Molecular Characterization of Quinate and Shikimate Metabolism in Populus trichocarpa

The shikimate pathway leads to the biosynthesis of aromatic amino acids essential for protein biosynthesis and the production of a wide array of plant secondary metabolites. Among them, quinate is an astringent feeding deterrent that can be formed in a single step reaction from 3-dehydroquinate catalyzed by quinate dehydrogenase (QDH). 3-Dehydroquinate is also the substrate for shikimate biosynthesis through the sequential actions of dehydroquinate dehydratase (DQD) and shikimate dehydrogenase (SDH) contained in a single protein in plants. The reaction mechanism of QDH resembles that of SDH. The poplar genome encodes five DQD/SDH-like genes (Poptr1 to Poptr5), which have diverged into two distinct groups based on sequence analysis and protein structure prediction. In vitro biochemical assays proved that Poptr1 and -5 are true DQD/SDHs, whereas Poptr2 and -3 instead have QDH activity with only residual DQD/SDH activity. Poplar DQD/SDHs have distinct expression profiles suggesting separate roles in protein and lignin biosynthesis. Also, the QDH genes are differentially expressed. In summary, quinate (secondary metabolism) and shikimate (primary metabolism) metabolic activities are encoded by distinct members of the same gene family, each having different physiological functions.     

Partial Purification and Characterization of a Ca2+-Dependent Protein Kinase from Pea Nuclei

Almost all the Ca²⁺-dependent protein kinase activity in nuclei purified from etiolated pea (Pisum sativum, L.) plumules is present in a single enzyme that can be extracted from chromatin by 0.3 molar NaCl. This protein kinase can be further purified 80,000-fold by salt fractionation and high performance liquid chromatography, after which it has a high specific activity of about 100 picomoles per minute per microgram in the presence of Ca²⁺ and reaches half-maximal activation at about 3 ×10⁻⁷ molar free Ca²⁺, without calmodulin. It is a monomer with a molecular weight near 90,000. It can efficiently use histone III-S, ribosomal S6 protein, and casein as artificial substrates, but it phosphorylates phosvitin only weakly. Its Ca²⁺-dependent kinase activity is half-maximally inhibited by 0.1 millimolar chlorpromazine, by 35 nanomolar K-252a and by 7 nanomolar staurosporine. It is insensitive to sphingosine, an inhibitor of protein kinase C, and to basic polypeptides that block other Ca²⁺-dependent protein kinases. It is not stimulated by exogenous phospholipids or fatty acids. In intact isolated pea nuclei it preferentially phosphorylates several chromatin-associated proteins, with the most phosphorylated protein band being near the same molecular weight (43,000) as a nuclear protein substrate whose phosphorylation has been reported to be stimulated by phytochrome in a calcium-dependent fashion.     

Metabolism of Inositol(1,4,5)trisphosphate by a Soluble Enzyme Fraction from Pea (Pisum sativum) Roots

Metabolism of the putative messenger molecule d-myo-inositol(1,4,5)trisphosphate [Ins(1,4,5)P₃] in plant cells has been studied using a soluble fraction from pea (Pisum sativum) roots as enzyme source and [5-³²P]Ins(1,4,5)P₃ and [2-³H]Ins(1,4,5)P₃ as tracers. Ins(1,4,5)P₃ was rapidly converted into both lower and higher inositol phosphates. The major dephosphorylation product was inositol(4,5)bisphosphate [Ins(4,5)P₂] whereas inositol(1,4)bisphosphate [Ins(1,4)P₂] was only present in very small quantities throughout a 15 minute incubation period. In addition to these compounds, small amounts of nine other metabolites were produced including inositol and inositol(1,4,5,X)P₄. Dephosphorylation of Ins(1,4,5)P₃ to Ins(4,5)P₂ was dependent on Ins(1,4,5)P₃ concentration and was partially inhibited by the phosphohydrolase inhibitors 2,3-diphosphoglycerate, glucose 6-phosphate, and p-nitrophenylphosphate. Conversion of Ins(1,4,5)P₃ to Ins(4,5)P₂ and Ins(1,4,5,X)P₄ was inhibited by 55 micromolar Ca²⁺. This study demonstrates that enzymes are present in plant tissues which are capable of rapidly converting Ins(1,4,5)P₃ and that pathways of inositol phosphate metabolism exist which may prove to be unique to the plant kingdom.     

