Characterization of the Erwinia carotovora pelB gene and its product pectate lyase.

The pelB gene encodes pectate lyase B, one of three pectate lyases identified in Erwinia carotovora EC. Pectate lyase B was purified from Escherichia coli containing the pelB gene on a recombinant plasmid. The activity of the protein was optimal at a pH of 8.3. The amino acid composition, N-terminal amino acid sequence, and C-terminal peptide sequence were determined and compared with the polypeptide sequence deduced from the DNA sequence of pelB. Purified pectate lyase B started at amino acid 23 of the predicted sequence, suggesting that a 22-amino-acid leader peptide had been removed. Pectate lyase B of E. carotovora EC and pectate lyase B of E. chrysanthemi EC16 contain 352 and 353 amino acids, respectively (N. T. Keen, S. Tanaki, W. Belser, D. Dahlbeck, and B. Staskawicz, J. Bacteriol. 168:595-606, 1986). The two proteins are 72% homologous on the basis of DNA sequence data, and 75% of the amino acids are identical.     

Effect of growth phase on phospholipid biosynthesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The effect of growth phase on the membrane-associated phospholipid biosynthetic enzymes CDP-diacylglycerol synthase, phosphatidylserine synthase, phosphatidylinositol synthase, and the phospholipid N-methyltransferases in wild-type Saccharomyces cerevisiae was examined. Maximum activities were found in the exponential phase of cells grown in complete synthetic medium. As cells entered the stationary phase of growth, the activities of the CDP-diacylglycerol synthase, phosphatidylserine synthase, and the phospholipid N-methyltransferases decreased 2.5- to 5-fold. The subunit levels of phosphatidylserine synthase and the cytoplasmic-associated enzyme inositol-1-phosphate synthase were not significantly affected by the growth phase. When grown in medium supplemented with inositol-choline, cells in the exponential phase of growth had reduced CDP-diacylglycerol synthase, phosphatidylserine synthase, and phospholipid N-methyltransferase activities, with repressed subunit levels of phosphatidylserine synthase and inositol-1-phosphate synthase compared with cells grown without inositol-choline. Enzyme activity levels remained reduced in the stationary phase of growth of cells supplemented with inositol-choline. The phosphatidylserine synthase and inositol-1-phosphate synthase subunit levels, however, were depressed. Phosphatidylinositol synthase (activity and subunit) was not affected by growth in medium supplemented with or without inositol-choline or the growth phase of the culture. The phospholipid composition of cells in the exponential and stationary phase of growth was also examined. The phosphatidylinositol to phosphatidylserine ratio doubled in stationary-phase cells. The phosphatidylcholine to phosphatidylethanolamine ratio was not significantly affected by the growth phase of cells.     

Protein damage and degradation by oxygen radicals. IV. Degradation of denatured protein

Proteolytic degradation of oxidatively damaged [3H] bovine serum albumin [( 3H]BSA) was studied during incubation with cell-free erythrocyte extracts and a wide variety (14) of purified proteases. [3H]BSA was pretreated by exposure (60Co radiation) to the hydroxyl radical (.OH), the superoxide anion radical (O2-), or the combination of .OH + O2- + oxygen. Treated (and untreated) samples were dialyzed and then incubated with erythrocyte extract or proteases for measurements of proteolytic susceptibility (release of acid-soluble counts). Both .OH and .OH + O2- + caused severalfold increases in proteolytic susceptibility (with extract and proteases), but O2- alone had no effect. Proteolytic susceptibility reached a maximum at 15 nmol of .OH/nmol of BSA and declined thereafter. In contrast, proteolytic susceptibility was still increasing at an .OH + O2-/BSA molar ratio of 100 (50% .OH + 50% O2-). Degradation in erythrocyte extracts was conducted by a novel ATP- and Ca2+-independent pathway, with maximal activity at pH 7.8. Inhibitor profiles indicate that this pathway may involve metalloproteases and serine proteases. Comparisons of proteolytic susceptibility with multiple modifications to BSA primary, secondary, and tertiary structure revealed a high correlation (r = 0.98) with denaturation/increased hydrophobicity by low concentrations of .OH. Covalent aggregation reactions (BSA cross-linking) may explain the declining proteolytic susceptibility observed at .OH/BSA molar ratios greater than 20. Protein denaturation may also have caused the increased proteolytic susceptibility induced by .OH + O2- + O2, but no simple correlation could be obtained. Results with .OH + O2- + O2 appear to have been complicated by direct BSA fragmentation reactions involving (.OH-induced) protein radicals and oxygen. These data indicate a direct and quantitative relationship between protein damage by oxygen radicals and increased proteolytic susceptibility. Oxidative denaturation may exemplify a simple, yet effective inherent mechanism for intracellular proteolysis.     

Absence of heat shock protein synthesis in isolated mitochondria and plastids from maize

Examination of the proteins synthesized by isolated mitochondria, chloroplasts, or proplastids from maize tissues showed that a heat treatment at 40 degrees C does not induce or enhance the synthesis of any protein when compared to preparations treated at the control temperature of 28 degrees C. These observations are consistent with the results obtained by labeling proteins in vivo under sterile conditions. In vivo labeling in the presence of cycloheximide during heat shock showed no heat shock protein synthesis. Labeling in the presence of chloramphenicol during heat shock showed a similar heat shock protein pattern as in the absence of the inhibitor. It is concluded that maize organelles do not synthesize heat shock proteins and that, if present, they may be due to bacterial contamination.     

