Author index for volume 219

Proteinase inhibitors I and II were purified to electrophoretic homogeneity from leaves of tomato plants induced by either wounding intact plants or by supplying excised plants with the proteinase inhibitor inducing factor. Affinity chromatography with chymotrypsin-Sepharose was employed as a final purification step for each inhibitor. The tomato leaf inhibitors are very similar to potato tuber inhibitors I and II in subunit molecular weight, composition, and inhibitory activities against chymotrypsin, trypsin, and subtilisin. However, unlike the potato tuber which contains multiple isoinhibitors by isoelectric focusing, the tomato leaf exhibits only two isoinhibitor forms of inhibitor I and a single form of inhibitor II. The molecular weight of native potato inhibitor I was reevaluated by rigorous ultracentrifugal analysis and compared with data from previous analyses. The data confirm that native inhibitor I has a native M_r of about 41,000 and is a pentamer. Inhibitor II has a molecular weight of near 23,000 and is a dimer.     

Assay and Biochemical Properties of the Proteinase Inhibitor-inducing Factor, a Wound Hormone

An assay has been developed for the proteinase inhibitor-inducing factor (PIIF), a wound hormone. PIIF is present in tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum var. Bonnie Best) leaf extracts and induces accumulation of proteinase Inhibitor I when the extracts are supplied briefly to excised leaves that are subsequently incubated in water under constant light. An active water-soluble crude PIIF solution was conveniently prepared from autoclaved and lyophilized tomato leaves. Accumulation of Inhibitor I, induced by crude PIIF, is linear, commencing at about 8 to 10 hours after feeding and continues for several hours. Evidence is presented that the PIIF-induced accumulation of Inhibitor I, determined immunologically, is accompanied by the accumulation of other trypsin and chymotrypsin inhibitors, determined enzymatically. The accumulation of Inhibitor I is inhibited by actinomycin D and cycloheximide but not by chloramphenicol or rifampin. PIIF cannot be replaced by traumatin, indoleacetic acid, gibberellic acid, kinetin, ethylene, or abscisic acid. PIIF activity was not destroyed by incubation with a number of proteolytic, carbohydrase, phosphatase, or pyrophosphatase enzymes. The active substance is insoluble in lipid solvents.     

Non-chloroplast α-1,4-glucan phosphorylase from pea leaves: characterization and in situ localization by indirect immunofluorescence

Leaf extracts of Pisum sativum L. contain three forms of α-1,4-glucan phosphorylase (EC 2.4.1.1) activity. One of these (form I) is located outside the chloroplast; the other two reside inside this organelle (Steup, M. and Latzko, E. (1979) Planta 145, 69–75). The extra-chloroplastic enzyme form, which represents the major proportion of the total extractable phosphorylase activity, was purified and characterized. Its in situ location was determined by indirect immunofluorescence performed with cryostat sections of formaldehyde-fixed leaf. By this technique the enzyme was localized in the cytoplasm of mesophyll and guard cells, whereas the other epidermal cells lacked the enzyme. In its kinetic properties, especially glucan specificity, the enzyme was very similar to the cytosolic phosphorylase from spinach leaves; it has a low affinity towards low-molecular-weight glucans but a very high affinity towards branched polysaccharides such as strach and glycogen. The immunological properties of the enzyme and its peptide pattern were determined and compared with those of other plant phosphorylase. The pea phosphorylase form I was immunologically different from the two chloroplastic phosphorylase forms, and it reacted more strongly with antibodies raised against the spinach cytosolic phosphorylase than with those directed against the spinach chloroplastic counterpart. Peptide patterns obtained after cleavage with N-chlorosuccinimide were very similar for the cytosolic spinach and pea leaf phosphorylase forms, suggesting a high degree of homology between both proteins.     

