Cell wall glycoproteins and polysaccharides of mature runner beans

A novel use of chlorite-HOAc treatment (delignification procedure) for the isolation of hydroxyproline (HP) rich “glycoproteins” from the depectinated cell wall material of mature runner beans is described. This procedure can be used for the isolation of wall proteins even from heavily lignified tissues. Its main disadvantage is that some of the constituent amino acids are either destroyed or modified; the nature of these changes was studied using gelatine, lysozyme and “cytoplasmic proteins” of mature beans. The main amino acids to be affected were tyrosine, cystine, methionine and lysine. The chlorite-HOAc solubilized proteins were separated by PhOH-H₂O fractionation into two distinct “glycoprotein fractions”. The major fraction (isolated from the aqueous layer) contained most of the HP of the solubilized proteins. The sugars obtained on hydrolysis of both “glycoproteins” were galactose, arabinose, glucose, xylose, rhamnose and uronic acid. Most of the proteins remaining in the holocellulose could readily be extracted with cold alkali and were relatively poor in HP.     

Water-soluble polysaccharides of Opuntia ficus-indica cv “Burbank's Spineless”

Carbohydrate-containing polymers have been extracted with water from the fleshy, lobed stems of Opuntia ficus-indica cv “Burbank's Spineless”. By ion exchange chromatography, the material was separated into one neutral and two acidic fractions. Each fraction was separated in two by gel filtration. The neutral fractions consisted of two glucans and a glycoprotein, containing arabinose and galactose. All four acidic fractions contained galacturonic acid, arabinose, rhamnose, galactose and xylose in different proportions. The cell wall structure of O. ficus-indica is discussed.     

Extraction and characterization of pectic substances from pulp of grape berries

Pectic substances were successively extracted from the alcohol-insoluble residue (AIR) of the pulp of grape berries, by water (WSP), oxalate (OXP), hot dilute HCl (HP) and cold dilute NaOH (OHP). Pectins (WSP, OXP, HP) were purified by ion-exchange chromatography (DEAE-Sephacel) or precipitation with cupric ions (OHP). Total pectic substances represent 20·8% (w/w) of the AIR, WSP and HP being the main components (6% and 12% of the AIR, respectively). An alternative to oxalate extraction of the water-insoluble pectin was extraction with NaCl solutions of increasing concentrations, which had released small amounts of pectins. Each of the fractions contained mainly galacturonic acid, arabinose and galactose, lower amounts of rhamnose and xylose, and minor amounts of glucose and mannose. Ion-exchange chromatography was performed on DEAE-Sephacel, M_w distribution was checked by gel permeation on Sepharose CL-2B, and M_v was determined as well as degrees of methylesterification (DM), acetylation (DA), and protein content.     

Chemical composition of the cell walls of Lolium multiflorum endosperm

Cell walls isolated from Lolium multiflorum endosperm grown in liquid suspension culture contain 90% carbohydrate (as anhydro-glucose), 0·3 nitrogen, 1·9% lipid and 4·3% ash. The relative proportions of neutral sugars present in hydrolysates of the wall polysaccharides are glucose, 50%; arabinose, 19%; xylose, 26% and galactose, 5%. Extraction of the wall with 7 M urea solubilizes a polysaccharide representing 19% of the wall and composed of glucose and minor amounts of pentoses. This fraction has been examined by acid and enzymic hydrolysis and by periodate oxidation, and was shown to be a β-1,3; 1,4-glucan with approx. 79% 1,4-linkages. A specific β-glucan hydrolase has been used to determine the content of this mixed-linked glucan in isolated endosperm cell walls.     

Glycoprotein of the wall of sycamore tissue-culture cells

1. A glycoprotein containing a large amount of hydroxyproline is present in the cell walls of sycamore callus cells. This protein is insoluble and remained in the alpha-cellulose when a mild separation procedure was used to obtain the polysaccharide fractions of the wall. The glycoprotein contained a high proportion of arabinose and galactose. 2. Soluble glycopeptides were prepared from the alpha-cellulose fraction when peptide bonds were broken by hydrazinolysis. The soluble material was fractionated by gel filtration and one glycopeptide was further purified by electrophoresis; it had a composition of 10% hydroxyproline, 35% arabinose and 55% galactose, and each hydroxyproline residue carried a glycosyl radical so that the oligosaccharides on the glycopeptide had an average degree of polymerization of 9. 3. The extraction of the glycopeptides was achieved without cleavage of glycosyl bonds, so that the glycoprotein cannot act as a covalent cross-link between the major polysaccharides of the wall. 4. The wall protein approximates in conformation to polyhydroxyproline and therefore it probably has similar physicochemical properties to polyhydroxyproline. This is discussed in relation to the function of the glycoprotein and its effect on the physical and chemical nature of the wall.     

