or less, but apparently only partially factor dependent at pH 9.0. The factor was heat stable, inactivated by incubation with trypsin, and had a molecular weight of about 10,000. It was mostly associated with the chloroplasts of mesophyll cells.     

Regulation of C4 photosynthesis: inactivation of pyruvate, Pi dikinase by ADP-dependent phosphorylation and activation by phosphorolysis

These studies provide information about the mechanism of the light/dark-mediated regulation of pyruvate, Pi dikinase (EC 2.7.9.1) in leaves. It is shown that inactivation is due to a phosphorylation of the enzyme from the beta-phosphate of ADP, and that activation occurs by phosphorolysis to remove the enzyme phosphate group. During ADP plus ATP-dependent inactivation of pyruvate, Pi dikinase in chloroplast extracts, 32P was incorporated into the enzyme from [beta-32P]ADP. Approximately 1 mol of phosphate was incorporated per mol of monomeric enzyme subunit inactivated. There was very little incorporation of label from ADP or ATP labeled variously in other positions with 32P or from the nucleotides labeled with 3H in the purine ring. Purified pyruvate, Pi dikinase was also labeled from [beta-32P]ADP during inactivation. In this system, phosphorylation of the enzyme required the addition of the "regulatory protein" shown previously to be essential for catalyzing inactivation and activation. During orthophosphate-dependent reactivation of pyruvate, Pi dikinase, it was shown that the enzyme loses 32P label and that pyrophosphate is produced. The significance of these findings in relation to regulation of the enzyme in vivo is discussed.     

Regulation of C4 photosynthesis: regulation of pyruvate, Pi dikinase by ADP-dependent phosphorylation and dephosphorylation

Pyruvate, Pi dikinase in extracts of chloroplasts from mesophyll cells of Zea mays is inactivated by incubation with ADP plus ATP. This inactivation was associated with phosphorylation of a threonine residue on a 100 kDa polypeptide, the major polypeptide of the mesophyll chloroplast stroma, which was identified as the subunit of pyruvate, Pi dikinase. The phosphate originated from the beta-position of ADP as indicated by the labelling of the enzyme during inactivation in the presence of [beta-32P]ADP. During inactivation of the enzyme up to 1 mole of phosphate was incorporated per mole of pyruvate, Pi dikinase subunit inactivated. 32P label was lost from the protein during the Pi-dependent reactivation of pyruvate, Pi dikinase.     

Purification and properties of purine nucleoside phosphorylases from bird liver

Chicken and pigeon liver PNPases differ in their isoelectric points (5.40 and 5.15), in their molecular weights (125,000 +/- 5,000; 78,000 +/- 5,000, determined on Sephadex G-200) and in their subunit molecular weight (62,000 +/- 10%; 75,000 +/- 10%, determined by sodium dodecil sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis). The related molecular weights show a dimeric structure for the chicken liver enzyme and a monomeric structure for the pigeon liver enzyme. Activation energies are similar but differ in delta H values. Both PNPases are irreversibly inactivated by p-chloromercuribenzoate and 5,5'-dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid) when incubated with these reagents; inactivation can be reverted totally or partially by dithiothreitol and 2-mercaptoethanol.     

Hydrolysis of triphosphoinositides by a soluble fraction of Crithidia fasciculata.

Homogenates of Crithidia fasciculata (a species of Trypanosomidae) were shown to contain a phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.36) and a phosphodiesterase (EC 3.1.4.11) which hydrolyse triphosphoinositides. Approximately 30% of the diesterase and most of the phosphatase are present in the soluble fraction. The triphosphoinositide phosphatase is specifically dependent upon Mg(2+) and is stable to storage with or without freezing. The triphosphoinositide phosphodiesterase requires Ca(2+) and is inactivated during storage. Both activities are maximal in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide and require protection or reactivation by GSH or dithiothreitol. Unlike similar mammalian enzymes the protozoal triphosphoinositide phosphatase does not hydrolyse diphosphoinositides. The two enzymes may be separated by (NH4)2SO4 fractionation and gel filtration on Sephadex G-200.     

