Acyl Carrier Protein in Mycoplasmas

Acyl carrier protein (ACP) activity was determined by the malonyl-coenzyme A-CO(2) exchange reaction. It was highest in Acholeplasma laidlawii, lower in A. granularum, and lowest in A. axanthum. The sterol-requiring Mycoplasma species examined showed little or negligible ACP activity. A. laidlawii was capable of utilizing pantetheine or coenzyme A but not beta-alanine as precursor for ACP synthesis. Its ACP could thus be labeled by growing the organisms with radioactive coenzyme A. The ACP of A. laidlawii appears to be a soluble cytoplasmic protein, which could be purified about 40-fold by treatment of the cytoplasmic fluid with streptomycin sulfate and chromatography of the supernatant fluid on a Biogel P-10 column. Its molecular weight, determined by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, is low (about 10,900) resembling that of Escherichia coli, but it is much more sensitive to heat.     

Change in Levels of Acyl Carrier Proteins in Greening Plants

The levels of acyl carrier proteins (ACP) in greening spinachcotyledons and greening oat leaves were examined by immunoblottingwith antiserum raised against spinach ACP I. Two isoforms ofACP, ACP I and ACP II, were found in spinach cotyledons, asthey were in the green leaves. The level of ACP II was higherthan that of ACP I in etiolated cotyledons. The level of ACPI increased markedly with greening. In the greened cotyledons,the major isoform was ACP I as was the case in green spinachleaves. In oat leaves, two isoforms were also identified, oatACPI (about 12kDa) and ACP II (about 17kDa), which cross-reactedwith the antiserum against spinach ACP I, but which were differentfrom spinach ACPs I and II. The levels of oat ACPs I and IIwere very low in etiolated leaves. The increase in levels ofboth ACPs corresponded to the change in the activity of fattyacid synthesis during illumination for 24 h. During furtherillumination for 24 h, the level of ACP II increased a littlein parallel with the change in the activity of fatty acid synthesis,whereas the level of ACP I increased somewhat more. The functionof oat ACPs I and II is discussed in connection with the formationof chloroplast. (Received March 27, 1989; Accepted September 18, 1989)     

裂殖壶菌酰基载体蛋白(ACP)基因的克隆与表达

ACP(Acyl carrier protein,酰基载体蛋白)参与高度不饱和脂肪酸的PKS(Polyketide synthase)生物合成途径.从Schizochytrium sp.FJU-512 cDNA文库中获得了ACP基因的cDNA克隆.该序列开放读码框全长429 bp,编码142个氨基酸,等电点为5.04,具有4'-磷酸泛酰巯基乙胺(4'-PP)的结合位点.利用BamH Ⅰ/Hind Ⅲ双酶切,并连接到原核表达载体pET-30a,构建了pET-30a/acp表达载体,转化宿主菌E.coll BL21(DE3),IPTG诱导表达.SDS-PAGE分析表明该蛋白得到高效表达.     

裂殖壶菌酰基载体蛋白(ACP)基因的克隆与表达

ACP (Acyl carrier protein, 酰基载体蛋白) 参与高度不饱和脂肪酸的PKS (Polyketide synthase) 生物合成途径。从Schizochytrium sp.FJU-512 cDNA文库中获得了ACP基因的cDNA克隆。该序列开放读码框全长429 bp, 编码142个氨基酸, 等电点为5.04, 具有4′-磷酸泛酰巯基乙胺(4′-PP)的结合位点。利用BamHⅠ/HindⅢ双酶切, 并连接到原核表达载体pET-30a, 构建了pET-30a/acp表达载体, 转化宿主菌E.coli BL21(DE3), IPTG诱导表达。SDS-PAGE分析表明该蛋白得到高效表达。     

