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.     

Regulation of C4 photosynthesis: identification of a catalytically important histidine residue and its role in the regulation of pyruvate,Pi dikinase

These studies provide further information regarding the mechanism of the light/dark-mediated regulation of pyruvate,Pi dikinase in leaves. It is shown that a catalysis-linked phosphorylation of pyruvate,Pi dikinase can be demonstrated following incubation of the enzyme with [32P]phosphoenolpyruvate or [beta-32P]ATP plus Pi, that the enzyme-bound phosphate is located on a histidine residue, and that this phosphate is retained during ADP-mediated inactivation. Further evidence is provided that phosphorylation of this histidine is a prerequisite for ADP-mediated inactivation through phosphorylation of a threonine residue from the beta-phosphate of ADP. It is demonstrated that diethylpyrocarbonate (which forms a derivative with histidine residues) prevents [32P]phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent labeling (catalytic labeling) and [beta-32P]ADP-dependent labeling (inactivation labeling) of the enzyme. In addition, it is demonstrated that oxalate, an analog of pyruvate, competitively inhibits ADP-dependent inactivation with respect to ADP. The significance of these results is discussed with regard to the mechanism of regulation of pyruvate,Pi dikinase in vivo.     

Regulation of C4 photosynthesis: purification and properties of the protein catalyzing ADP-mediated inactivation and Pi-mediated activation of pyruvate,Pi dikinase

Pyruvate,Pi dikinase regulatory protein (PDRP) has been highly purified from maize leaves, and its role in catalyzing both ADP-mediated inactivation (due to phosphorylation of a threonine residue) and Pi-mediated activation (due to dephosphorylation by phosphorolysis) of pyruvate,Pi dikinase has been confirmed. These reactions account for the dark/light-mediated regulation of pyruvate,Pi dikinase observed in the leaves of C4 plants. During purification to apparent homogeneity the ratio of these two activities remained constant. The molecular weight of the native PDRP was about 180,000 at pH 8.3 and 90,000 at pH 7.5. Its monomeric molecular weight was 45,000. It was confirmed that inactive pyruvate,Pi dikinase free of a phosphate group on a catalytic histidine was the preferred substrate for activation. Michaelis constants for orthophosphate and the above form of active pyruvate,Pi dikinase were determined, as well as the mechanism of inhibition of the PDRP-catalyzed reaction by ATP, ADP, AMP, and PPi. For the inactivation reaction, Km values were 1.2 microM for the active pyruvate,Pi dikinase and 52 microM for ADP. CDP and GDP but not UDP could substitute for ADP. The inactivation reaction is inhibited by inactive pyruvate,Pi dikinase competitively with respect to both active pyruvate,Pi dikinase and ADP. Both the activation and inactivation reactions catalyzed by PDRP have a broad pH optimum between 7.8 and 8.3. The results are discussed in terms of the likely mechanism of dark/light regulation of pyruvate,Pi dikinase in vivo.     

Substrate specificity and regulation of the maize (Zea mays) leaf ADP: protein phosphotransferase catalysing phosphorylation/inactivation of pyruvate, orthophosphate dikinase.

The protein substrate specificity of the maize (Zea mays) leaf ADP: protein phosphotransferase (regulatory protein, RP) was studied in terms of its relative ability to inactivate/phosphorylate pyruvate, orthophosphate dikinase from Zea mays and the non-sulphur purple photosynthetic bacterium Rhodospirillum rubrum. The dimeric bacterial dikinase was inactivated by the maize leaf RP via phosphorylation, with a stoichiometry of approximately 1 mol of phosphate incorporated/mol of 92.7-kDa protomer. Inactivation required both ADP and ATP, with ADP being the specific donor for regulatory phosphorylation. The requirements for inactivation/phosphorylation in this heterologous system were identical with those previously established for the tetrameric maize leaf dikinase. The ADP-dependent maize leaf RP did not phosphorylate alternative protein substrates such as casein or phosvitin, and its activity was not affected by cyclic nucleotides, Ca2+ or calmodulin. The regulation of the maize leaf ADP: protein phosphotransferase was studied in terms of changes in adenylate energy charge and pyruvate concentration. The change in adenylate energy charge necessary to substantially inhibit phosphorylation of maize leaf dikinase was not suggestive of it being a physiological modulator of phosphotransferase activity. Pyruvate was a potent competitive inhibitor of regulatory phosphorylation (Ki = 80 microM), consistent with its interaction with the catalytic phosphorylated intermediate of dikinase, the true protein substrate for ADP-dependent phosphorylation/inactivation.     