Identification of the essential tyrosine residue in the beta subunit of bovine heart mitochondrial F1-ATPase that is modified by 7-chloro-4-nitro[14C]benzofurazan

Inactivation of the bovine heart mitochondrial F1-ATPase, taken as alpha 3 beta 3 gamma delta epsilon with a molecular weight of 375,000, with a 4-fold molar excess of 7-chloro-4-nitro[14C]benzofurazan at pH 7.5, led to the incorporation of 1.42 g atoms of 14C/mol. Treatment of the inactivated enzyme with dithiothreitol removed 0.99 g atom of 14C/mol of enzyme which was accompanied by reactivation of the ATPase. Therefore, of the 1.42 mol of 7-chloro-4-nitro-[14C]benzofurazan incorporated per mol of bovine heart mitochondrial F1-ATPase, 0.43 mol was present on lysine residues and 0.99 mol was present on tyrosine residues. When the inactivated enzyme was treated with 10 mM sodium dithionite at pH 6.0, 10% of the activity was recovered which was accompanied by a 10% loss in covalently bound 14C. Following dithionite treatment, that part of the 14C which remained covalently bound could not be removed by subsequent treatment of the labeled enzyme with dithiothreitol. It is presumed that dithionite reduces the 4-nitro group of the covalently bound reagent, converting it to 4-amino[14C]benzofurazan derivatives at lysine and tyrosine residues. The moles of 4-amino[14C]benzofurazan incorporated per mol of the isolated subunits were: alpha, 0.18; beta, 0.30; gamma, 0.03; and delta plus epsilon, less than 0.01. Gel filtration of a cyanogen bromide digest of the labeled beta subunit on Sephadex G-75 resolved a major 14C peak which contained 83% of the 14C recovered. The major, radioactive tryptic fragment derived from this peak was purified by gel filtration on Sephadex G-75 followed by reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography. Automatic Edman degradation of this peptide showed that the 14C was released at the position occupied by beta-Tyr-311.     

Light and thiol activation of maize leaf glycerate kinase : the stimulating effect of reduced thioredoxins and ATP

Glycerate kinase (EC 2.7.1.31) from maize (Zea mays) leaves was shown to be regulated by light/dark transition. The enzyme more than doubled in activity after either the leaves or isolated mesophyll chloroplasts were illuminated with white light for 10 minutes. Rate of inactivation in the dark was faster in leaves than in the isolated chloroplast fraction. The stimulating effect of light could be mimicked in crude preparations by addition of 10 or 50 millimolar dithiothreitol or 100 millimolar 2-mercaptoethanol. The thiol treatment resulted in 8- to 10-fold activation of glycerate kinase, with the highest rates in the range of 27 to 30 micromoles per mg chlorophyll per hour. Activation was not accompanied by any changes in the apparent M_r value of glycerate kinase as determined by gel filtration (M_r = 47,000). In contrast to maize glycerate kinase, the enzyme from spinach was not affected by either light or thiol exposure.

Partially purified maize glycerate kinase was activated up to 3-fold upon incubation with a mixture of spinach thioredoxins m and f and 5 millimolar dithiothreitol. The thioredoxin and dithiothreitol-treated glycerate kinase could be further stimulated by addition of 2.5 millimolar ATP. The results suggest that glycerate kinase from maize leaves is capable of photoactivation by the ferredoxin/thioredoxin system. The synergistic effect of ATP and thioredoxins in activation of the enzyme supports the earlier expressed view that the ferredoxin/thioredoxin system functions jointly with effector metabolites in light-mediated regulation during photosynthesis.

