Inhibition of gibberellin biosynthesis by paclobutrazol in cell-free homogenates ofCucurbita maxima endosperm andMalus pumila embryos

The plant growth retardant paclobutrazol, (PP333) (2RS, 3RS)-1-(4-chlorophenyl)-4,4-dimethyl-2-(1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)pentan-3-ol, inhibits specifically the three steps in the oxidation of the gibberellin-precursorent-kaurene toent-kaurenoic acid in a cell-free system fromCucurbita maxima endosperm. The KI₅₀ for this inhibition is 2×10^–8 M. The KI₅₀ values for the separated2S, 3S, and2R, 3R enantiomers of paclobutrazol in this system are 2×10^–8 M and 7×10^–7 M, respectively. A cell-free preparation from immatureMalus pumila embryos convertsent-kaurene to gibberellin A₉, whereas no conversion occurs in a similar preparation fromMalus endosperm. The conversion ofent-kaurene by the embryo preparation is inhibited by paclobutrazol with KI₅₀ values for the2S,3S and2R,3R enantiomers of 2×10^–8 M and 6×10^–8 M, respectively.     

Separation and characterisation of three 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases from Cucurbita maxima L. endosperm involved in gibberellin biosynthesis

Three enzymes of the gibberellin (GA) biosynthetic pathway, a 7-oxidase, a 20-oxidase and a 3-hydroxylase, were partially purified from Cucurbita maxima endosperm by ammonium sulfate precipitation, gel-filtration and anion-exchange chromatography. The enzyme activities, which were assayed by the oxidation of GA₁₂-aldehyde to GA₁₂, of GA₁₂ to GA₁₅ (and GA₂₄) and of GA₁₅ to GA₃₇, respectively, were completely separated from each other. The apparent molecular masses as estimated by gel-filtration high-performance liquid chromatography were 34.5 kDa for the 7-oxidase, 44.5 kDa for the 20-oxidase and 58 kDa for the 3-hydroxylase. The Michaelis-Menten constants (K _m) were 8.6 M, 0.15M and 8.7 M for the respective substrates. All three enzymes had properties typical of 2-oxoglutarate dependent dioxygenases. 2-Oxoglutarate was essential for activity and served as a co-substrate, giving K _m values of 6.1 M, 91 M and 41 M with the 7-oxidase, 20-oxidase and 3-hydroxylase, respectively. Furthermore, 2 oxo[5-¹⁴C]glutarate was oxidised stoichiometrically to [¹⁴C]succinate when the GA-substrates were oxidised to their respective products, and the 11 ratio was maintained under different oxygen concentrations. Approximately equimolar amounts of ¹⁴CO₂ were released from 2-oxo[1-¹⁴C]glutarate when GA₁₂ was oxidised to GA_15/24 by the 20-oxidase. A crude enzyme preparation containing all three enzyme activities (and a 2-hydroxylase) converted GA₁₂-aldehyde to [¹⁸O₂]GA₄ and [¹⁸O₅]GA₄₃ under ¹⁸O₂, showing that all O-atoms incorporated after GA₁₂-aldehyde originate from O₂. Accordingly, the reaction rates were near zero under anaerobic conditions, although very low concentrations of O₂ sufficed to sustain the reactions. Both Fe²⁺ and dithiothreitol stimulated the enzyme activities strongly, but if they were added together, catalase was needed to prevent inhibition. The pH dependence showed two opposite trends; the 7-oxidase was most active at pH 6 and below, whereas the other enzymes were maximally active above pH 6.5.Abbreviations BSA bovine serum albumin - GA_n gibberellin A_n - DTT dithiothreitol - GC-MS combined gas chromatography-mass spectrometry - MeTMSi methyl ester trimethylsilyl ether We thank Mr. Keith Hall (Long Ashton) for assistance with the oxygen concentration measurements and Mrs. Gudrun Bodtke (Göttingen) and Mrs. Brigitte Schattenberg (Göttingen) for able technical assistance. The work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Germany, and the Agricultural and Food Research Council, UK, and by an Academic Research Collaboration award jointly from the Deutsche Akademische Austauschdienst (DAAD) and the British Council.     

