Invertase proteinaceous inhibitor of Cyphomandra betacea Sendt fruits

This work describes a new invertase proteinaceous inhibitor from Cyphomandra betacea Sendt. (tomate de arbol) fruits. The proteinaceous inhibitor was isolated and purified from a cell wall preparation. The pH stability, kinetics of the inhibition of the C. betacea invertase, inhibition of several higher plant invertases and lectin nature of the inhibitor were studied. The inhibitor structure involves a single polypeptide (Mr = 19000), as shown by gel filtration and SDS-PAGE determinations. N-terminal aminoacid sequence was determined. The properties and some structural features of the inhibitor are compared with the proteinaceous inhibitors from several plant species (Beta vulgaris L., Ipomoea batatas L. and Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.). All these inhibitors share lectinic properties, some common epitopes, some aminoacid sequences and a certain lack of specificity towards invertases of different species, genera and even plant family. In consequence, the inhibitors appear to belong to the same lectin family. It is now known that some lectins are part of the defence mechanism of higher plants against fungi and bacteria and this is a probable role of the proteinaceous inhibitors.     

Invertase inhibitors from red beet, sugar beet, and sweet potato roots

Invertase inhibitors have been isolated and partially purified from red beets, sugar beets, and sweet potatoes. These inhibitors are thermolabile proteins with molecular weights of 18,000 to 23,000. They do not inhibit yeast and Neurospora invertases, but they are reactive with potato tuber invertase and other plant invertases with pH optima near 4.5. There are differences in reactivity of the inhibitors with some of the plant invertases, however. For most invertases, red beet and sugar beet inhibitors are most effective at pH 4.5 while sweet potato inhibitor is most effective at pH 5.     

Alkaline β-fructofuranosidases of tuberous roots: Possible physiological function

Summary Alkaline invertase of roots of carrot (Daucus carota L.) did not hydrolyze raffinose while the acid invertase from the same tissue showed with this sugar ca. 60% of the activity found with sucrose. The activity of the two invertases was inhibited by fructose to a different extent, the K _i value being ca. 4×10^–2 M and 3×10^–1M, respectively, for the alkaline and the acid invertases from the roots of both carrot and turnip (Brassica rapa L.). It is proposed that fructose inhibition of acid invertase is of no physiological significance but that, in contrast, hexoses might regulate the activity of alkaline invertase.Comparing several species and cultivars, it was found that the content of reducing sugars and the activity of alkaline invertase of mature tuberous roots showed a positive correlation. This indicates that alkaline invertase may participate in the regulation of the hexose level of the cell, as was previously suggested for sugar-cane. A scheme is presented which proposes a way of participation of alkaline invertase in such a regulation, assuming that this enzyme is located in the cytoplasm and acid invertase is membrane-bound and mainly located at the cell surface.     

An Invertase Inhibitory Protein From Pteris deflexa Link Fronds

Plant invertases play important roles in sucrose metabolism. Cell wall invertase was reported to participate in phloem loading and unloading. Soluble invertases would be involved in hexose level regulation in mature tissues and in stored sucrose utilization within vacuoles. Invertase inhibitory proteins were described as one of the possible mechanisms for invertase activity regulation in some plant species; nevertheless, these proteins were found only in sink tissues, suggesting that this mechanism would not be relevant in the sucrose turnover of leaves. This report describes the purification of invertase from Pteris deflexa fronds and the occurrence of an invertase inhibitory protein in this fern organ, as well as its purification and invertase-inhibitor interactions. The Mr of the invertase and of its inhibitory protein were 90,000 and 18,000, respectively. SDS-PAGE in the presence of 2-mercaptoetanol gave two subunits for the enzyme (Mr=66,000 and 30,000) and only one for the inhibitor. The inhibitor protein is a glycoprotein (12% w/w of neutral sugars) that did not show agglutinating activity like some others, and also showed a high heat stability at pH 5.0. The optimum pH of invertase activity is 5.0, while invertase inhibitory protein caused maximal inhibition at the same pH value. Invertase-inhibitor complex formation occurs in an immediate manner and a protease activity was discarded. The inhibition is non-competitive (Ki=1.5 × 10 ^?6 M) without interactions among the binding sites. The complex is slightly dissociable and sucrose was able to partially reduce the inhibitory effect. Up to the present, invertase inhibitory proteins have been found solely in heterotrophic tissues. In this work we demonstrate that this protein is also present in an autotrophic tissue of a lower vascular plant.     