     

Effect of Light and Benzyladenine on Dark-Treated Growing Rice (Oryza sativa) Leaves II. Changes in Peroxidase Activity

Changes in peroxidase activity were studied in the attachedfirst leaf of dark-treated Oryza sativa L. cv. Bala seedlingsin response to benzyladenine and light treatments during laterperiods of leaf growth, prior to maturation. Darkness causeda mild decrease in peroxidase activity; but in illuminated leaves,the enzyme activity was stable at all times. There was a sharprise in peroxidase activity in dark-treated leaves upon lightor benzyladenine application, irrespective of the time of treatment.Benzyladenine treatment to illuminated leaves also caused arise in peroxidase activity. Exogenous hydrogen peroxide, glycolateand amizol resulted in a rise in peroxidase activity, whichwas further enhanced by benzyladenine treatment in both lightand dark incubated leaves. Proline maintained chlorophyll levels,whereas hydroxyproline caused chlorophyll degradation. Benzyladenineenhanced the proline effect and counteracted the hydroxyprolineeffect on chlorophyll. Both proline and hydroxyproline increasedperoxidase activity in the leaves of light and dark incubatedseedlings, and the enzyme activity further increased after benzyladeninetreatment. (Received December 7, 1984; Accepted May 8, 1985)     

Properties and substrate specificity of proteinase from buckwheat seeds]

A thiol proteinase was isolated from buckwheat seeds and purified 300-fold, using ammonium sulfate, acetone fractionation ion-exchange chromatography on Sephadex CM-50 and electrofocussing. The proteinase preparation obtained was found homogenous after polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis at pH 4.5. The molecular weight of the enzyme (75.000) was determined by gel-filtration through Sephadex G-100. The activation of proteinase by cysteine, 2-mercaptoethanol and dithiothreitol, its inhibition by p-chloromercurybenzoate and the absence of inhibition by diisopropyl fluorophosphate and EDTA suggest that the enzyme isolated is a thiol proteinase. The enzyme hydrolyzed many peptide bonds in the B-chain of insulin, showing high substrate specificity. The glutelin and globulin fractions of buckwheat seed proteins were hydrolyzed by the enzyme. It is assumed that the hydrolysis of reserve proteins of buckwheat seeds is the main function of the proteinase isolated.     

Purification and properties of a thiol protease from rat liver nuclei

A thiol protease was purified about 800-fold from the chromatin fraction of rat liver by employing Sepharose 6B gel filtration, chromatofocusing and Sephadex G-100 gel filtration. It was nearly homogeneous on sodium dodecyl sulfate/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and its molecular weight was about 29000. The isoelectric point of the enzyme was 7.1. The pH optimum for degradation of 3H-labelled ribosomal proteins was 4.5. It is noticeable that the maximal activity was shifted to pH 5.5 by DNA, and that 30-40% of the maximal activity was observed at neutral pH in the presence of DNA. The activity was increased about twice by 2-4 mM dithiothreitol. The protease may be specific for the nuclei because it is different from all lysosomal thiol proteases ever known.     

The Action of Peptidases from Aspergillus sojae on Soybean Proteins

To elucidate the mechanism of light-activation of pyruvate P_L dikinase in maize leaf, the inactive form was purified to homogeneity from dark-treated leaves using an activation system to locate it. The purification procedure included ammonium sulfate-fractionation followed by conventional chromatography.

The homogeneous enzyme after maximal activation had a specific activity comparable to that of the active enzyme obtained from non-dark-treated plants. The enzyme was indistinguishable from the active one in its molecular size and charge and in the amino acid composition of its acid-hydrolysate.     