Chemical modification of the bifunctional regulatory protein of maize leaf pyruvate,orthophosphate dikinase. Evidence for two distinct active sites

The active site(s) of the bifunctional regulatory protein of pyruvate,orthophosphate dikinase catalyze(s) the Pi-dependent activation (dephosphorylation) and ADP-dependent inactivation (phosphorylation) of maize leaf dikinase. The chemical modification studies of the regulatory protein active sites presented in this paper are interpreted as showing the two sites to be physically distinct. Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate and 2-nitro-5-thiocyanatobenzoate (NTCB) selectively inhibit the dikinase activating site, which is protected by the nonprotein substrate, Pi. Phenylglyoxal blocks both the activation and inactivation sites; the former is protected selectively by Pi and the latter by both the nonprotein substrate, ADP, and Pi. The Pi that protects the inactivation site is distinct from the activation substrate. Inhibition studies show Pi to be a parabolic competitive inhibitor of the ADP-dependent inactivation of dikinase, implying that besides substrate Pi, a second phosphate also binds to the regulatory protein. The above chemical modifications are not mutually exclusive; neither NTCB, 5,5'-dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoate), nor pyridoxal 5'-phosphate blocks subsequent modification of the activation site by phenylglyoxal. Similarly, prior modification with NTCB does not affect modification by pyridoxal 5'-phosphate.     

Studies on the dark/light regulation of maize leaf pyruvate, orthophosphate dikinase by reversible phosphorylation

In maize leaves, pyruvate, orthophosphate dikinase (PPDK) is deactivated in the dark and reactivated in the light. Studies in vitro using purified PPDK and a partially purified regulatory protein from maize confirmed previous reports correlating deactivation/reactivation with the reversible phosphorylation/dephosphorylation of a threonyl residue. By monitoring the stability of the exogenous 32P-labeled adenylate substrates during deactivation, we have firmly established ADP as the specific phosphate donor. In isolated maize leaf mesophyll protoplasts preilluminated with 32Pi, we observed a three- to fivefold higher PPDK activity in situ in the light, and a corresponding three- to fivefold higher level of phosphorylation of the 94-kDa PPDK protomer in the dark. HPLC-based phosphoamino acid analysis of PPDK purified from maize leaves of both light- and dark-adapted plants revealed the presence of P-serine. The inactive enzyme from dark-adapted plants (inactivated in vivo) also contained P-threonine. Total phosphate content of PPDK purified from leaves of light-adapted plants was approximately 0.5 mol/mol protomer, and 1.5 mol/mol protomer from leaves of dark-adapted plants. Since the difference between enzyme purified from light-adapted (active PPDK) and dark-adapted (inactive PPDK) plants is the presence of P-threonine in the latter, this suggests an inactivation stoichiometry in vivo of 1 mol P-threonine/mol 94-kDa protomer. These complementary studies with maize leaf PPDK in vitro, in situ, and in vivo provide convincing evidence for the dark/light regulation of this key C4-photosynthesis enzyme by reversible phosphorylation.     

Regulation of C4 photosynthesis catalytic dephosphorylation and Pi-mediated activation of pyruvate Pi dikinase

In experiments designed to test the reversibility of ADP-dependent inactivation and Pi-dependent activation of pyruvate, Pi dikinase , it was found that the preferred substrate for Pi dependent activation is the catalytically non-phosphorylated form of pyruvate, Pi dikinase . Only the second of the two partial reactions catalysed by pyruvate, Pi dikinase is inhibited when pyruvate, Pi dikinase is inactivated by ADP-dependent phosphorylation. Neither ADP-dependent inactivation nor Pi-dependent activation reactions were found to be reversible.     