Partial purification of proteinase inhibitors from wounded tomato plants

Proteinase inhibitors were extracted from the upper leaves of tomato plants, Lycopersicon esculentum Mill., 48 hours after wounding single lower leaves. Inhibitors were partially purified by affinity chromatography and isoelectric focusing. Significantly higher levels of trypsin and chymotrypsin inhibitory activity were recovered from wounded plants than from unwounded controls. Several inhibitor peaks were partially resolved by isoelectric focusing of affinity column eluates from both wounded and control plants. Inhibitor activity associated with each peak was greater in wounded plants than in corresponding peaks of controls. Agar double diffusion immunological assays showed that inhibitors with basic isoelectric points (pI) of 9.5, 8.9, 8.3, 8.2, and 8.0 are serologically related to inhibitor I. Certain of these inhibitors (pI = 9.5, 8.2, and 8.0) reacted strongly with both inhibitors I and II antiserum. Three acidic proteinase inhibitors (pI = 6.5, 5.9, and 4.7), which accumulated due to wounding, also were isolated. These inhibitors are novel, since they were shown to be serologically unrelated to inhibitors I and II.     

Isolation and characterization of proteinase inhibitor I from etiolated tobacco leaves

Proteinase Inhibitor I was induced to accumulate in tobacco (Nicotiana tabaccum) leaves by placing plants in darkness for 10 days at 27 degrees C. The inhibitor was isolated using ammonium sulfate precipitation, Sephadex G-75 chromatography, heating, and affinity chromatography with a chymotrypsin-Sepharose column. Inhibitor I was purified 232-fold with a yield of 34 mg from 2.5 kg of leaves. Affinity-purified tobacco Inhibitor I was shown to be homogeneous by gel electrophoresis in both nondissociating and dissociating buffers. The inhibitor has a molecular weight of 39,000 +/- 1000 determined by gel filtration and, like its potato and tomato counterparts, is composed of five subunits of molecular weight 8100. The tobacco Inhibitor I strongly inhibits chymotrypsin and weakly inhibits trypsin. The chemical, physical, and immunological properties of tobacco Inhibitor I indicate that it is structurally very similar to potato tuber Inhibitor I and tomato leaf Inhibitor I, although the synthesis and accumulation of the three inhibitors in their respective tissues are all under different developmental or environmental regulation.     

Regulation of expression of a wound-inducible tomato inhibitor I gene in transgenic nightshade plants

A wound-inducible proteinase Inhibitor I gene from tomato containing 725 bp of the 5 region and 2.5 kbp of the 3 region was stably incorporated into the genome of black nightshade plants (Solanum nigrum) using an Agrobacterium Ti plasmid-derived vector. Transgenic nightshade plants were selected that expressed the tomato Inhibitor I protein in leaf tissue. The leaves of the plants contained constitutive levels of the inhibitor protein of up to 60 g/g tissue. These levels increased by a factor of about two in response to severe wounding. Only leaves and petioles exhibited the presence of the inhibitor, indicating that the gene exhibited the same tissue specificity of expression found in situ in wounded tomato leaves. Inhibitor I was extracted from leaves of wounded transformed nightshade plants and was partially purified by affinity chromatography on a chymotrypsin-Sepharose column. The affinity-purified protein was identical to the native tomato Inhibitor I in its immunological reactivity and in its inhibitory activity against chymotrypsin. The protein exhibited the same M _r of 8 kDa as the native tomato Inhibitor I and its N-terminal amino acid sequence was identical to that of the native tomato inhibitor I, indicating that the protein was properly processed in nightshade plants. These expriments are the first report of the expression of a member of the wound-inducible tomato Inhibitor I gene family in transgenic plants. The results demonstrate that the gene contains elements that can be regulated in a wound-inducible, tissuespecific manner in nightshade plants.     