Enzymatic degradation of cell wall polysaccharides from soybean meal

Soybean meal, soybean water unextractable solids (WUS) and extracts thereof, which contain particular cell wall polysaccharides, were incubated with a number of cell wall degrading enzymes. The intact cell wall polysaccharides in the meal and WUS were hardly degradable, while the extracts from WUS were well degraded. The arabinogalactan side chains in the pectin-rich ChSS fraction (Chelating agent Soluble Solids) could to a large extent be removed from the pectins by the combined action of endo-galactanase, exo-galactanase, endo-arabinanase and arabinofuranosidase B. The remaining polymer was isolated and represented 30% of the polysaccharides in the ChSS fraction. Determination of the sugar composition showed these polymers to be very highly substituted pectic structures. It still contained 5 mol% of arabinose and 12 mol% of galactose, representing 7% and 12%, respectively, of the arabinose and galactose present in the ChSS fraction before degradation. Further, the presence of uronic acid (50 mol%) and of xylose (18 mol%) indicated the presence of a xylogalacturonan.     

Biochemical changes associated with the ripening of hot pepper fruit

Hot pepper ( Capsicum annuum L. cv. Chooraehong) fruit underwent a respiratory climacteric during ripening. However, the rate of ethylene production was low, reaching a maximum of approximately 0.7 μl kg⁻¹ h⁻¹ at the climacteric peak when the surface color was 30 to 40% red. Ripening was accompanied by a loss of galactose and arabinose residues from the cell wall. The content of uronic acid and cellulose in the wall changed only slightly during ripening. The average molecular weight of a cell wall hemicellulosic fraction shifted progressively toward a lower molecular weight during ripening. Total β-galactosidase (EC 3.2.1.23) activity increased 50-fold from the immature green to the red ripe stage. No polygalacturonase (EC 3.2.1.15) activity was detected at any stage of ripeness. Thus, the loss of galactose and arabinose residues from the cell wall, as well as the observed modification of hemicelluloses during ripening, seem to be unrelated to active polygalacturonase. Soluble polyuronide content remained relatively constant at approximately 60 μg (g fresh weight)⁻¹ as fruit ripended.     

Degradation of Cell Wall Polysaccharides during Tomato Fruit Ripening

Changes in neutral sugar, uronic acid, and protein content of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) cell walls during ripening were characterized. The only components to decline in amount were galactose, arabinose, and galacturonic acid. Isolated cell walls of ripening fruit contained a water-soluble polyuronide, possibly a product of in vivo polygalacturonase action. This polyuronide and the one obtained by incubating walls from mature green fruit with tomato polygalacturonase contained relatively much less neutral sugar than did intact cell walls. The ripening-related decline in galactose and arabinose content appeared to be separate from polyuronide solubilization. In the rin mutant, the postharvest loss of these neutral sugars occurred in the absence of polygalacturonase and polyuronide solubilization. The enzyme(s) responsible for the removal of galactose and arabinose was not identified; a tomato cell wall polysaccharide containing galactose and arabinose (6:1) was not hydrolyzed by tomato β-galactosidase.     

Analysis of cell wall material from plant tissues: Extraction and purification

The alcohol-insoluble residue (AIR) of immature and mature runner beans contains co-precipitated cytoplasmic proteins, nucleic acids, starch and polyphenols, which contaminate the isolated polysaccharide fractions and their binding is sufficiently tenacious to resist complete extraction with the usual protein solubilizing reagents. Therefore, a method was developed for preparation of “cell wall material” from plant tissues in which the contamination with cytoplasmic constituents was minimal. Alternative solvents for cell disruption and protein extraction have been compared. The method depended for its success on the selective removal of the contaminants from fresh ball-milled tissue by sequential treatments with 1% aq. Na deoxycholate, PhOH-HOAc-H₂O followed by α-amylase digestion. Ball-milling the tissue ensured almost complete rupture of the cells and organelles and allowed the solvents to penetrate the sample fully and dissolve the cytoplasmic constituents. The purified “cell wall material” has protein contents varying from 2.5 to 5.5% depending on the type and maturity of the tissue. The residual proteins are resistant to pronase, rich in hydroxyproline and have the amino acid composition of purified cell wall proteins, showing that the wall preparations are relatively pure.     