Noninvolvement of Acyl Carrier Protein with Citrate Synthase and Malate Synthase

Acyl carrier protein (ACP coli) was isolated from commercially grown Escherichia coli B and was acetylated by chemical methods. Biological activity of the synthesized acetyl-ACP coli was checked in an in vitro fatty acid-synthesizing system isolated from E. coli B. Since acetyl-ACP is preferred over acetyl-coenzyme A (CoA) as a substrate in these reactions, the possibility that it may substitute for acetyl-CoA in biosynthetically and oxidatively important cellular pathways (glyoxylate and Krebs cycles, respectively) was examined. Acetyl-ACP was tested for substrate activity with the enzyme of each cycle which has been found to utilize acetyl-CoA. Crystalline citrate synthase (EC 4.1.3.7) of porcine origin (Calbiochem) was found to be inactive with acetyl-ACP coli, which acted neither as a substrate nor as an inhibitor in the presence of acetyl-CoA. Malate synthase (EC 4.1.3.2) of the acetate type was isolated from acetate-grown cells of a mutant of E. coli K-12 (VGD(3)H(5)) and was also found to be inactive with acetyl-ACP coli. The significance of these results and of the recent discovery of another phospho-pantetheine-containing protein are discussed.     

Differential Regulation of Actin Polymerization and Structure by Yeast Formin Isoforms

The budding yeast formins, Bnr1 and Bni1, behave very differently with respect to their interactions with muscle actin. However, the mechanisms underlying these differences are unclear, and these formins do not interact with muscle actin in vivo. We use yeast wild type and mutant actins to further assess these differences between Bnr1 and Bni1. Low ionic strength G-buffer does not promote actin polymerization. However, Bnr1, but not Bni1, causes the polymerization of pyrene-labeled Mg-G-actin in G-buffer into single filaments based on fluorometric and EM observations. Polymerization by Bnr1 does not occur with Ca-G-actin. By cosedimentation, maximum filament formation occurs at a Bnr1:actin ratio of 1:2. The interaction of Bnr1 with pyrene-labeled S265C Mg-actin yields a pyrene excimer peak, from the cross-strand interaction of pyrene probes, which only occurs in the context of F-actin. In F-buffer, Bnr1 promotes much faster yeast actin polymerization than Bni1. It also bundles the F-actin in contrast to the low ionic strength situation where only single filaments form. Thus, the differences previously observed with muscle actin are not actin isoform-specific. The binding of both formins to F-actin saturate at an equimolar ratio, but only about 30% of each formin cosediments with F-actin. Finally, addition of Bnr1 but not Bni1 to pyrene-labeled wild type and S265C Mg-F actins enhanced the pyrene- and pyrene-excimer fluorescence, respectively, suggesting Bnr1 also alters F-actin structure. These differences may facilitate the ability of Bnr1 to form the actin cables needed for polarized delivery of nutrients and organelles to the growing yeast bud.Bni1 and Bnr1 are the two formin isoforms expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (1, 2). These proteins, as other isoforms in the formin family, are large multidomain proteins (3, 4). Several regulatory domains, including one for binding the G-protein rho, are located at the N-terminal half of the protein (4–7). FH1, FH2, and Bud6 binding domains are located in the C-terminal half of the protein (8). The formin homology 1 (FH1)² domain contains several sequential poly-l-proline motifs, and it interacts with the profilin/actin complex to recruit actin monomers and regulate the insertion of actin monomers at the barbed end of actin (9–11). The fomin homology domain 2 (FH2) forms a donut-shaped homodimer, which wraps around actin dimers at the barbed end of actin filaments (12, 13). One important function of formin is to facilitate actin polymerization by stabilizing actin dimers or trimers under polymerization conditions and then to processively associate with the barbed end of the