Influence of an inhibitor of gibberellin biosynthesis, paclobutrazol, on apple seed gibberellin content

Tissue-culture-propagated own-rooted cv. Spartan apple trees (Malus domestica Borkh.) planted in 1979 were treated in 1983 and 1985 via a soil-line trunk drench with the plant growth retardant paclobutrazol [(2RS, 3RS)-1-(4-chlorophenyl)-4.4-dimethyl-2-(1,2, 4-triazol-1-yl) pentan-3-ol]. Seeds of immature fruits from untreated and treated trees were sampled in 1989 ca 75 days after full bloom. After seeds were freeze-dried, gibberellins (GAs) were extracted, purified and fractionated via C₁₈ reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Gibberellins A₁, A₃, A₄, A₇, A₈, A₉, A₁₅, A₁₇, A₁₉, A₂₀, A₂₄, A₃₄, A₃₅, A₄₄, A₅₁, A₅₃, A₅₄, A₆₁, A₆₂, A₆₃ and A₆₈ were identified by using C₁₈ HPLC, gas chromatography-selected ion monitoring and Kovats retention indices. Eight of the GAs identified were also quantified by using deuterated internal standards. The paclobutrazol applications caused a 55% reduction of vegetative shoot elongation in 1989, but both treated and untreated trees had developed a biennial bearing pattern by that time (heavy bloom or “on year’in 1989). Levels of early 13-hydroxylation pathway GAs, viz. GA₅₃, GA₁₉, GA₂₀, GA₁ and also GA₃, were not altered by treatment. However, GA₄, GA₇ and GA₉ were increased 13.4, 6.5 and 3.8 times, respectively, in seeds of fruit from treated compared to untreated trees.     

Translocation of paclobutrazol, a gibberellin biosynthesis inhibitor, in apple seedlings

The [(2RS,3RS)-1-(4-chlorophenyl)-4,4-dimethyl-2-(1,2,4-triazol-1- yl)-pentan-3-ol] (paclobutrazol, PP333) measured in apple seedlings (`York Imperial' Malus domestica Borkh) was confirmed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Data showed that paclobutrazol was taken up through roots and transported primarily in the xylem through the stems and accumulated in leaves. No detectable basipetal movement of paclobutrazol in apple seedlings was found.     

Gibberellin biosynthesis in cell-free extracts from developing Cucurbita maxima embryos and the identification of new endogenous gibberellins

Gibberellin (GA) biosynthetic pathways from GA₁₂-aldehyde, GA₁₂ and GA₅₃ were investigated in cell-free systems from developing embryos of Cucurbita maxima L. Gibberellin A₁₂-aldehyde and GA₁₂ were converted to GA₂₅, putative 12α-hydroxyGA₂₅, GA₁₃ and GA₃₉ as main products. Minor products were GA₄, GA₃₄ and, when GA₁₂ was the substrate, putative 12α-hydroxyGA₁₂. The intermediates GA₁₅ and GA₂₄ accumulated at low protein concentrations. The influence of various factors on GA₁₂ metabolism was examined. At low 2-oxoglutarate and ascorbate concentrations, or at acid pH, 3β-hydroxylated products predominated, whereas with increasing 2-oxoglutarate and ascorbate concentrations, or at neutral pH, the yield of 12α-hydroxylated GAs increased. Gibberellin A₅₃ was metabolised mainly to the C₂₀-GAs GA₄₄, GA₁₉, GA₁₇, GA₂₃ and GA₂₈, with the C₁₉-GAs GA₂₀, GA₁ and GA₈ as minor products. Only C₁₉-GAs were 2β-hydroxylated, which is a main characteristic of the embryo systems. In addition to GA₁₃, GA₂₅, GA₃₉, GA₄₃, GA₄₉, GA₅₈, GA₇₄, 12α-hydroxyGA₂₅ and GA₃₉ 3-isovalerate, which were known previously from embryos of C. maxima, GA₁, GA₄, GA₁₇, GA₂₈, GA₃₇, GA₃₈, GA₄₈, GA₈₅, 12α-hydroxyGA₃₇ and putative 12α-hydroxyGA₄₃ were identified as endogenous components by full-scan capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and Kovats retention indices. Evidence for putative 2β-hydroxyGA₂₈ and GA₂₃ was also obtained but it was less conclusive because of contamination.     

The effect of the endosperm on the formation of gibberellin by barley embryos

Summary It has been shown that the scuttellum of germinating barley embryos synthesises gibberellin in intact grains or when detached from the endosperm, but not when attached to the endosperm if the axis is removed. Evidence is given to support the hypothesis that the inhibition of gibberellin synthesis is caused by a disturbance of sugar metabolism.     