Influence of Oxygen and Temperature on the Dark Inactivation of Pyruvate, Orthophosphate Dikinase and NADP-Malate Dehydrogenase in Maize

The influence of oxygen and temperature on the inactivation of pyruvate, Pi dikinase and NADP-malate dehydrogenase was studied in Zea mays. O₂ was required for inactivation of both pyruvate, Pi dikinase and NADP-malate dehydrogenase in the dark in vivo. The rate of inactivation under 2% O₂ was only slightly lower than that at 21% O₂. The in vitro inactivation of pyruvate, Pi dikinase, while dependent on adenine nucleotides (ADP + ATP), did not require O₂.

The postillumination inactivation of pyruvate, Pi dikinase in leaves was strongly dependent on temperature. As temperature was decreased in the dark, there was a lag period of increasing length (e.g. at 17°C there was a lag of about 25 minutes) before inactivation proceeded. Following the lag period, the rate of inactivation decreased with decreasing temperature. The half-time for dark inactivation was about 7 minutes at 32°C and 45 minutes at 17°C. The inactivation of pyruvate, Pi dikinase in vitro following extraction from illuminated leaves was also strongly dependent on temperature, but occurred without a lag period. In contrast, NADP-malate dehydrogenase was rapidly inactivated in leaves (half-time of approximately 3 minutes) during the postillumination period without a lag, and there was little effect of temperature between 10 and 32°C. The results are discussed in relation to known differences in the mechanism of activation/inactivation of the two enzymes.

     

Bovine spermatozoa incorporate 32Pi into ADP by an unknown pathway.

Intact ejaculated bovine sperm incorporate 32Pi into ADP to a specific activity two to three times higher than into ATP. This contrasts with other cell types where ATP specific activity is higher than that of ADP. Predominant labeling of ADP may be partially due to compartmentation of ATP, but removal of cytosolic ATP does not change the relative labeling of ADP and ATP. Dilution of extracellular 32Pi following labeling resulted in loss of 70% of label from ADP but only 50% loss from gamma-ATP at 26 min. ADP was labeled in the absence of detectable ATP in the presence of rotenone plus antimycin. Fractionation of ejaculated sperm yielded midpieces that are depleted of adenylate kinase and have coupled respiration. ATP was labeled with 32Pi, but ADP was not in midpieces. Evidence for mitochondrial substrate level phosphorylation-supported incorporation of 32Pi into nucleotides was observed for intact sperm incubated with pyruvate and inhibitors of oxidative phosphorylation, but this activity did not occur in midpieces and does not appear to explain disproportionate labeling of ADP. We conclude that labeling of ADP in intact and permeabilized cells occurs by two pathways; one involves adenylate kinase, and the other is an unknown pathway which may be independent of ATP.     

Affinity labeling of the allosteric ADP activation site of NAD-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase by 6-(4-bromo-2,3-dioxobutyl)thioadenosine 5'-diphosphate

Pig heart NAD-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase is allosterically activated by ADP which reduces the Km of isocitrate. The new ADP analogue 6-(4-bromo-2,3-dioxobutyl)thioadenosine 5'-diphosphate (BDB-TADP) reacts irreversibly with the enzyme at pH 6.1 and 25 degrees C, causing a rapid loss of the ability of ADP to increase the initial velocity of assays conducted at low isocitrate concentrations and a slower inactivation measured using saturating isocitrate concentrations. The rate constant for loss of ADP activation exhibits a nonlinear dependence on BDB-TADP concentration; in the presence of 0.2 mM MnSO4, KI for the reversible enzyme-reagent complex is 0.069 mM with kmax at saturating reagent concentrations equal to 0.031 min-1. For reaction at the site causing overall inactivation, KI for the initial reversible enzyme-reagent complex is estimated to be 0.018 mM with kmax = 0.0083 min-1 in the presence of 0.2 mM MnSO4. Total protection against both reactions is provided by 1 mM ADP plus 0.2 mM MnSO4 or by 0.1 mM ADP plus 0.2 mM MnSO4 plus 0.2 mM isocitrate, but not by NAD, ATP, or ADP plus EDTA. The BDB-TADP thus appears to modify two distinct metal-dependent ADP-binding sites. Incubation of isocitrate dehydrogenase with 0.14 mM BDB-[beta-32P]TADP at pH 6.1 in the presence of 0.2 mM MnSO4 results in incorporation of 0.81 mol of reagent/mol of average subunit when the ADP activation is completely lost and the enzyme is 68% inactivated. The time-dependent incorporation is consistent with the postulate that covalent reaction of 0.5 mol of BDB-TADP/mol of average enzyme subunit causes complete loss of ADP activation, while reaction with another 0.5 mol of BDB-TADP would lead to total inactivation. The enzyme is composed of three distinct subunits in the approximate ratio 2 alpha:1 beta:1 gamma. The distribution of BDB-[beta-32P]TADP incorporated into modified enzyme is 63:30:7% for alpha:beta:gamma throughout the course of the reaction. These results indicate the 6-(4-bromo-2,3-dioxobutyl)thioadenosine 5'-diphosphate functions as an affinity label of two types of potential metal-dependent ADP sites of NAD-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase and that these allosteric sites are present on two (alpha and beta) of the enzyme's three types of subunits.     