Purification and Characterization of a 70-Kilodalton Polyadenylate-Binding Protein from Pea (Pisum sativum)

A polyadenylate-binding protein (PABP) was purified from cell-free extracts prepared from pea seedlings (Pisum sativum) by ammonium sulfate precipitation and Affi-Gel Blue and polyadenylate-Sepharose 4B affinity chromatography. The final preparation from polyadenylate-Sepharose 4B columns contained a single 70-kilodalton polypeptide with high polyadenylate-binding activity. The purified protein was active over a broad range of ionic strengths and showed temperature and pH optima of 37°C and pH 6.5, respectively. Specificity studies indicated that the pea PABP was most active with polyadenylic acids, showed some activity with polyguanylic acid, and did not bind to polycytidylic acid. Moreover, longer polyadenylate molecules were bound more effectively than shorter ones. Because these properties are similar to PABPs isolated from other sources, we conclude that we have identified, purified, and characterized a plant PABP analogous to those described in yeast and animal systems.     

Purification and Characterization of Pea Epicotyl beta-Amylase

The most abundant β-amylase (EC 3.2.1.2) in pea (Pisum sativum L.) was purified greater than 880-fold from epicotyls of etiolated germinating seedlings by anion exchange and gel filtration chromatography, glycogen precipitation, and preparative electrophoresis. The electrophoretic mobility and relative abundance of this β-amylase are the same as that of an exoamylase previously reported to be primarily vacuolar. The enzyme was determined to be a β-amylase by end product analysis and by its inability to hydrolyze β-limit dextrin and to release dye from starch azure. Pea β-amylase is an approximate 55 to 57 kilodalton monomer with a pl of 4.35, a pH optimum of 6.0 (soluble starch substrate), an Arrhenius energy of activation of 6.28 kilocalories per mole, and a K_m of 1.67 milligrams per milliliter (soluble starch). The enzyme is strongly inhibited by heavy metals, p-chloromer-curiphenylsulfonic acid and N-ethylmaleimide, but much less strongly by iodoacetamide and iodoacetic acid, indicating cysteinyl sulfhydryls are not directly involved in catalysis. Pea β-amylase is competitively inhibited by its end product, maltose, with a K_i of 11.5 millimolar. The enzyme is partially inhibited by Schardinger maltodextrins, with α-cyclohexaamylose being a stronger inhibitor than β-cycloheptaamylose. Moderately branched glucans (e.g. amylopectin) were better substrates for pea β-amylase than less branched or non-branched (amyloses) or highly branched (glycogens) glucans. The enzyme failed to hydrolyze native starch grains from pea and glucans smaller than maltotetraose. The mechanism of pea β-amylase is the multichain type. Possible roles of pea β-amylase in cellular glucan metabolism are discussed.     

Transport and Metabolism of Indol-3yl-(Acetic Acid-2-14C) in Pea Roots

¹⁴C from indol-3-yl-(acetic acid-2-¹⁴C) (IAA-¹⁴C) was transportedin a weak but definitely polar manner through segments of youngand matured regions of pea roots. Greater quantities of ¹⁴C-labelledmaterial moved acropetally than basipetally. Up to 70 per centof radioactivity originally present in donor agar blocks wastaken up by the root segments, but only approximately 2 to 3per cent of this emerged into the receiver agar blocks. Anydifferences in uptake, transport, or binding of auxin were veryslight in the three regions of root studied. The IAA-¹⁴C wasmetabolized during passage through the root segments, yieldingtwo principal radioactive products. The identities of thesewere not determined, but they appeared to have auxin activityand may be formed spontaneously, but more slowly, in solutionsof IAA-¹⁴C. IAA-¹⁴C was transported into receiver blocks morereadily than its radioactive derivatives.     

Characterization and Partial Purification of a Ganglioside-Associated Mitogen

A nonganglioside factor(s) present in Sigma types II and III mixed bovine brain ganglioside preparations synergises with suboptimal amounts of serum to induce proliferation specifically in nondividing B 103 neuroblastoma cultures. The active substance is nondialysable and soluble in water as well as in chloroform-methanol mixtures of 1:1-4:1 (vol/vol). It is completely insoluble in ether and acetone at room temperature. Biological activity survives heating to 70 degrees C in the presence of 0.1 M HCl for 1 h as well as boiling at neutral pH. Loss of activity occurs on heating to 70 degrees C for 1 h with 1 M HCl or 1 M NaOH. The activity is insensitive to digestion with neuraminidase, trypsin, pronase, and phospholipases A2 and C. The factor cochromatographs with gangliosides on Dowex AG 50W and Sephadex G100 and is partially recovered with GM1 on DEAE-Sepharose, but may be isolated in a ganglioside-free fraction by sequential chromatography on Sephadex LH20 and silicic acid columns. The substance(s) has the properties of a water-soluble proteolipid protein, the amino acid composition being reported. It is not immunologically cross-reactive with antibodies to GM1 ganglioside or the major proteolipid protein of myelin.     