Invertase inhibitor from potatoes: purification, characterization, and reactivity with plant invertases

Invertase inhibitor was extracted from potato tubers and purified nearly 1000-fold. The purification procedure involved precipitation at pH 4.0, fractionation with ammonium sulfate, adsorption on alumina Cγ gel, and gel filtration on Sephadex G-100 and DEAE-Sephadex A-50. The product obtained was homogeneous to electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gel. Exclusion chromatography on Sephadex G-100 indicated a molecular weight of about 17,000. The inhibitor did not inhibit yeast, Neurospora, and several plant invertases. It completely inhibited potato tuber invertase and a number of other plant invertases. Some plant invertases were partially inhibited.     

Invertase activity associated with the walls of Solanum tuberosum tubers

Three fractions with invertase activity (beta-D-fructofuranoside fructohydrolase, EC 3.2.1.26) were isolated from mature Solanum tuberosum tubers: acid soluble invertase, invertase I and invertase II. The first two invertases were purified until electrophoretic homogeneity. They are made by two subunits with an apparent M(r) value of 35,000 and their optimal pH is 4.5. Invertase I was eluted from cell walls with ionic strength while invertase II remained tightly bound to cell walls after this treatment. This invertase was solubilized by enzymatic cell wall degradation (solubilized invertase II). Their K(m)s are 28, 20, 133 and 128 mM for acid soluble invertase, invertase I, invertase II and solubilized invertase II, respectively. Glucose is a non-competitive inhibitor of invertase activities and fructose produces a two site competitive inhibition with interaction between the sites. Bovine serum albumin produces activation of the acid soluble invertase and invertase I while a similar inhibition by lectins and endogenous proteinaceous inhibitor from mature S. tuberosum tubers was found. Invertase II (tightly bound to the cell walls) shows a different inhibition pattern. The test for reassociation of the acid soluble invertase or invertase I on cell wall, free of invertase activity, caused the reappearance of all invertase forms with their respective solubilization characteristics and molecular and kinetic properties. The invertase elution pattern, the recovery of cell wall firmly bound invertase and the coincidence in the immunological recognition, suggest that all three invertases may be originated from the same enzyme. The difference in some properties of invertase II and solubilized invertase II from the other two enzymes would be a consequence of the enzyme microenvironment in the cell wall or the result of its wall binding.     

Biochemical characterization and evaluation of invertases produced from Saccharomyces cerevisiae CAT-1 and Rhodotorula mucilaginosa for the production of fructooligosaccharides

Abstract

Invertases are used for several purposes; one among these is the production of fructooligosaccharides. The aim of this study was to biochemically characterize invertase from industrial Saccharomyces cerevisiae CAT-1 and Rhodotorula mucilaginosa isolated from Cerrado soil. The optimum pH and temperature were 4.0 and 70?°C for Rhodotorula mucilaginosa invertase and 4.5 and 50?°C for Saccharomyces cerevisiae invertase. The pH and thermal stability from 3.0 to 10.5 and 75?°C for R. mucilaginosa invertase, respectively. The pH and thermal stability for S. cerevisiae CAT-1 invertase from 3.0 to 7.0, and 50?°C, respectively. Both enzymes showed good catalytic activity with 10% of ethanol in reaction mixture. The hydrolysis by invertases occurs predominantly when sucrose concentrations are ≤5%. On the other hand, the increase in the concentration of sucrose to levels above 10% results in the highest transferase activity, reaching about 13.3?g/L of nystose by S. cerevisiae invertase and 12.6?g/L by R. mucilaginosa invertase. The results demonstrate the high structural stability of the enzyme produced by R. mucilaginosa, which is an extremely interesting feature that would enable the application of this enzyme in industrial processes.     