Investigations of the partial reactions catalyzed by pyruvate phosphate dikinase

The kinetic mechanism of pyruvate phosphate dikinase (PPDK) from Bacteroides symbiosus was investigated with several different kinetic diagnostics. Initial velocity patterns were intersecting for AMP/PPi and ATP/Pi substrate pairs and parallel for all other substrate pairs. PPDK was shown to catalyze [14C]pyruvate in equilibrium phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) exchange in the absence of cosubstrates, [14C]AMP in equilibrium ATP exchange in the presence of Pi/PPi but not in their absence, and [32P]Pi in equilibrium PPi exchange in the presence of ATP/AMP but not in their absence. The enzyme was also shown, by using [alpha beta-18O, beta, beta-18O2]ATP and [beta gamma-18O, gamma, gamma, gamma-18O3]ATP and 31P NMR techniques, to catalyze exchange in ATP between the alpha beta-bridge oxygen and the alpha-P nonbridge oxygen and also between the beta gamma-bridge oxygen and the beta-P nonbridge oxygen. The exchanges were catalyzed by PPDK in the presence of Pi but not in its absence. These results were interpreted to support a bi(ATP,Pi) bi(AMP,PPi) uni(pyruvate) uni(PEP) mechanism. AMP and Pi binding order was examined by carrying out dead-end inhibition studies. The dead-end inhibitor adenosine 5'-monophosphorothioate (AMPS) was found to be competitive vs AMP, noncompetitive vs PPi, and uncompetitive vs PEP. The dead-end inhibitor imidodiphosphate (PNP) was found to be competitive vs PPi, uncompetitive vs AMP, and uncompetitive vs PEP. These results showed that AMP binds before PPi. The ATP and Pi binding order was studied by carrying out inhibition, positional isotope exchange, and alternate substrate studies.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Activation and inactivation of an enzyme catalyzed by a single, bifunctional protein: a new example and why

Recent studies have shown that the light-dark mediated regulation of the leaf photosynthetic enzyme pyruvate, Pi dikinase results from interconversion between an active nonphosphorylated form of the enzyme and an inactive form phosphorylated on a threonine residue. These phosphorylation and dephosphorylation reactions are apparently catalyzed by a single protein termed the pyruvate, Pi dikinase regulatory protein and, notably, both reactions are mechanistically unique. We consider the evidence that this regulatory protein belongs to a group of unusual bifunctional enzymes that catalyze opposing reactions, apparently at separate catalytic sites on the same polypeptide. In three of the four known cases these bifunctional enzymes interconvert the active and inactive forms of another enzyme. The possible advantages of such opposing reactions being catalyzed by the same protein are considered.     

Control of pyruvate dehydrogenase activity in intact cardiac mitochondria. Regulation of the inactivation and activation of the dehydrogenase.