Inhibition of eukaryotic cell-free protein synthesis by thionins from wheat endosperm

Thionins are polypeptide toxins of about 5000 molecular weight, present in the endosperms of many Gramineae, which modify membrane permeability and inhibit macromolecular synthesis in cultured mammalian cells. Evidence is presented that they inhibit in vitro protein synthesis at micromolar concentrations in cell-free systems derived from wheat germ or from rabbit reticulocytes. Inhibition seems to occur by direct binding of mRNA by the toxin, as judged by the ability of thionins to mediate retention of RNA in nitrocellulose filters and by the dependence of inhibitory concentrations on the amount of exogenous RNA added to the wheat-germ translation system. Commercial preparations of wheat-germ have been found to include some endosperm contamination (up to 15%), which may result in at least partially inhibitory concentrations of the toxin in the cell-free extracts.     

Kaurenolide biosynthesis in a cell-free system from Cucurbita maxima seeds

A new product obtained by incubation of [2-¹⁴C ]-mevalonic acid with a cell-free system from Cucurbita maxima endosperm was identified by GC-MS as ent-kaura-6,16-dien-19-oic acid. When this compound was reincubated with the microsomal fraction it was converted to 7β-hydroxykaurenolide and hence to 7β,12α-dihydroxykaurenolide. The dienoic acid was also obtained by incubation of ent-kaurene, ent1-kaurenol, ent-kaurenal and ent-kaurenoic acid, but not ent-7α-hydroxykaurenoic acid, with the microsomal fraction. Thus, in the C. maxima cell-free system, the kaurenolides are formed by a pathway which branches from the GA pathway at ent-kaurenoic acid and proceeds via the dienoic acid.     

Purification and partial amino-acid sequence of gibberellin 20-oxidase from Cucurbita maxima L. endosperm

Gibberellin (GA) 20-oxidase was purified to apparent homogeneity from Cucurbita maxima endosperm by fractionated ammonium-sulphate precipitation, gel-filtration chromatography and anion-exchange and hydrophobic-interaction high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Average purification after the last step was 55-fold with 3.9% of the activity recovered. The purest single fraction was enriched 101-fold with 0.2% overall recovery. Apparent relative molecular mass of the enzyme was 45 kDa, as determined by gel-filtration HPLC and sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, indicating that GA 20-oxidase is probably a monomeric enzyme. The purified enzyme degraded on two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, giving two protein spots: a major one corresponding to a molecular mass of 30 kDa and a minor one at 45 kDa. The isoelectric point for both was 5.4. The amino-acid sequences of the amino-terminus of the purified enzyme and of two peptides from a tryptic digest were determined. The purified enzyme catalysed the sequential conversion of [¹⁴C]GA₁₂ to [¹⁴C]GA₁₅, [¹⁴C]GA₂₄ and [¹⁴C]GA₂₅, showing that carbon atom 20 was oxidised to the corresponding alcohol, aldehyde and carboxylic acid in three consecutive reactions. [¹⁴C]Gibberellin A₅₃ was similarly converted to [¹⁴C]GA₄₄, [¹⁴C]GA₁₉, [¹⁴C]GA₁₇ and small amounts of a fourth product, which was preliminarily identified as [¹⁴C]GA₂₀, a C₁₉-gibberellin. All GAs except [¹⁴C]GA₂₀ were identified by combined gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The cofactor requirements in the absence of dithiothreitol were essentially as in its presence (Lange et. al, Planta 195, 98–107, 1994), except that ascorbate was essential for enzyme activity and the optimal concentration of catalase was lower.     

Melanin biosynthesis inVerticillium dahliae: Dehydration and reduction reactions in cell-free homogenates

Cell-free homogenates and anaerobic conditions were used to study melanin biosynthesis in the imperfect fungusVerticillium dahliae Kleb. The homogenates reduced 1,3,6,8-tetrahydroxynaphthalene to scytalone and 1,3,8-trihydroxynaphthalene to vermelone. 1,3,6,8-Tetrahydroxynapthalene has not been isolated from fungi and was previously considered a hypothetical intermediate in the melanin pathway. This is the first report of its use as an exogenous melanin substrate. The enzymatic reductions required NADPH as a cofactor. The reactions were inhibited by the systemic fungicides tricyclazole (EL-291), pyroquilon (CGA-49104) and 4,5-dihydro-4-methyltetrazolo [1,5α]quinazolin-5-one (PP-389), and were eliminated by heating homogenates to 40°C for 35 minutes prior to the addition of substrate. The homogenates also enzymatically dehydrated scytalone to 1,3,8-trihydroxynaphthalene and vermelone to 1,8-dihydroxynaphthalene. The dehydration reactions did not require pyridine nucleotides, were insensitive to the systemic fungicides, and were eliminated after heating at 70°C for 35 minutes.     