Inhibition of Hydrolytic Enzyme Activities and Plant Pathogen Growth by Invertase Inhibitors

The invertase inhibitory protein isolated from Cyphomandra betacea Sendt and Solanum tuberosum inhibited the invertase activity from different species, genera and even plant family. Furthermore, proteinaceous inhibitors are not invertase specific; fungal, bacterial and higher plant enzymes including polygalacturonase, pectinase, pectin lyase, α - l -arabinofuranosidase and β -glucosidase are also shown to be inhibited. Both inhibitors exhibited an in vitro antibacterial action against phytopathogenics strains of Xanthomonas campestris pvar vesicatoria CECT 792, Pseudomonas solanacearum CECT 125, Pseudomonas corrugata CECT 124, Pseudomonas syringae and Erwinia carotovora var carotovora.     

Inhibition of hydrolytic enzyme activities and plant pathogen growth by invertase inhibitors

The invertase inhibitory protein isolated from Cyphomandra betacea Sendt and Solanum tuberosum inhibited the invertase activity from different species, genera and even plant family. Furthermore, proteinaceous inhibitors are not invertase specific; fungal, bacterial and higher plant enzymes including polygalacturonase, pectinase, pectin lyase, alpha-L-arabinofuranosidase and beta-glucosidase are also shown to be inhibited. Both inhibitors exhibited an in vitro antibacterial action against phytopathogenics strains of Xanthomonas campestris pvar vesicatoria CECT 792, Pseudomonas solanacearum CECT 125, Pseudomonas corrugata CECT 124, Pseudomonas syringae and Erwinia carotovora var carotovora.     

Proteinaceous inhibitors of microbial xylanases

At the end of 1990s two structurally different proteinaceous inhibitors of xylanases were discovered in the grain of wheat (Triticum aestivum). They were named TAXI (T. aestivum xylanase inhibitor) and XIP (xylanase-inhibiting protein). Later it was shown that TAXI and XIP in wheat are present in several isoforms encoded by different genes. TAXI- and XIP-like inhibitors have also been found in other cereals-barley, rye, rice, maize, etc. All these proteins can specifically inhibit activity of fungal and bacterial xylanases belonging to families 10 and 11 of glycoside hydrolases, but they do not affect endogenous enzymes produced by plants. A common viewpoint is that the presence of proteinaceous inhibitors in cereals is a response of plants to pathogenic attack by microorganisms. A few years ago, an inhibitor of a third type was discovered in wheat. It was named TLXI (thaumatin-like xylanase inhibitor) because of its similarity to the thaumatin family of plant proteins. In this review, the occurrence of proteinaceous inhibitors of xylanases in different cereals, their specificity towards fungal and bacterial enzymes, as well as structural features responsible for enzyme sensitivity to various types of inhibitors are discussed.     

An invertase inhibitory protein from Pteris deflexa link fronds

Plant invertases play important roles in sucrose metabolism. Cell wall invertase was reported to participate in phloem loading and unloading. Soluble invertases would be involved in hexose level regulation in mature tissues and in stored sucrose utilization within vacuoles. Invertase inhibitory proteins were described as one of the possible mechanisms for invertase activity regulation in some plant species; nevertheless, these proteins were found only in sink tissues, suggesting that this mechanism would not be relevant in the sucrose turnover of leaves. This report describes the purification of invertase from Pteris deflexa fronds and the occurrence of an invertase inhibitory protein in this fern organ, as well as its purification and invertase-inhibitor interactions. The Mr of the invertase and of its inhibitory protein were 90,000 and 18,000, respectively. SDS-PAGE in the presence of 2-mercaptoetanol gave two subunits for the enzyme (Mr=66,000 and 30,000) and only one for the inhibitor. The inhibitor protein is a glycoprotein (12% w/w of neutral sugars) that did not show agglutinating activity like some others, and also showed a high heat stability at pH 5.0. The optimum pH of invertase activity is 5.0, while invertase inhibitory protein caused maximal inhibition at the same pH value. Invertase-inhibitor complex formation occurs in an immediate manner and a protease activity was discarded. The inhibition is non-competitive (Ki=1.5 x 10(-6) M) without interactions among the binding sites. The complex is slightly dissociable and sucrose was able to partially reduce the inhibitory effect. Up to the present, invertase inhibitory proteins have been found solely in heterotrophic tissues. In this work we demonstrate that this protein is also present in an autotrophic tissue of a lower vascular plant.     