Characterization of a glycoprotein isolated from a continuous tumor-cell line of human lung carcinoma

A glycoprotein with a molecular weight of 62 000 has been isolated from a tumor-cell line, A549, and purified to homogeneity by gel chromatography. The glycoprotein contained sialic acid, galactose, mannose, N-acetylglucosamine and a relatively high amount of glutamic acid and proline. The data indicated that the overall composition of this glycoprotein was different from that of the glycoprotein of M_r 62 000 isolated from lung lavage of patients with alveolar proteinosis. The glycoprotein did not react with the antiserum from lung lavage of patients with alveolar proteinosis. The glycoprotein did not react with the antiserum raised against glycoprotein of M_r 62 000 isolated from lung lavage of patients with alveolar proteinosis.     

Reinforced Polyproline II Conformation in a Hydroxyproline-Rich Cell Wall Glycoprotein from Carrot Root

The salt-extractable hydroxyproline-rich cell wall glycoprotein from carrot (Daucus carota L.) roots is composed of 35% (w/w) protein, 3% (w/w) galactose, and 62% (w/w) arabinose. The arabinose is attached to hydroxyproline as tetra- and trisaccharides. The circular dichroism of the glycoprotein shows that it is completely in the polyproline II conformation. After deglycosylation of the glycoprotein, the polyproline II conformation of the peptide backbone was lost. This indicates that the carbohydrate reinforces the polyproline II conformation.     

Purification and methylation analysis of cell wall material from Solanum tuberosum

Cell wall material (CWM) of potatoes was prepared by sequentially extracting the wet ball-milled tissue with 1 % aq. Na deoxycholate, PhOHHOAcH₂O and 90 % (v/v) aq. DMSO. The purity of the CWM (e.g. absence of residual starch) was established by carbohydrate analysis using different acid hydrolysis conditions and by methylation studies. The partially methylated alditol acetates from the CHCl₃MeOH soluble fraction (S) of the methylated CWM were separated into 15 main peaks by GLC. Fourteen of these peaks were carbohydrate derivatives and the identity of most of these was established by MS. Reduction of the hydrolysate of S with NaBD₄ was used to identify the carbohydrate derivatives present in peaks 7 and 11 above. The occurrence of 4-linked galacturonosyl residues in the methylated polymers was established after reduction of S with LiAlH₄ and LiAlD₄. The main glycosidic linkages present in the non-cellulosic polysaccharides of the wall in descending order of concentration are: 4-linked galactose, 4-linked galacturonic acid, 5-linked arabinose and 4,6-linked glucose. The major branch points are those through 0–6 of glucose and 0–4 of rhamnose. Arabinose, galactose and xylose residues constituted the non-reducing ends. Graded acid hydrolysis of the CWM made it possible to assess the relative strengths of some of the glycosidic linkages. The general structural features of the CWM are discussed in the light of these results.     

L-arabinose transport and the L-arabinose binding protein of escherichia coli

The active accumulation of L-arabinose by arabinose induced cultures of Escherichia coli is mediated by 2 independent transport mechanisms. One, specified by the gene locus araE, is membrane bound and possesses a relatively “low affinity.” The other, specified in part by the genetic locus araF, contains as a functional component the L-arabinose binding protein and functions with a “high affinity” for the substrate. The L-arabinose binding protein has been purified, partially characterized, crystallized, and sequenced.     

Extracellular hydroxyproline-rich glycoprotein of suspension-cultured tobacco cells

Hydroxyproline-rich glycoprotein was isolated from the used media of tobacco XD-6 cells cultured in suspension and purified by repeated ion exchange- and gel filtration-chromatography. The preparation was judged to be homogeneous from ultracentrifugation and isoelectric focusing. The dry wt of the glycoprotein was composed of 94% polysaccharide and 6% protein. Hydroxyproline accounted for 23% of the amino acids in the protein moiety. The polysaccharide moiety consisted of 44% galactose, 30% arabinose, 5% rhamnose, and 21% uronic acid. About 10% of the uronic acid residues were present as methyl esters.     

Partial purification of cell wall β-galactosidases from Cicer arietinum epicotyls. Relationship with cell wall autolytic processes

The protein extracted from the cell wall of the epicotyls of Cicer arietinum L. cv. Castellana was separated by ion exchange chromatography in four different fractions with β-D-galactosidase (EC 3.2.1.23) activity. These were called βI, βII, βIII and βIV, according to their order of elution. βII was associated with a particularly high β-D-glucosidase (EC 3.2.1.21) activity. Gel filtration chromatography of each of the fractions gave further subdivision of fractions βI and βIII. Subfractions 1 βI, 1 βII and 1 βIV have glucosidase activity and subfractions 2 βI and 2 βIII have galactosidase activity.
The studies on the hydrolytic capacity of these fractions and its relationship with the autolytic process seem to show that subfraction 2 βIII is responsible for autolysis. The release of total and reducing sugars is very similar for autolysis and hydrolysis by 2 βIII. The sugars released are mainly galactose and, to a lesser extent arabinose and glucose. Galactose is released as a monosaccharide, while arabinose remains associated to a polysaccharide component together with glucose and small amounts of galactose.     