elongating filament to control actin filament elongation kinetics (13–18).A major unsolved protein in the study of formins is the elucidation of the individual functions of different isoforms and their regulation. In vivo, these two budding yeast formins have distinct cellular locations and dynamics (1, 2, 19, 20). Bni1 concentrates at the budding site before the daughter cell buds from the mother cell, moves along with the tip of the daughter cell, and then travels back to the neck between daughter and mother cells at the end of segregation. Bnr1 localizes only at the neck of the budding cell in a very short period of time after bud emergence. Although a key cellular function of these two formins in yeast is to promote actin cable formation (8, 18), the roles of the individual formins in different cellular process is unclear because deleting either individual formin gene has limited impact on cell growth and deleting both genes together is lethal (21).Although each of the two formins can nucleate actin filament formation in vitro, the manner in which they affect polymerization is distinctly isoform-specific. Most of this mechanistic work in vitro has used formin fragments containing the FH1 and FH2 domains. Bni1 alone processively caps the barbed end of actin filaments partially inhibiting polymerization at this end (14, 16, 18). The profilin-actin complex, recruited to the actin barbed end through its binding to Bni1 FH1 domain, possibly raises the local actin concentration and appears to allow this inhibition to be overcome, thereby, accelerating barbed end polymerization. It has also been shown that this complex modifies the kinetics of actin dynamics at the barbed end (9, 11, 18, 22). Moreover, Bni1 participation leads only to the formation of single filaments (8). In comparison, the Bnr1 FH1-FH2 domain facilitates actin polymerization much more efficiently than does Bni1. Moseley and Goode (8) showed Bnr1 accelerates actin polymerization up to 10 times better than does Bni and produces actin filament bundles when the Bnr1/actin molar ratio is above 1:2. Finally, the regulation of Bni1 and Bnr1 by formin binding is different. For example, Bud 6/Aip3, a yeast cell polarity factor, binds to Bni1, but not Bnr1, and also stimulates its activity in vitro.For their studies, Moseley and Goode (8) utilized mammalian skeletal muscle actin instead of the S. cerevisiae actin with which the yeast formins are designed to function. It is entirely possible that the differences observed with the two formins are influenced quantitatively or qualitatively by the nature of the actin used in the study. This possibility must be seriously considered because although yeast and muscle actins are 87% identical in sequence, they display marked differences in their polymerization behavior (23). Yeast actin nucleates filaments better than muscle actin (24, 25). It appears to form shorter and more flexible filaments than does muscle actin (26, 27). Finally, the disposition of the P_i released during the hydrolysis of ATP that occurs during polymerization is different. Yeast actin releases its P_i concomitant with hydrolysis of the bound ATP whereas muscle actin retains the P_i for a significant amount of time following nucleotide hydrolysis (28, 29). This difference is significant because ADP-P_i F-actin has been shown to be more stable than ADP F-actin (30). Another example of this isoform dependence is the interaction of yeast Arp2/3 with yeast versus muscle actins (31). Yeast Arp2/3 complex accelerates polymerization of muscle actin only in the presence of a nucleation protein factor such as WASP. However, with yeast actin, no such auxiliary protein is required. In light of these actin behavioral differences, to better understand the functional differences of these two formins in vivo, we have studied the behavior of Bni 1 and Bnr 1 with WT and mutant yeast actins, and we have also explored the molecular basis underlying the Bnr 1-induced formation of actin nuclei from G-actin.     