Immunocharacterization of NADH-Glutamate Dehydrogenase from Vitis vinifera L

Rabbit antiserum was raised against NADH-glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) isoenzyme 1, purified from leaves of Vitis vinifera L. cv Soultanina and its specificity was tested. This antiserum was used for immunocharacterization of the GDH from leaf, shoot, and root tissues. The antiserum recognized the seven isoenzymes of NADH-GDH and precipitated all the enzyme activity from the three tissues tested. Western blot following SDS-PAGE revealed the same protein band for the three tissues, with a molecular mass of 42.5 kilodaltons corresponding to NADH-GDH subunit. Results, based on the immunological studies, revealed that NADH-GDH from leaf, shoot, and root tissues are closely related proteins. Furthermore, addition of ammonium ions to the culture medium of in vitro grown explants resulted in a significant increase in NADH-GDH activity in root, shoot, and leaf tissues.     

Differential accumulation of proteinase inhibitor I in normal and crown gall tissue of tobacco, tomato, and potato

A proteinase inhibitor (inhibitor I) is induced in crown gall tumors of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) initiated through infection with the tumorinducing bacterium, Agrobacterium tumefaciens, strains B6 or CG-14. Uninfected tissues do not contain immunologically detectable quantities of inhibitor I. Inhibitor I synthesis in tobacco crown gall tumors paralleled tumor growth at the average rate of about 4.5 μg of inhibitor I per 200 mg of fresh tissue per day. Infection of variegated tobacco mutant Dp-I with A. tumefaciens strain CG-14 produced tumors with 25% more inhibitor than tumors induced with strain B6. Unlike tobacco, tumors induced by either bacterial strain on potato (Solanum tuberosum) and on tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum) did not accumulate inhibitor I. Consequently, inhibitor I accumulation is modulated by the type of plant host used in spite of familial relatedness (Solanaceae) and the strain of A. tumefaciens used for infection.     

Trypsin inhibitor in mung bean cotyledons: purification, characteristics, subcellular localization, and metabolism

Trypsin inhibitor was purified to homogeneity from seeds of the mung bean (Vigna radiata [L.] Wilczek). The protease inhibitor has the following properties: inhibitory activity toward trypsin, but not toward chymotrypsin; isoelectric point at pH 5.05; molecular weight of 11,000 to 12,000 (sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis) or 14,000 (gel filtration); immunological cross-reactivity against extracts of black gram and black-eyed pea, but not against soybean; no inhibitory activity against vicilin peptidohydrolase, the principal endopeptidase in the cotyledons of mung bean seedlings.

The trypsin inhibitor content of the cotyledons declines in the course of seedling growth and the presence of an inactivating factor can be demonstrated by incubating crude extracts in the presence of β-mercaptoethanol. This inactivating factor may be a protease as vicilin peptidohydrolase rapidly inactivates the trypsin inhibitor. Removal of trypsin inhibitory activity from crude extracts by means of a trypsin affinity column does not result in an enhancement of protease activity in the extracts.

The intracellular localization of trypsin inhibitor was determined by fractionation of crude extracts on isopycnic sucrose gradients and by cytochemistry with fluorescent antibodies. Both methods indicate that trypsin inhibitor is associated with the cytoplasm and not with the protein bodies where reserve protein hydrolysis occurs. No convincing evidence was obtained which indicates that the catabolism of trypsin inhibitor during germination and seedling growth is causally related to the onset of reserve protein breakdown.

     

The relationship between nitrogen fixation and the production of HD from D2 by cell-free extracts of soya-bean nodule bacteroids

1. Cell-free extracts prepared from soya-bean nodule bacteroids produced HD from D₂ in the presence of dithionite, an ATP-generating system and nitrogen. 2. Crude extracts of bacteroids or of Azotobacter vinelandii showed some background D₂ exchange when any one of these was omitted. 3. Partial purification of bacteroid extracts diminished this background activity and gave increased D₂ exchange and nitrogen fixation. 4. Although increasing pN₂ stimulated both reactions, the apparent K_m (N₂) for nitrogen fixation was much higher than the apparent K_m (N₂) for D₂ exchange when partially purified bacteroid extracts were used. 5. Carbon monoxide was a competitive inhibitor of nitrogen fixation by partially purified bacteroid extracts, but D₂ exchange was inhibited in a non-competitive fashion. 6. These results are discussed in relation to the possible existence of enzyme-bound intermediates of nitrogen fixation.     