Partial Purification and Characterization of a Thermostable Actinomycete beta-Amylase

A thermostable amylase, possibly a beta-amylase from Thermoactinomyces sp. no. 2 isolated from soil, is reported. The enzyme was purified 36-fold by acetone precipitation, ion-exchange chromatography, and Sephadex G-200 gel filtration, and the molecular weight was estimated at 31,600. The enzyme was characterized by demonstration of optimum activity at 60 degrees C and pH 7 and by retention of 70% activity at 70 degrees C (30 min). It was stimulated by Mn and Fe but strongly inhibited by Hg. Maltose was the only detectable product of hydrolysis of starches and was quantitatively highest in plantain starch hydrolysate.     

Purification and Characterization of Ornithine Transcarbamylase from Pea (Pisum sativum L.)

Pea (Pisum sativum) ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) was purified to homogeneity from leaf homogenates in a single-step procedure, using δ-N-(phosphonacetyl)-l-ornithine-Sepharose 6B affinity chromatography. The 1581-fold purified OTC enzyme exhibited a specific activity of 139 micromoles citrulline per minute per milligram of protein at 37°C, pH 8.5. Pea OTC represents approximately 0.05% of the total soluble protein in the leaf. The molecular weight of the native enzyme was approximately 108,200, as estimated by Sephacryl S-200 gel filtration chromatography. The purified protein ran as a single molecular weight band of 36,500 in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. These results suggest that the pea OTC is a trimer of identical subunits. The overall amino acid composition of pea OTC is similar to that found in other eukaryotic and prokaryotic OTCs, but the number of arginine residues is approximately twofold higher. The increased number of arginine residues probably accounts for the observed isoelectric point of 7.6 for the pea enzyme, which is considerably more basic than isoelectric point values that have been reported for other OTCs.     

Purification and Partial Characterization of a Lectin from the Bark of Japanese Elderberry (Sambucus sieboldiana)

A lectin [Sambucus sieboldiana agglutinin (SSA)] was purifiedfrom the twigs of Sambucus sieboldiana by repeated affinitychromatography on fetuin-Sepharose. SSA had a molecular weight(Mr) of approximately 160 K on gel filtration and consistedof two types of subunit of which the molecular weights rangedfrom 31 to 37 K. SSA agglutinated human erythrocytes irrespectiveof their blood type and the hemagglutination was inhibited bya very low concentration of Neu5Ac(2-6)lactose, suggesting thatSSA has a carbohydrate-binding specificity similar to that ofthe lectin previously isolated from the bark of S. nigra (SNA).However, the Ouchterlony double-diffusion analysis of theselectins with an antibody raised against SSA showed that SSAwas immunologjcally related but not identical to SNA. (Received January 17, 1989; Accepted June 19, 1989)     

Purification and Characterization of a Cation-stimulated Adenosine Triphosphatase from Corn Roots

A membrane-bound, monovalent cation-stimulated ATPase from Zea mays roots has been purified to a single band on sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis. Microsomal preparations with K⁺ -stimulated ATPase activity were extracted with 1 m NaClO₄, and the solubilized enzyme was purified by chromatography on columns of n-hexyl-Sepharose, DEAE-cellulose, and Sephadex G-100 Superfine. A 500-fold purification over the activity present in the microsomes was obtained. The K⁺ -stimulated activity shows positive cooperativity with increasing KCl concentrations. The purified enzyme shows K⁺ -stimulated activity with ATP, GTP, UTP, CTP, ADP, α + β-glycerophosphate, p-nitrophenyl phosphate, and pyrophosphate as substrates. Under most conditions ATP is the best substrate. Although dicyclohexyl carbodiimide and Ca²⁺ inhibit and alkylguanidines stimulate the K⁺ -ATPase while bound to microsomes, they have no effect on the purified enzyme.     

豌豆核酮糖1,5-二磷酸羧化酶/加氧酶亚基结合蛋白的纯化及特性

用~(35)S-Met在照光下与豌豆完整叶绿体保温,显示新合成的标记的RubisCO大亚基与结合蛋白形成一复合物,经ATP处理后解离为结合蛋白亚基,同时释放出的标记的RubisCO大亚基参与了RubisCO的装配。豌豆叶片提取液经热处理,硫酸铵分部,DEAE-Sepharose fast flow和Sephacryl S-300柱层析在ND-PAGE,SDS-PAGE上显示为一条带,估计纯度达90％以上,得率比以前报道的高12倍。纯化的结合蛋白表面巯基数经测定为12±1个,总巯基数为36±1个。远紫外CD光谱具有典型的α-螺旋结构的光谱特性,α-螺旋度为39％。此外,以纯化的豌豆结合蛋白制备了多克隆抗体。琼脂糖双扩散实验显示,结合蛋白的抗体与结合蛋白产生一条沉淀线,而与豌豆的RubisCO无沉淀反应,这表明所得到的抗体是高度专一的。     