Rapid in Vivo Acylation of Acyl Carrier Protein with Exogenous Fatty Acids in Spirodela oligorrhiza

Posttranslational acylation of several chloroplast proteins with palmitic acid was recently demonstrated in Spirodela oligorrhiza (AK Mattoo, M Edelman [1987] Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 84: 1497-1501). We have now identified an in vivo acylated, soluble protein having an apparent M_r of 10 kilodaltons on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis as an acylated form of acyl carrier protein (ACP). This 10-kilodalton protein is present in low abundance, and its acylation is light-stimulated. Turnover of the acyl moiety but not the apo-protein is rapid in the light. The acylated 10-kilodalton protein coelectrophoreses with in vitro synthesized palmitoyl-acyl carrier protein and is immunoprecipitated from soluble extracts with an antibody raised against spinach ACP. Cerulenin, an inhibitor of β-ketoacyl-ACP synthetase, inhibited in vivo acylation of Spirodela ACP. Cell-free extracts of Spirodela plants were able to catalyze the transfer of palmitate from palmitoyl-CoA to ACP, suggesting the existence in higher plants of a pathway for acylation of ACP that involves transacylation from acyl-CoA.     

Relations Between Coenzyme A and Presumptive Acyl Carrier Protein in Different Conditions of Streptococcal Growth

Exploration of the specific role of cystine in the postexponential growth of Streptococcus faecalis led to an inquiry into the fate of cellular coenzyme A (CoA) and acyl carrier protein (ACP), both of which depend for their biosynthesis on cystine and pantothenate as precursors. In S. faecalis cells labeled by growth in the presence of (14)C-pantothenate, the label could be separated on the basis of solubility at pH 2.1 into two fractions of sharply differing metabolic characteristics. The fractions were not purified, but the soluble (14)C behaved analytically like CoA, and the insoluble (14)C was considered to represent an ACP-like entity on the basis of circumstantial evidence. The fate of these two fractions under various conditions of growth was studied. When the medium contained an excess of the needed precursors, the cellular content of CoA and ACP appeared to remain constant during exponential growth, and in a molar ratio of about 4 CoA to 1 ACP. Cellular ACP, once formed, appeared to be stable under these conditions, but CoA was degraded and replaced at the rate of approximately 20% per division period. With restrictive levels of pantothenate in the medium, initially formed CoA disappeared during growth, as a result, apparently of being converted to ACP. However, when the resulting CoA-depleted cells were returned to a medium containing enough pantothenate, resumption of normal growth was preceded by a lag period, during which rapid conversion of ACP to CoA appeared to take place.     

Chlorophyllide a Oxygenase mRNA and Protein Levels Correlate with the Chlorophyll a/b Ratio in Arabidopsis thaliana

Plants can change the size of their light harvesting complexes in response to growth at different light intensities. Although these changes are small compared to those observed in algae, their conservation in many plant species suggest they play an important role in photoacclimation. A polyclonal antibody to the C-terminus of the Arabidopsis thaliana chlorophyllide a oxygenase (CAO) protein was used to determine if CAO protein levels change under three conditions which perturb chlorophyll levels. These conditions were: (1) transfer to shaded light intensity; (2) limited chlorophyll synthesis, and (3) during photoinhibition. Transfer of wild-type plants from moderate to shaded light intensity resulted in a slight reduction in the Chl a/b ratio, and increases in both CAO and Lhcb1 mRNA levels as well as CAO protein levels. CAO protein levels were also measured in the cch1 mutant, a P642L missense mutation in the H subunit of Mg-chelatase. This mutant has reduced total Chl levels and an increased Chl a/b ratio when transferred to moderate light intensity. After transfer to moderate light intensity, CAO mRNA levels decreased in the cch1 mutant, and a concomitant decrease in CAO protein levels was also observed. Measurements of tetrapyrrole intermediates suggested that decreased Chl synthesis in the cch1 mutant was not a result of increased feedback inhibition at higher light intensity. When wild-type plants were exposed to photoinhibitory light intensity for 3 h, total Chl levels decreased and both CAO mRNA and CAO protein levels were also reduced. These results indicate that CAO protein levels correlate with CAO mRNA levels, and suggest that changes in Chl b levels in vascular plants, are regulated, in part, at the CAO mRNA level.     

Phosphopantethenylated Precursor Acyl Carrier Protein Is Imported into Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) Chloroplasts

Acyl carrier protein (ACP) is an essential cofactor of fatty acid synthase. In plants, ACP is synthesized in the cytosol as a larger precursor protein and then is imported into the plastid where it is processed to a smaller mature form. The active form of ACP uses a covalently linked 4[prime]-phosphopantetheine prosthetic group derived from coenzyme A to covalently bind the acyl intermediates during fatty acid synthesis. The prosthetic group is added to ACP by holoACP synthase. This enzyme activity is associated with both the plastidial subcellular fraction and the soluble, or cytoplasmic, fraction. To gain further insight into potential in vivo pathways for the synthesis and maturation of ACP, in this study we examined whether precursor holoACP can be imported by isolated spinach (Spinacia oleracea) chloroplasts. Precursor holoACP containing a [35S]phosphopantetheine prosthetic group was prepared, and the radiolabel was used to demonstrate import of the phosphopantethenylated protein into isolated chloroplasts. In addition, timed chloroplast import assays indicated that in vitro import of the phosphopantethenylated protein is at least as efficient as import of the precursor apoprotein. Evidence was also obtained for a low level turnover of the prosthetic group among endogenous plastidial ACPs when coenzyme A was supplied exogenously.     