Maize recombinant C4-pyruvate,orthophosphate dikinase: Expression in Escherichia coli, partial purification, and characterization of the phosphorylatable protein

The gene for C₄-pyruvate,orthophosphate dikinase (PPDK) from maize (Zea mays) was cloned into an Escherichia coli expression vector and recombinant PPDK produced in E. coli cells. Recombinant enzyme was found to be expressed in high amounts (5.3 U purified enzyme-activity liter^-1 of induced cells) as a predominantly soluble and active protein. Biochemical analysis of partially purified recombinant PPDK showed this enzyme to be equivalent to enzyme extracted from illuminated maize leaves with respect to (i) molecular mass, (ii) specific activity, (iii) substrate requirements, and (iv) phosphorylation/inactivation by its bifunctional regulatory protein.Abbreviations DTT- dithiothreitol - FPLC- fast-protein liquid chromatography - HAP- hydroxyapatite - IPTG- isopropyl--thiogalactoside - MOPS- 3-(N-morpholino)propanesulfonic acid - PCR- polymerase chain reaction - PEP- phosphoenolpyruvate - PMSF- phenylmethylsufonyl fluoride - PPDK- pyruvate,orthophosphate dikinase - RP- regulatory protein     

Properties and regulation of leaf nicotinamide–adenine dinucleotide phosphate–malate dehydrogenase and `malic'' enzyme in plants with the C4-dicarboxylic acid pathway of photosynthesis

1. NADP-malate dehydrogenase and ;malic' enzyme in maize leaf extracts were separated from NAD-malate dehydrogenase and their properties were examined. 2. The NADP-malate dehydrogenase was nicotinamide nucleotide-specific but otherwise catalysed a reaction comparable with that with the NAD-specific enzyme. By contrast with the latter enzyme, a thiol was absolutely essential for maintaining the activity of the NADP-malate dehydrogenase, and the initial velocity in the direction of malate formation, relative to the reverse direction, was faster. 3. For the ;malic' enzyme reaction the K(m) for malate was dependent on pH and the pH optimum varied with the malate concentration. At their respective optimum concentrations the maximum velocity for this enzyme was higher with Mg(2+) than with Mn(2+). 4. The NADP-malate dehydrogenase in green leaves was rapidly inactivated in the dark and was reactivated when plants were illuminated. Reactivation of the enzyme extracted from darkened leaves was achieved simply by adding a thiol compound. 5. The activity of both enzymes was low in etiolated leaves of maize plants grown in the dark but increased 10-20-fold, together with chlorophyll, when leaves were illuminated. 6. The activity of these enzymes in different species with the C(4)-dicarboxylic acid pathway was compared and their possible role in photosynthesis was considered.     

Leucine aminopeptidase in extracts of swine muscle

1. Leucine aminopeptidase (EC 3.4.1.1) has been demonstrated in swine muscle at a level of activity one-fifth that of the swine kidney. 2. The enzyme has been purified 110-fold by precipitation with ammonium sulphate, heat treatment and chromatography on Sephadex G-100. 3. The enzyme is heat-stable, but is rapidly inactivated below pH7. It requires Mg(2+) or Mn(2+) for activity. The Michaelis constant for leucine amide with Mg(2+)-activated enzyme is 5.0x10(-3)m. 4. Muscle leucine aminopeptidase is very similar to the kidney enzyme.     

Dithiol oxidant and disulfide reductant dynamically regulate the phosphorylation of light-harvesting complex II proteins in thylakoid membranes

Light-induced phosphorylation of light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b complex II (LHCII) proteins in plant thylakoid membranes requires an activation of the LHCII kinase via binding of plastoquinol to cytochrome b(6)f complex. However, a gradual down-regulation of LHCII protein phosphorylation occurs in higher plant leaves in vivo with increasing light intensity. This inhibition is likely to be mediated by increasing concentration of thiol reductants in the chloroplast. Here, we have determined the components involved in thiol redox regulation of the LHCII kinase by studying the restoration of LHCII protein phosphorylation in thylakoid membranes isolated from high-light-illuminated leaves of pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo), spinach (Spinacia oleracea), and Arabidopsis. We demonstrate an experimental separation of two dynamic activities associated with isolated thylakoid membranes and involved in thiol regulation of the LHCII kinase. First, a thioredoxin-like compound, responsible for inhibition of the LHCII kinase, became tightly associated and/or activated within thylakoid membranes upon illumination of leaves at high light intensities. This reducing activity was completely missing from membranes isolated from leaves with active LHCII protein phosphorylation, such as dark-treated and low-light-illuminated leaves. Second, hydrogen peroxide was shown to serve as an oxidant that restored the catalytic activity of the LHCII kinase in thylakoids isolated from leaves with inhibited LHCII kinase. We propose a dynamic mechanism by which counteracting oxidizing and reducing activities exert a stimulatory and inhibitory effect, respectively, on the phosphorylation of LHCII proteins in vivo via a novel membrane-bound thiol component, which itself is controlled by the thiol redox potential in chloroplast stroma.     