AtCYT-INV1, a neutral invertase,is involved in osmotic stress-induced inhibition on lateral root growth in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Arabidopsis</Emphasis>

Neutral/Alkaline invertases are unique to plant and photosynthetic bacteria. The function of Neutral/Alkaline invertases in plant development is not clear so far. In this study, we isolated an Arabidopsis (Col-0) mutant insensitive to osmotic stress-induced inhibition on lateral root growth. Map-based cloning reveals that a neutral invertase gene (AtCYT-INV1) was point-mutated. The mutant Atcyt-inv1 showed short primary root, smaller size of leaves and siliques, and promotion of the reproductive compared to the wild type (WT). Carbohydrate measurement showed that sucrose is accumulated and glucose is reduced in the mutant Atcyt-inv1 under normal and 3% mannitol treatments. Taken together, AtCYT-INV1 plays multiple roles in plant development and is involved in osmotic stress-induced inhibition on lateral root growth by controlling the concentration of hexose in cells. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

The invertase inhibitor Nt-CIF from tobacco: a highly thermostable four-helix bundle with an unusual N-terminal extension

Plant invertases are sucrolytic enzymes essential for plant metabolism and development. Enzyme activity is regulated on a posttranslational level via inhibitory proteins, referred to as invertase inhibitors. Ectopic expression of invertase inhibitors in crop plants has high biotechnological potential. However, little biochemical and up to now no detailed structural information is available about this class of plant regulatory proteins. Here, we present the crystal structure of the cell wall-associated invertase inhibitor Nt-CIF from tobacco at a resolution of 1.87A. The structural model reveals an asymmetric four-helix bundle with an uncommon N-terminal extension that appears to be critical for the structural integrity of the protein. Structure analysis of a second crystal form grown in the presence of CdCl(2) reveals two metal binding sites. Nt-CIF is highly thermostable and retains full inhibitory activity after cooling to ambient temperatures. The structure of Nt-CIF provides the first three-dimensional information source for the posttranslational regulation of plant invertases. Based on the recently discovered sequence homology between inhibitors of invertases and pectin methylesterases, our structural model is likely to represent a scaffold also used for the regulation of the latter enzymes, which do not share sequence similarity with invertases. Thus, our structural model sets the 3D-stage for the investigation of posttranslational regulation of invertases as well as pectin methylesterases.     

Acid and Neutral Invertases in the Mesocarp of Developing Muskmelon (Cucumis melo L. cv Prince) Fruit

Acid and neutral invertases were found in the mesocarp of developing muskmelon (Cucumis melo L. cv Prince) fruit and the activities of these enzymes declined with maturation of the fruit, concomitantly with the accumulation of sucrose. Neutral invertase was only present in the soluble fraction and acid invertase was present in both the soluble and cell-wall fractions. The cell-wall fraction contained three types of acid invertase: a NaCl-released invertase; an EDTA-released invertase, and a tightly bound invertase that still remained on the cell wall after treatment with NaCl and EDTA. The soluble acid and neutral invertases could be separated from one another by chromatography on DEAE-cellulose and they exhibited clear differences in their properties, namely, in their pH optima, substrate specificity, K_m values for sucrose, and inhibition by metal ions. The EDTA-released invertase and the soluble acid invertase were similar with regard to their chromatographic behavior on DEAE-cellulose, but the NaCl-released invertase was different because it was adsorbed to a column of CM-cellulose. The soluble acid invertase and two cell-wall bound invertases had very similar characteristics with regard to optimal pH and temperature, K_m value for sucrose, and substrate specificity.     