Proteinase Inhibitor-inducing Factor in Plant Leaves: A Phylogenetic Survey

Thirty-nine plant species representing 20 families from the four major divisions of plants were surveyed for the presence of proteinase inhibitor-inducing factor activity in leaves or other tissues. Tissue juices were assayed for their capacity to induce accumulation of proteinase inhibitor I in excised tomato (Lycopersico esculentum) leaves. In tissues of only 2 of the 39 species was proteinase inhibitor-inducing factor-like activity not found. The activity was absent in cabbage leaves and celery stalks. Fruiting bodies from one of three fungi genera assayed contained exceptionally large quantities of proteinase inhibitor-inducing factor-like activity. Extracts from Agraricus campestris fruiting bodies contained over 20 times more activity than tomato leaf juice. The survey confirms that substances with proteinase inhibitor-inducing factor-like activity are widespread in the plant kingdom.     

Purification and properties of a protease inhibitor from crayfish hemolymph

A protease inhibitor from the hemolymph of crayfish, Astacus astacus, has been purified by differential centrifugation, acid precipitation and preparative isoelectric focusing. The inhibitor was apparent homogenous in SDS-electrophoresis and had a molecular weight of 23,000. pI was determined to be 4.7 by isoelectric focusing. No inhibitory activity was lost when the inhibitor was incubated in a pH range of 1–11.5. The purified inhibitor was heat stable. Urea (6 m) had no effect upon the inhibitor. The inhibitor was active against subtilisin and a partly purified protease from the fungus Aphanomyces astaci. Pronase was slightly inhibited whereas trypsin, chymotrypsin, papain, Arthrobacter protease, and extracellular proteases from the fungi Aphanomyces stellatus and A. laevis were unaffected. The importance of protease inhibitors in pathogenesis between the parasitic fungus, A. astaci, and its crayfish host, A. astacus is discussed.     

Abscisic Aldehyde Is an Intermediate in the Enzymatic Conversion of Xanthoxin to Abscisic Acid in Phaseolus vulgaris L. Leaves

The enzymatic conversion of xanthoxin to abscisic acid by cell-free extracts of Phaseolus vulgaris L. leaves has been found to be a two-step reaction catalyzed by two different enzymes. Xanthoxin was first converted to abscisic aldehyde followed by conversion of the latter to abscisic acid. The enzyme activity catalyzing the synthesis of abscisic aldehyde from xanthoxin (xanthoxin oxidase) was present in cell-free leaf extracts from both wild type and the abscisic acid-deficient molybdopterin cofactor mutant, Az34 (nar2a) of Hordeum vulgare L. However, the enzyme activity catalyzing the synthesis of abscisic acid from abscisic aldehyde (abscisic aldehyde oxidase) was present only in extracts of the wild type and no activity could be detected in either turgid or water stressed leaf extracts of the Az34 mutant. Furthermore, the wilty tomato mutants, sitiens and flacca, which do not accumulate abscisic acid in response to water stress, have been shown to lack abscisic aldehyde oxidase activity. When this enzyme fraction was isolated from leaf extracts of P. vulgaris L. and added to extracts prepared from sitiens and flacca, xanthoxin was converted to abscisic acid. Abscisic aldehyde oxidase has been purified about 145-fold from P. vulgaris L. leaves. It exhibited optimum catalytic activity at pH 7.25 in potassium phosphate buffer.     

Immunological Identification of Proteinase Inhibitors I and II in Isolated Tomato Leaf Vacuoles

Proteinase inhibitor I has been identified and quantified in isolated vacuoles from tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) leaves induced to accumulate inhibitors either by wounding or by supplying excised leaves with the wound hormone, proteinase inhibitor-inducing factor. Proteinase inhibitor II was also identified in the vacuoles but not quantified. Control vacuoles were prepared from unwounded plants that did not contain inhibitors. Vacuole to leaf cell ratios of inhibitors, chlorophyll, and several vacuolar and cytoplasmic enzymes were determined. The inhibitors were found almost entirely in the vacuoles. Acid phosphatase was located in control leaf vacuoles, but was found in both vacuoles and cytoplasm in induced leaves. Carboxypeptidase, induced by wounding, was found distributed between the vacuoles and cytoplasm of induced leaves. Low vacuole to leaf cell ratios of three cytoplasmic markers, triosephosphate isomerase, catalase, and chlorophyll, indicated that the isolated vacuoles were relatively free of intact protoplasts and cell debris.     