The control of pyruvate dehydrogenase activity by inactivation and activation was studied in intact mitochondria isolated from rabbit heart. Pyruvate dehydrogenase could be completely inactivated by incubating mitochondria with ATP, oligomycin, and NaF. This loss in dehydrogenase activity was correlated with the incorporation of 32P from [gamma-32P]ATP into mitochondrial protein(s) and with a decrease in the mitochondrial oxidation of pyruvate. ATP may be supplied exogenously, generated from endogenous ADP during oxidative phosphorylation, or formed from exogenous ADP in carbonyl cyanid p-trifluoromethoxyphenylhydrazone-uncoupled mitochondria. With coupled mitochondria the concentration of added ATP required to half-inactivate the dehydrogenase was 0.24 mM. With uncoupled mitochondria the apparent Km was decreased to 60 muM ATP. Inactivation of pyruvate dehydrogenase by exogenous ATP was sensitive to atractyloside, suggesting that pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase acts internally to the atractyloside-sensitive barrier. The divalent cation ionophore, A23187, enhanced the loss of dehydrogenase activity. Pyruvate dehydrogenase activity is regulated additionally by pyruvate, inorganic phosphate, and ADP. Pyruvate, in the presence of rotenone, strongly inhibited inactivation. This suggests that pyruvate facilitates its own oxidation and that increases in pyruvate dehydrogenase activity by substrate may provide a modulating influence on the utilization of pyruvate via the tricarboxylate cycle. Inorganic phosphate protected the dehydrogenase from inactivation by ATP. ADP added to the incubation mixture together with ATP inhibited the inactivation of pyruvate dehydrogenase. This protection may result from a direct action on pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase, as ADP competes with ATP, and an indirect action, in that ADP competes with ATP for the translocase. It is suggested that the intramitochondrial [ATP]:[ADP] ratio effects the kinase activity directly, whereas the cytosolic [ATP]:[ADP] ratio acts indirectly. Mg2+ enhances the rate of reactivation of the inactivated pyruvate dehydrogenase presumably by accelerating the rate of dephosphorylation of the enzyme. Maximal activation is obtained with the addition of 0.5 mM Mg2+..     

Role of Metabolites in the Reversible Light Activation of Pyruvate, Orthophosphate Dikinase in Zea mays Mesophyll Cells in Vivo

Whole leaf and mesophyll cell concentrations of pyruvate, phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP), ATP, and ADP were determined in Zea mays during the reversible light activation of pyruvate, orthophosphate dikinase in vivo. Mesophyll cell levels of the four metabolites were estimated by extrapolation from values in freeze-quenched leaf samples that were fractionated by differential filtration through nylon mesh nets (adapted from M Stitt, HW Heldt [1985] Planta 164: 179-188). During the 3 minutes required for complete light activation of dikinase, pyruvate levels in the mesophyll cell decreased (from 166 ± 15 to 64 ± 10 nanomoles per milligram of chlorophyll [nmol/mg Chl]) while PEP levels increased (from 31 ± 4 to 68 ± 4 nmol/mg Chl, with a transient burst of 133 ± 16 nmol/mg Chl at 1 minute). Mesophyll cell levels of ATP increased (from 22 ± 4 to 48 ± 3 nmol/mg Chl) and ADP levels decreased (from 16 ± 4 to 7 ± 6 nmol/mg Chl) during the first minute of illumination. Upon darkening of the leaf and inactivation of dikinase, pyruvate levels initially increased in the mesophyll (from 160 ± 30 to a maximum of 625 ± 40 nmol/mg Chl), and then slowly decreased to about the initial value in the light over an hour. PEP levels dropped (from 176 ± 5 to 47 ± 3 nmol/mg Chl) in the first 3 minutes and remained low for the remainder of the dark period. Mesophyll levels of ATP and ADP rapidly decreased and increased, respectively, about twofold upon darkening. The trends observed for these metabolite levels in the mesophyll cell during the light/dark regulation of pyruvate, orthophosphate dikinase activity suggest that pyruvate and PEP do not play a major role in vivo in regulating the extent of light activation (dephosphorylation) or dark inactivation (ADP-dependent threonyl phosphorylation) of dikinase by its bifunctional regulatory protein. While the changes in ADP levels appear qualitatively consistent with a regulatory role for this metabolite in the light activation and dark inactivation of dikinase, they are not of a sufficient magnitude to account completely for the tenfold change in enzyme activity observed in vivo.     