Activation of soluble guanylate cyclase from rat lung by incubation or by hydrogen peroxide.

A 37,000 X g supernatant fraction prepared from fat lung homogenate demonstrated a 2- to 3-fold increase in guanylate cyclase activity after incubation at 30 degrees for 30 min (preincubation). Treatment of the supernatant fraction with Triton X-100 increased activity to approximately the same extent as preincubation, but would not increase the activity after preincubation. By chromatography on Sepharose 2B, before and after preincubation, it was demonstrated that the increase in activity was only associated with the soluble guanylate cyclase, and not the particulate enzyme. Activation by preincubation required O2. It was completely inhibited by thiols such as 2-mercaptoethanol, and by bovine serum albumin, KCN, and sodium diethyldithiocarbamate. These inhibitors suggested a copper requirement for activation, and this was confirmed by demonstrating that 20 to 60 muM CuCl2 could relieve the inhibition by 0.1 mM sodium diethyldithiocarbamate. 2-Mercaptoethanol inhibition could also be reversed by removal of the thiol on a Sephadex G-25 column, however, this treatment partially activated the enzyme. Addition of 2-mercaptoethanol to a preincubated preparation would not reverse the activation. H2O2 was found to activate guanylate cyclase, either by its generation in the lung supernatant with glucose oxidase and glucose, or by its addition to a preparation in which the catalase was inhibited with KCN. KCN or bovine serum albumin was able to partially inhibit activation by glucose oxidase plus glucose, however, larger amounts of glucose oxidase could overcome that inhibition, indicating a catalytic role for Cu2+ at low H2O2 concentrations. No direct evidence for H2O2 formation during preincubation could be found, however, indirect evidence was obtained by the spectrophotometric detection of choleglobin formation from hemoglobin present in the lung supernatant fluid. The H2O2 is believed to result from the reaction of oxyhemoglobin with ascorbate.     

Effect of alterations in membrane lipid unsaturation on the properties of the insulin receptor of Ehrlich ascites cells

Rat heart ornithine decarboxylate activity from isoproterenol-treated rats was inactivated in vitro by reactive species of oxygen generated by the reaction xanthine/xanthine oxidase. Reduced glutathione, dithiothreitol and superoxide dismutase has a protective effect in homogenates and in partially purified ornithine decarboxylase exposed to the xanthine/xanthine oxidase reaction, while diethyldithiocarbamate, which is an inhibitor of superoxide dismutase, potentiated the damage induced by O2- on enzyme activity. Dithiothreitol at concentrations above 1.25 mM had an inhibitory effect upon supernatant ornithine decarboxylase activity, while at 2.5 mM it was most effective in the recovery of ornithine decarboxylase activity, after the purification of the enzyme by the ammonium sulphate precipitation procedure. The ornithine decarboxylase inactivated by the xanthine/xanthine oxidase reaction showed a higher value of Km and a reduction of Vmax with respect to control activity. The exposure of rats to 100% oxygen for 3 h reduced significantly the isoproterenol-induced heart ornithine decarboxylase activity. The injection with diethyldithiocarbamate 1 h before hyperoxic exposure further reduced heart ornithine decarboxylase activity.