Thiol-dependent regulation of glycerate metabolism in leaf extracts : the role of glycerate kinase in c(4) plants

We have recently reported that the activity of maize leaf glycerate kinase [EC 2.7.1.31] is regulated in vivo by the light/dark transition, possibly involving the ferredoxin/thioredoxin mechanism, and that the stimulating effect of light can be mimicked in vitro by incubation of crude leaf extract with reducing compounds (LA Kleczkowski, DD Randall 1985 Plant Physiol 79: 274-277). In the present study it was found that the time course of thiol activation of the enzyme was substantially dependent on the presence of some low molecular weight inhibitor(s) of activation found both in leaf extracts and mesophyll chloroplasts. Activity of glycerate kinase from maize as well as wheat leaves increased upon greening of etiolated plants and was correlated with the development of photosynthetic apparatus in these species. The maize enzyme was strongly activated by thiols at all stages of development from etiolated to green seedlings. Thiol activation of glycerate kinase was observed for a number of C₄ plants, notably of the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-malic enzyme type, with the strongest effect found for the enzyme from leaf extracts of maize and sorghum (10- and 8-fold activation, respectively). Among the C₃ species tested, only the enzyme from soybean leaves was affected under the same conditions (1.6-fold activation). This finding was reflected by an apparent lack of cross-reactivity between the enzyme from maize leaves and antibodies raised against purified spinach leaf glycerate kinase. We suggest that, in addition to its role as a final step of photorespiration in leaves, glycerate kinase from C₄ species may serve as a part of the facilitative diffusion system for the intercellular transport of 3-phosphoglycerate. Simultaneous operation of both the passive and the facilitative diffusion mechanisms of 3-phosphoglycerate transport in C₄ plants is postulated.     

Isolation and characterization from potato tubers of two polypeptide inhibitors of serine proteinases

Two polypeptides, isolated to electrophoretic homogeneity from Russet Burbank potato tubers, are powerful inhibitors of pancreatic serine proteinases. One of the inhibitors, called polypeptide trypsin inhibitor, PTI, has a molecular weight of 5100, and inhibits bovine trypsin. The inhibitor is devoid of methionine, histidine, and tryptophan and contains eight half-cystine residues as four disulfide bridges. The second inhibitor, polypeptide chymotrypsin inhibitor II, PCI-II, has a molecular weight of 5700 and powerfully inhibits chymotrypsin. This inhibitor is also devoid of methionine and tryptophan but it contains only six of half-cystines as three disulflde bonds. Both polypeptides strongly inhibit pancreatic elastase. In immunological double diffusion assays, polypeptide trypsin inhibitor and polypeptide chymotrypsin inhibitor II exhibit a high degree of immunological identity (a) with each other, (b) with a polypeptide chymotrypsin inhibitor (PCI-I, M_r 5400) previously isolated from potato tubers, and (c) with inhibitor II, a larger (monomer M_r ~ 12,000) inhibitor of both trypsin and chymotrypsin which has also been previously isolated from potato tubers. The four polypeptide proteinase inhibitors now isolated from Russet Burbank potato tubers cumulatively inhibit all five major intestinal digestive endo- and exoproteinases of animals. The inhibitors are thought to be antinutrients that are present as part of the natural chemical defense mechanisms of potato tubers against attacking pests.     