Dephosphorylation of L-pyruvate kinase during rat liver hepatocyte isolation

In isolated rat liver cells, the inhibition of L-pyruvate kinase (L-PK) by a cyclic AMP-dependent phosphorylation mechanism is involved in the hormonal control of glycolysis and gluconeogenesis. The aim of this study was to ascertain whether or not the in vivo phosphorylation state of the enzyme was maintained during the liver perfusion used to prepare isolated liver cells. When the L-PK phosphorylation state was studied indirectly in liver extracts by kinetic measurement, it was found that, during the perfusion, the S0.5 of phosphoenol pyruvate (PEP) for L-PK was decreased in a time-dependent manner from 1 +/- 0.08 to 0.64 +/- 0.1 mM (P less than 0.01) and 0.58 +/- 0.06 mM in liver cells. This shift was prevented only by the addition of glucagon to the perfusion medium. The extent of phosphorylation of L-PK was also estimated by incubation of the liver extract with [gamma-32P]ATP, protein kinase, and cyclic AMP, and measurement of 32Pi incorporated in L-PK by specific immunoprecipitation. In liver extracts removed at the beginning of the perfusion, 0.4 mol Pi/mol L-PK was incorporated and there was no stimulation by cyclic AMP. In contrast, in the liver extracts removed after 30 min of perfusion, cyclic AMP stimulated 32P incorporation two to threefold, and 1.6 mol Pi/mol L-PK was incorporated. These data suggest that L-PK was activated by a dephosphorylation mechanism during rat liver perfusion. This phenomenon could be involved in the classical inactivation of gluconeogenesis observed in the perfused rat liver model.     

Protein phosphorylation as a mechanism for regulation of spinach leaf sucrose-phosphate synthase activity

Studies were conducted to determine whether protein phosphorylation may be a mechanism for regulation of spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) leaf sucrose-phosphate synthase (SPS), shown previously to be light-dark regulated by some type of covalent modification. Radioactive phosphate was incorporated into the 120-kDa subunit of SPS during labeling of excised leaves with [32P]Pi, as shown by immunoprecipitation and denaturing gel electrophoresis of the enzyme. Conditions which activated the enzyme (illumination of leaves or mannose treatment of leaf discs in darkness) reduced the incorporation of radiolabel into SPS in the in vivo system. The partially purified SPS protein could also be phosphorylated in vitro using [gamma-32P]ATP. In the in vitro system, the incorporation of radiolabel into the 120-kDa subunit of SPS was dependent on time and magnesium concentration, and was closely paralleled by inactivation of the enzyme. These results provide the first evidence to establish protein phosphorylation as a mechanism for the covalent regulation of SPS activity.     

Synthesis of oxalyl phosphate and processing of the acyl phosphate by phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent enzymes

The mixed anhydride of oxalic and phosphoric acids, oxalyl phosphate, has been prepared by reaction of oxalyl chloride and inorganic phosphate in aqueous solution. The product was purified by anion exchange chromatography and characterized by 31P and 13C NMR. This acyl phosphate has a half-life of 51 h at pH 5.0 and 4 degrees C. Oxalyl phosphate, an analogue of phosphoenolpyruvate, is a slow substrate for pyruvate kinase, undergoing an enzyme-dependent phosphotransfer reaction to produce ATP from ADP. Oxalyl phosphate substitutes for phosphoenolpyruvate in the reaction catalyzed by pyruvate, phosphate dikinase. The acyl phosphate reacts with the free enzyme to give the phosphorylated form of the enzyme. Removal of the potent product inhibitor, oxalate, from the reaction mixtures by gel filtration chromatography permitted further reaction of the phosphorylated enzyme with pyrophosphate and AMP to give ATP and Pi in a single turnover assay. Oxalyl phosphate also served as a phospho group donor in a partial reaction catalyzed by phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase wherein GDP is phosphorylated at the expense of oxalyl phosphate.     