Synthesis and biological activity of an azido derivative of paclobutrazol, an inhibitor of gibberellin biosynthesis

A photolabile azido derivative of the kaurene oxidase inhibitor 1-(4-chlorophenyl)-4,4-dimethyl-2-(1,2,4-triazol-l-yl) pentan-3-ol (paclobutrazol) has been synthesized for use as a photoaffinity labeling agent. The compound was tested as an inhibitor of the oxidation of ent-kaurene catalyzed by cell-free preparations from endosperm of Cucurbita maxima. The I₅₀ of the azido derivative was 9.5 nanomolar, which compares well with that of paclobutrazol (6.3 nanomolar in our measurements). The azido compound bound to Cytochrome P-450 in microsomes from Cucurbita maxima, and induced a Type II spectral change, with an apparent binding constant of 0.24±0.04 micromolar.     

Gibberellin biosynthesis from gibberellin A12-aldehyde in a cell-free system from germinating barley (Hordeum vulgare L., cv. Himalaya) embryos

Gibberellin (GA) metabolism from GA₁₂-aldehyde was studied in cell-free systems from 2-d-old germinating embryos of barley. [¹⁴C]- or [17-²H₂]Gibberellins were used as substrates and all products were identified by combined gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Stepwise analysis demonstrated the conversion of GA₁₂-aldehyde via the 13-deoxy pathway to GA₅₁ and via the 13-hydroxylation pathway to GA₂₉, GA₁ and GA₈. In addition, GA₃ was formed from GA₂₀ via GA₅. We conclude that the embryo is capable of producing gibberellins that can induce -amylase production in the aleurone layer. There was no evidence for 12- or 18-hydroxylation and GA₄ was neither synthesised nor metabolised by the system. All metabolically obtained GAs, with the exception of GA₃, were also found as endogenous components of the cell-free system in spite of ammonium-sulfate precipitation and desalting steps.Abbreviations GA_n gibberellin A_n - GC-MS combined gas chromatography-mass spectrometry - HPLC high-performance liquid chromatography We thank Mrs. G. Bodtke and Mrs. B. Schattenberg for preparing the barley embryos and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft for supporting this work.     

Observations of preferential feeding by the aphid,Rhopalosiphum maidis on abaxial phloem ofCucurbita maxima

Summary Seventy-four of 83 stylet tracks, and 20 of 22 pairs of stylets of the aphid,Rhopalosiphum maidis were observed terminating in abaxial phloem of matureCucurbita maxima leaves. These results indicate that the abaxial phloem is more important in vein loading and the export of assimilates from mature leaves than the adaxial phloem.     

The biosynthesis of 12α-hydroxylated gibberellins in a cell-free system from cucurbita maxima endosperm

A previously unknown pathway for the biosynthesis of 12α-hydroxylated gibberellins was found in a cell-free system from Cucurbita maxima endosperm. The microsome fraction converts the gibberellin precursor GA_12-aldehyde simultaneously to GA₁₂ and 12α-hydroxy-GA₁₂-aldehyde. The ratio of these products is pH-dependent: above pH 6.5, the production of GA₁₂ is favoured, whilst below pH 6.5, 12α-hydroxy-GA₁₂-aldehyde is the predominant product. 12α-Hydroxy-GA₁₂-aldehyde is converted further by soluble enzymes to 12α-hydroxy-GA₁₄, 12α-hydroxy-GA₁₅, 12α-hydroxy-GA₃₇ and several unidentified products. This conversion is optimal between pH 6.0 and 6.5 in contrast to the previously known conversion of GA₁₂-aldehyde to GA₄₃ by soluble enzymes, which is optimal at pH 7.5. GA₅₈, a major 12α-hydroxylated endogenous constituent of C. maxima endosperm, was not obtained when 12α-hydroxy-GA₁₂-aldehyde was used as a substrate, but it was obtained together with GA₄ when GA₉ was incubated with a preparation containing both microsomal and soluble enzymes.     

Sites of gibberellin biosynthesis in pea seedlings

Potential sites of gibberellin biosynthesis in 10-day-old `Alaska' pea (Pisum sativum L.) seedlings were investigated using a cell-free ezyme system capable of incorporating [¹⁴C]-mevalonic acid into ent-kaurene. In peas, ent-kaurene is assumed to be a committed intermediate in the gibberellin biosynthetic pathway. Comparative results from enzyme assays using extracts from shoot tips, leaf blades, internodes, and root tips indicate that the highest capacity for ent-kaurene (and presumably gibberellin) synthesis is in those tissues with the greatest potential for growth. The highest rates were obtained with extracts prepared from the fifth (youngest) internode, the fourth (youngest) expanded leaf, and the shoot tip itself. This report represents the first direct evidence that the enzymes responsible for early stages in gibberellin biosynthesis occur in internode tissues with potential for rapid elongation.