Isolation and Characterization of Hydroxyproline-Rich Glycopeptide Signals in Black Nightshade Leaves

A gene encoding a preprohydroxyproline-rich systemin, SnpreproHypSys, was identified from the leaves of black nightshade (Solanum nigrum), which is a member of a small gene family of at least three genes that have orthologs in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum; NtpreproHypSys), tomato (Solanum lycopersicum; SlpreproHypSys), petunia (Petunia hybrida; PhpreproHypSys), potato (Solanum tuberosum; PhpreproHypSys), and sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas; IbpreproHypSys). SnpreproHypSys was induced by wounding and by treatment with methyl jasmonate. The encoded precursor protein contained a signal sequence and was posttranslationally modified to produce three hydroxyproline-rich glycopeptide signals (HypSys peptides). The three HypSys peptides isolated from nightshade leaf extracts were called SnHypSys I (19 amino acids with six pentoses), SnHypSys II (20 amino acids with six pentoses), and SnHypSys III (20 amino acids with either six or nine pentoses) by their sequential appearance in SnpreproHypSys. The three SnHypSys peptides were synthesized and tested for their abilities to alkalinize suspension culture medium, with synthetic SnHypSys I demonstrating the highest activity. Synthetic SnHypSys I was capable of inducing alkalinization in other Solanaceae cell types (or species), indicating that structural conformations within the peptides are recognized by the different cells/species to initiate signal transduction pathways, apparently through recognition by homologous receptor(s). To further demonstrate the biological relevance of the SnHypSys peptides, the early defense gene lipoxygenase D was shown to be induced by all three synthetic peptides when supplied to excised nightshade plants.     

The Lectins of Sophora japonica: I. Purification Properties and N-Terminal Amino Acid Sequences of Two Lectins from Leaves

Two lectins, Leaf Lectin I and Leaf Lectin II (LLI and LLII) were purified from the leaves of Sophora japonica. Like the Sophora seed lectin, LLI and LLII are tetrameric glycoproteins containing a single subunit with respect to size. The subunits of LLI (32 kilodaltons) and LLII (34 kilodaltons) are slightly larger than those of the seed lectin (29.5 kilodaltons). The three Sophora lectins display indistinguishable specificities, amino acid compositions, specific hemagglutinin activities, and extinction coefficients. Although very closely related to the seed lectin, the leaf and seed lectins are not immunologically identical and they differ in subunit molecular weights, carbohydrate content, and in the pH sensitivity of their hemagglutinin activities. N-terminal amino acid sequence analysis shows that although they are homologous proteins, the three Sophora lectins are products of distinct genes.     

A trypsin and chymotrypsin inhibitor from seeds of Bauhenia purpurea

A trypsin and chymotrypsin inhibitor was partially purified from Bauhenia purpurea seeds and separated from a second inhibitor by Ecteola cellulose chromatography. The factor inhibited bovine trypsin and chymotrypsin as well as pronase trypsin and elastase. It formed a complex with trypsin and with chymotrypsin, but a ternary complex could not be detected. Differences were detected in the effect on trypsin and on chymotrypsin, although one enzyme interfered with the inhibition of the other. The results obtained point to two active centers on the inhibitor for the trypsin and chymotrypsin inhibition such that the one cannot complex with the inhibitor after this inhibitor had complexed with the other.     

Occurrence and some properties of carbonic anhydrases from legume root nodules

Carbonic anhydrase activity (hydration of CO₂ was found in homogenates of leaves (116–500 units.mg^?1 protein) and root nodules (27–255 units.mg^?1 protein) from 8 legume genera inoculated in each case with a host specific Rhizobium. No enzyme, or only trace amounts (2–7 units.mg^?1 protein), were detected in root extracts, The enzymatic activity was inhibited in all cases by azide and acetazolamide. The sizes of nodule and leaf carbonic anhydrases, estimated by gel filtration of partially purified preparations from Phaseolus vulgaris, were around 45 000 and 205 000 respectively. These enzymes also differed in sensitivity to inhibitors. More than 99% of the activity present in Vicia faba nodules was recovered as a soluble enzyme and only a trace was located in the isolated bacteroids.