Purification and Partial Characterization of a Genetically-Defined Superoxide Dismutase (SOD-1) Associated with Maize Chloroplasts

The chloroplast-associated form of superoxide dismutase from maize (Zea mays L.) (SOD-1) has been purified by a stepwise procedure consisting of (NH₄)₂SO₄ fractionation, G-100 Sephadex gel filtration, DEAE-Sephacel chromatography, and hydroxylapatite chromatography. This procedure resulted in a single band on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels indicating that the preparation is homogeneous. The holoenzyme molecular weight was estimated at 31,000 to 33,000 by gel filtration. The subunit molecular weight of this dimeric protein was estimated at 14,500 on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels. Studies involving amino acid composition analysis, immunological cross-reactivity, in vitro subunit hybridizations, and H₂O₂ sensitivity indicate that SOD-1 differs significantly from SOD-2 and SOD-4, the other cupro-zinc forms of SOD from maize. The possible physiological role of SOD-1 within the chloroplast is discussed.     

间羟苯甲酸4－羟化酶纯化及部分性质研究

经超声破碎、硫酸铵分级沉淀、凝胶过滤、磷酸钙胶层析和离子交换层析等步骤, 从Comamonas testosteroni菌株中获得了SDS-PAGE单一条带, 相对分子质量为62×10³的间羟苯甲酸4-羟化酶比活提高21倍, 产率为30%.此酶为FAD加单氧酶, 催化间羟苯甲酸转变为3,4二羟苯甲酸.     

乳链菌肽的分离纯化和部分生物学性质

用乳酸链球菌ＳＭ５２６进行乳链菌肽的发酵生产,产量为４０～５０ｍｇ／ｌ．经中空纤维超滤器超滤,非极性大孔吸附树脂ＸＡＤ－２层析,ＣＭ－ＳｅｐｈａｄｅｘＣ－２５层析和ＳｅｐｈａｄｅｘＧ－５０层析纯化了该肽。ＳＤＳ－ＰＡＧＥ表明达均一,ＲＰ－ＨＰＬＣ表明其纯度不低于９５％。ＳＤＳ－ＰＡＧＥ测其Ｍｒ约为３６００,用ＩＥＦ测其等电点为９．５．酸性条件下稳定且抗热;对胰蛋白酶、胃蛋白酶和木瓜蛋白酶不敏感,但对α－胰凝乳酶和蛋白酶Ｋ敏感。乳链菌肽对多种革兰氏阳性菌有强烈的抑制作用;以枯草杆菌和金黄色葡萄球菌为指示菌,其作用方式是杀菌。     

Purification and Partial Characterization of a Lectin from Phaseolus vulgaris

A method is presented for the isolation of a lectin from a Brazilian cultivar of the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), through extraction in acidic (pH 4.2) medium, fractionation with ammonium sulfate, and chromatography on DEAE-cellulose. The lectin was shown to be homogeneous by gel electrophoresis and isoelectric focusing.     

虎纹捕鸟蛛毒液中透明质酸酶的纯化和部分性质的研究

用分子筛（岛津ＤＩＯＬ－１５０柱）和阳离子交换（岛津ＷＣＸ－１柱）高效液相色谱从虎纹捕鸟蛛（Ｓｅｌｅｎｏｃｏｓｍｉａｈｕｗｅｎａ）毒液中分离提纯透明质酸酶（Ｈｙａｌｕｒｏｎｉｄａｓｅ,ＥＣ３．２．１．３５）．经等电聚焦电泳为一条带,ｐＩ＝７．２．经ＳＤＳ－聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳测得分子量为４０ｋＤ,经凝胶过滤测得分子量为４０．７ｋＤ。以透明质酸为底物时在ｐＨ３．５─５．５范围内有较大活性,最适ｐＨ值为４．０;在ｐＨ４．５─６．０范围内稳定,在反应温度为３０─６０℃时有较大活性,最适温度为５０℃;对热稳定,０．１５ｍｏｌ／Ｌ的ＮａＣｌ对酶活性有一定的稳定作用．３％的肝素、５００μｍｏｌ／Ｌ的Ｈｇ~（２＋）、Ｆｅ~（２＋）、Ｃｕ~（２＋）对酶活性有明显的抑制作用。