Differential Regulation of Histamine- and Bradykinin-Stimulated Phospholipase C in Adrenal Chromaffin Cells: Evidence for Involvement of Different Protein Kinase C Isoforms

Abstract: In this report we investigate the isoforms of protein kinase C (PKC) present in cultured adrenal chromaffin cells with respect to their modulation by treatment with phorbol ester and their possible differential involvement in the regulation of responses to histamine and bradykinin. The presence of individual isoforms of PKC was investigated by using eight isoform specific antisera, as a result of which PKC-α, ε, and ζ were identified. To characterize down-regulation of these enzymes, cells were incubated for 6–48 h with 1 µM phorbol myristate acetate (PMA). PKC-ε down-regulated more rapidly than PKC-α. At 12 h, PMA pretreatment, for example, PKC-ε was maximally down-regulated (23 ± 4% of controls), whereas PKC-α was unchanged. PKC-α showed partial down-regulation by 24 h of PMA pretreatment. PKC-ζ did not down-regulate at any of the times tested. Translocation from cytosol to membrane in response to PMA was also more rapid for PKC-ε than for PKC-α. The accumulation of total ³H-inositol (poly)phosphates in response to bradykinin or histamine was essentially abolished by prior treatment with 10-min PMA treatment (1 µM). However, with 12-h exposure to PMA, the bradykinin response was restored to the level seen with no prior PMA exposure. The histamine response showed no recovery by 12 h of PMA, but showed partial recovery by 24 h of PMA pretreatment. These observations showed that the restoration of the response to bradykinin corresponds to the loss of PKC-ε, whereas the restoration of the histamine response corresponds to the loss of PKC-α. This picture was confirmed with further studies on cytosolic Ca²⁺. The results show that chromaffin cells exhibit an unusual pattern of down-regulation of PKC isoforms on prolonged exposure to PMA, and that there is a differential effect of exposure to PMA on the histamine and bradykinin responses, suggesting that different PLC-linked receptors in chromafin cells are differentially regulated by PKC isoforms.     

Modulation of Calmodulin mRNA and Protein Levels in Barley Aleurone

Changes in calmodulin (CaM) mRNA and protein were investigated in aleurone layers of barley (Hordeum vulgare L. cv Himalaya) incubated in the presence and absence of calcium, gibberellic acid (GA3), and abscisic acid (ABA). CaM mRNA levels increased rapidly and transiently following incubation of aleurone layers in H2O, CaCl2, or GA3. The increase in CaM mRNA was prevented by ABA. This increase in CaM mRNA was brought about by physical stimulation during removal of the starchy endosperm from the aleurone layer. CaM protein levels did not increase in response to physical stimulation. Only incubation in GA3 plus CaCl2 brought about a rapid increase in CaM protein levels in the aleurone cell. ABA reduced the level of CaM protein below that found at the beginning of the incubation period. The rise in CaM protein preceded increases in the synthesis and secretion of [alpha]-amylase. Immunocytochemistry with monoclonal antibodies to carrot and mung bean CaM was used to localize CaM in aleurone protoplasts. Monoclonal antibodies to tubulin and polyclonal antibodies to tonoplast intrinsic protein and malate synthase were used as controls. CaM was localized to the nucleus, the vacuolar membrane, and the cytosol, but was not associated with microtubules.     

海洋季也蒙毕赤酵母ACP基因的克隆及生物信息学分析

酰基载体蛋白是脂肪酸途径中重要的组件,能够结合脂肪酸代谢途径中各种脂肪酰基中间体,在脂肪酸代谢中是不可或缺的辅因子。以本实验室筛选保存的海洋季也蒙毕赤酵母基因组为模板,PCR扩增酰基载体蛋白基因,获得384 bp的目的片段。生物信息学分析显示,其具有完整的开放阅读框,编码127个氨基酸,有磷酸泛酰巯基乙胺结合位点,为非分泌型亲水性蛋白,不存在信号肽,存在9个潜在的磷酸化位点,二级结构和三级结构主要以α螺旋和无规则卷曲为主,与已知的酰基载体蛋白结构有很高的相似性。