In vitro phosphorylation of maize leaf phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase

Autoradiography of total soluble maize (Zea mays) leaf proteins incubated with ³²P-labeled adenylates and separated by denaturing electrophoresis revealed that many polypeptides were phosphorylated in vitro by endogenous protein kinase(s). The most intense band was at 94 to 100 kilodaltons and was observed when using either [γ-³²P]ATP or [β-³²P]ADP as the phosphate donor. This band was comprised of the subunits of both pyruvate, Pi dikinase (PPDK) and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPCase). PPDK activity was previously shown to be dark/light-regulated via a novel ADP-dependent phosphorylation/Pi-dependent dephosphorylation of a threonyl residue. The identity of the acid-stable 94 to 100 kilodalton band phosphorylated by ATP was established unequivocally as PEPCase by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and immunoblotting. The phosphorylated amino acid was a serine residue, as determined by two-dimensional thin-layer electrophoresis. While the in vitro phosphorylation of PEPCase from illuminated maize leaves by an endogenous protein kinase resulted in a partial inactivation (~25%) of the enzyme when assayed at pH 7 and subsaturating levels of PEP, effector modulation by l-malate and glucose-6-phosphate was relatively unaffected. Changes in the aggregation state of maize PEPCase (homotetrameric native structure) were studied by nondenaturing electrophoresis and immunoblotting. Enzyme from leaves of illuminated plants dissociated upon dilution, whereas the protein from darkened tissue did not dissociate, thus indicating a physical difference between the enzyme from light- versus dark-adapted maize plants.     

Adenine Nucleotide Levels, the Redox State of the NADP System, and Assimilatory Force in Nonaqueously Purified Mesophyll Chloroplasts from Maize Leaves under Different Light Intensities

Recently, a nonaqueous fractionation method of obtaining highly purified mesophyll chloroplasts from maize leaves was established. This method is now used to determine adenine nucleotide levels, the redox states of the NADP system, Pi levels and dihydroxyacetone phosphate/3-phosphoglycerate ratios in mesophyll chloroplasts of Zea mays L. leaves under different light intensities. The sum of the ATP, ADP, and AMP levels was estimated to be 1.4 millimolar and the ATP/ADP ratio was 1 in the dark and 2.5 to 4 in the light. The adenine nucleotides were equilibrated by adenylate kinase. The total concentration of NADP(H) in the chloroplasts was 0.3 millimolar in the dark and 0.48 millimolar in the light. The ratio of NADPH/NADP was 0.1 to 0.18 in the dark and 0.23 to 0.48 in the light. The Pi level was estimated to be 20 millimolar in the dark and 10 to 17 millimolar in the light. The 3-phosphoglycerate reducing system was under thermodynamic equilibrium in the light. The calculated assimilatory forces were 8 per molar and 40 to 170 per molar in the dark and the light, respectively. There was no relationship between the degree of activation of pyruvate, Pi dikinase, and adenylate energy charge, or ATP/ADP ratio or ADP level under various light intensities. Only a weak relationship was found between the degree of activation of NADP-malate dehydrogenase and the NADPH/NADP ratio or NADP(H) level with increasing light intensity. A possible regulatory mechanism which is responsible for the regulation of activation of pyruvate,Pi dikinase and NADP-malate dehydrogenase is discussed.     

Characterization of the kinase activity of bovine adrenal pyruvate dehydrogenase complex

In the presence of [gamma-32P]ATP the bovine adrenal pyruvate dehydrogenase complex accepts the label simultaneously and becomes inactivated. This suggests the existence of kinase in the composition of the complex as is typical of the complexes from other animal sources. The Pi is incorporated into the subunit with molecular weight of 42 000. The kinase activity of the adrenal pyruvate dehydrogenase complex is high: within the first 20 sec of incubation with ATP the inactivation is as high as 60%. The pH optimum for kinase is around 7.3. The apparent Km value for ATP with 50 mM KCl is 7 microM; that in the absence of KCl is 10 microM. ADP is a competitive inhibitor of kinase with respect to ATP (Ki = 100 microM), when K+ are present in the medium. Thiamine pyrophosphate and pyruvate decrease the rate of pyruvate dehydrogenase complex inactivation.