Further Studies of Pollen Wall Glycoproteins in Cucurbita pepo L.

Samples of pollen wall protein of Cucurbita pepo were prepared as reported in previous paper. Gas chromoatographic analyses snowed that the carbohydrate fraction of the pollen wall glycoprotcin contained 20.4% rhamnose, 15.3% fucose, 11% mannose, 11% galactose, 31% glucose, 4% arabinose and traces of xylose. The glycoproteins were further purified by Con. A affinity chromatography, Isoelectric focussing electrophoresis of the purified sample showed 3 PAS-positive bands, with respective PI 5.2, 6.0 and 6.3. The glycoprotein samples were subjected to hydrolysis with 6N HC1. After hydrolysis, the mixture was analyzed for amino acid composition with Backman 121-MB automatic amino acid analyzer, Results show the amino acid composition of the 3 glycoprotein was very similar, They all have glycine, glutamic acid and serine as their major component (these three amino acids constitute 50–60% of the total amino acids); and they all contain very small amount of methionine, phenylalanine, isoleucine and tyrosine. The lysine content of each glycoprotein is consistent with its respective PI, the glycoprotein which contains more lysine has higher PI.     

Isolation and partial characterization of two antigenic glycoproteins from rye-grass (Lolium perenne) pollen.

Two glycoproteins have been purified from a buffer extract of rye-grass (Lolium perenne) pollen. Both migrated as single bands on sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide gels. Glycoprotein 1 (0.8 mg/g of pollen) had a apparent mol.wt. of 33 000 and contained 95% protein and 5% carbohydrate. The monosaccharides glucose, galactose, mannose, arabinose and N-acetylglucosamine were present in the proportions 3:3:1:2:1. Glycoprotein 2 (0.4 mg/g of pollen) had an apparent mol. wt. of 68000 and contained 88% protein and 12% carbohydrate. The monosaccharides glucose, galactose, mannose, fucose, xylose, arabinose and N-acetylglucosamine were present in the proportions 4:7:13:5:8:6:6. This glycoprotein bound concanavalin A and Lotus tetragonolobus (asparagus pea) lectin. Radioallergosorbent (RAST) inhibition tests showed that Glycoprotein 1 is an effective allergen, whereas Glycoprotein 2 has less allergenic activity. A method for performing both lectin-binding assays and RAST inhibition tests using microtitre trays is described.     

The purification and properties of the lectin from potato tubers, a hydroxyproline-containing glycoprotein

1. Potato lectin has been purified and shown to be a glycoprotein containing about 50% of carbohydrate. Most of the sugar residues (92%) are arabinose; small amounts of galactose, glucose and glucosamine are also present. 2. The most abundant amino acid is hydroxyproline (16% of the residues), 11.5% of the residues are half-cystine and phenylalanine is absent. The lectin also contains about one residue/molecule of a basic amino acid, not usually found in proteins, which has been tentatively identified as ornithine. There is indirect evidence that the components of the glycoprotein are linked through hydroxyproline and arabinose. 3. By gel filtration in 6m-guanidine-HCl on Sepharose 4B, it was found that both the native glycoprotein and its S-carboxymethylated derivative had subunit molecular weights of 46000 (+/-5000). In a non-denaturing solution, two of these units appear to be associated. 4. The lectin is specifically inhibited in its agglutination reaction by oligosaccharides that contain N-acetylglucosamine. Its specificity is similar to, but not identical with, that of wheat-germ agglutinin.     

Autolysis of cell walls in pea epicotyls during growth. Enzymatic activities involved

Pisum sativum L. (cv. Lincoln) epicotyl cell walls show autohydrolysis and release into the incubation medium up to 120 μg of sugar per mg of cell wall dry weight in 30 h. Cell walls from younger epicotyls with high growth capacity showed higher auto-lytic capacity than older epicotyls. This suggests that both processes, growth and au-tolysis, are related. The proteins responsible for autolysis were extracted from the wall fraction with high saline solution (3 M LiCl) and enzymatic activities associated with the proteins were studied. The highest activity corresponded to α-galactosidase; lower activities were found for β-galactosidase, a-arabinosidase and exoglucanase. Changes in enzymatic activities and changes in the proportion of sugars released in autolysis by cell walls during the growth of epicotyls support the notion that α-galac-tosidase is one of the enzymes involved in the process of autolysis, and that the liberation of arabinose and galactose in this process occurs as arabinogalactan.