Cloning of a vacuolar invertase from Belgian endive leaves (Cichorium intybus)

Although a lot of vacuolar invertase (EC 3.2.1.26) cDNAs are available from a diversity of plant species, up to now no sequence information is available on invertases from any dicot fructan-containing species. Therefore, we describe the cloning of vacuolar acid invertase cDNA from etiolated Belgian endive leaves ( Cichorium intybus L. var. foliosum cv. Flash), formed throughout the forcing process of the witloof chicory roots. Full-length cDNA was obtained by a combination of RT-PCR, PCR and 5'- and 3' RACE RT-PCR, starting with primers based on conserved amino acid sequences. The cloned chicory acid invertase groups together with vacuolar type invertases and fructan biosynthetic enzymes. A putative role for vacuolar type invertases in fructan synthesizing plants is discussed.     

Post-translational inhibitory regulation of acid invertase induced by fructose and glucose in developing apple fruit

Acid invertase (EC 3.2.1.26) is one of the key enzymes involved in the carbohydrate sinkorgan development and the sink strength modulation in crops. The experiment conducted with ‘Starkrimson’ apple (Malus domestica Borkh) fruit showed that, during the fruit development, the activity of acid invertase gradually declined concomitantly with the progressive accumulation of fructose, glucose and sucrose, while Western blotting assay of acid invertase detected a 30 ku peptide of which the immuno-signal intensity increased during the fruit development. The immunolocalization via immunogold electron microscopy showed that, on the one hand, acid invertase was mainly located on the flesh cell wall with numbers of the immunosignals present in the vacuole at the late stage of fruit development; and on the other hand, the amount of acid invertase increased during fruit development, which was consistent with the results of Western blotting. The in vivo preincubation of fruit discs with soluble sugars showed that the activity of extractible acid invertase was inhibited by fructose or glucose, while Western blotting did not detect any changes in apparent quantity of the enzyme nor other peptides than 30 ku one. So it is considered that fructose and glucose induced the post-translational or translocational inhibitory regulation of acid invertase in developing apple fruit. The mechanism of the post-translational inhibition was shown different from both the two previously reported ones that proposed either the inhibition by hexose products in the in vitro chemical reaction equilibrium system or the inhibition by the proteinaceous inhibitors. It was hypothesized that fructose and glucose might induce acid invertase inhibition by modulating the expression of some inhibition-related genes or some structural modification of acid invertase.     

Influencing the binding configuration of sucrose in the active sites of chicory fructan 1-exohydrolase and sugar beet fructan 6-exohydrolase

The hydrolytic plant enzymes of family 32 of glycoside hydrolases (GH32), including acid cell wall type invertases (EC 3.2.1.26), fructan 1-exohydrolases (1-FEH; EC 3.2.1.153) and fructan 6-exohydrolases (6-FEH; EC 3.2.1.154), are very similar at the molecular and structural levels, but are clearly functionally different. The work presented here aims at understanding the evolution of enzyme specificity and functional diversity in this family by means of site-directed mutagenesis. It is demonstrated for the first time that invertase activity can be introduced in an S101L mutant of chicory (Cichorium intybus) 1-FEH IIa by influencing the orientation of Trp 82. At high sucrose and enzyme concentrations, a shift is proposed from a stable inhibitor configuration to an unstable substrate configuration. In the same way, invertase activity was introduced in Beta vulgaris 6-FEH by introducing an acidic amino acid in the vicinity of the acid-base catalyst (F233D mutant), creating a beta-fructofuranosidase type of enzyme with dual activity against sucrose and levan. As single amino acid substitutions can influence the donor substrate specificity of FEHs, it is predicted that plant invertases and FEHs may have diversified by introduction of a very limited number of mutations in the common ancestor.