The primary structure of rat ribosomal protein L7. The presence near the amino terminus of L7 of five tandem repeats of a sequence of 12 amino acids

The covalent structure of rat ribosomal protein L7 was determined in part from the sequence of nucleotides in a recombinant cDNA and in part from the sequence of amino acids in portions of the protein. The complementary analyses supplemented and confirmed each other. Ribosomal protein L7 contains 258 amino acids and has a molecular weight of 30,040. The protein has an unusual and striking structural feature near the NH2 terminus: five tandem repeats of a sequence of 12 residues. Rat L7 appears to be related to ribosomal protein L7 from the moderate halophile Vibrio costicola and perhaps to L30 from Bacillus stearothermophilus, to L7 from the moderate halophile NRCC 41227, and to L22 from Nicotinia tobaccum chloroplast. In addition, there is a sequence of 24 amino acids in rat protein L7 that may be related to segments of the same number of residues in Escherichia coli ribosomal proteins S10, S15, L9, and L22.     

Hepatic metabolism and secretion of a cholesterol-enriched lipoprotein fraction

A potentially important source of cholesterol secreted in bile is cholesterol-rich lipoproteins. However, the fate of the cholesterol carried in these lipoproteins after hepatic uptake has not been investigated. We harvested an apoE- and cholesterol-rich lipoprotein fraction (d 1.02-1.06 g/ml) from hypercholesterolemic rats and examined the acute effects of these lipoproteins on hepatic cholesterol metabolism, very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) secretion, and biliary lipid secretion. Administration of a lipoprotein bolus (20 mg of cholesterol) to rats resulted in a significant decrease in 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase activity and a significant increase in acyl-coenzyme A:cholesterol acyltransferase activity over controls at 1 hr. Hepatic cholesteryl ester content increased 400% with no change in hepatic free cholesterol content or biliary cholesterol secretion. These cholesterol-rich lipoproteins delivered in the isolated perfused liver effected a fivefold increase in hepatic VLDL secretion with no change in composition. Therefore, cholesterol-rich lipoproteins do not acutely alter biliary cholesterol secretion. Rather, the majority of the cholesterol delivered to the liver in these lipoproteins is either esterified and stored as cholesteryl ester or resecreted as free and esterified cholesterol in hepatic VLDL.     

Phosphatidylinositol Phosphodiesterase (Phospholipase C) Activity in the Pineal Gland: Characterization and Photoneural Regulation

Phosphatidylinositol phosphodiesterase (PL-C) appears to be a key element in the adrenergic regulation of pineal cyclic AMP levels. In the present study, the rat pineal enzyme was characterized using exogenous [3H]phosphatidylinositol (0.5 mM) as substrate. Half the enzyme activity was found in the cytosolic fraction, but the highest specific concentration was associated with the membrane fraction. Two pH optima (5.5 and 7.5) of enzyme activity were observed for the membrane fraction but only one in the cytosol fraction (pH 5.5). Enzyme activity in both fractions was Ca2+ dependent. In the case of the membrane protein in pH 7.5, the enzyme activity was sensitive to changes in Ca2+ in the 10-100 nM range. Addition of an equimolar concentration of phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate nearly completely inhibited the hydrolysis of [3H]phosphatidylinositol; other phospholipids (1.0 mM) were less potent. This may reflect our present finding that [3H]phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate is a better substrate than [3H]phosphatidylinositol for the enzyme. Stimulus deprivation (2 weeks of constant light or superior cervical ganglionectomy) reduced the cytosolic activity by 30% and had no effect on the membrane-associated enzyme.     

Regulation of β-1,4-Endoglucanase Synthesis in Thermomonospora fusca

In Thermomonospora fusca YX, endocellulase synthesis varies over a 100-fold range depending on the carbon source used. This study shows that the variation is caused by two regulatory mechanisms: an induction mechanism that increases the rate of endocellulase synthesis about 20-fold and a growth rate-dependent repression mechanism that changes the rate of synthesis over a 6-fold range in both induced and noninduced cells. In T. fusca, endocellulase synthesis can be induced by cellulose, cellobiose, or cellodextrin. Cellulase is involved in inducer generation from cellulose. Growth rate-dependent repression can be reversed by limiting cultures for carbon, nitrogen, or, to a lesser extent, phosphorus. Further evidence for two separate regulatory mechanisms is provided by the isolation of mutants (CC-1 and CC-2) whose endocellulases are synthesized constitutively but are still sensitive to growth rate-dependent repression. These conclusions about total endocellulase synthesis were extended to the individual endocellulases by showing that three T. fusca endocellulases are coordinately regulated.     

Specific interaction of vinculin with alpha-actinin

Vinculin and alpha-actinin are cytoskeletal proteins present at focal contacts of the ventral surface of cultured fibroblasts. We labelled alpha-actinin with an acceptor fluorophore and vinculin with a donor. A mixture of vinculin and alpha-actinin showed a 28% quench, due to energy transfer, suggesting an interaction. Quench of vinculin was dependent on the concentration of alpha-actinin; Scatchard analysis gives a dissociation constant in the microM range. Quench was inhibited by excess unlabelled alpha-actinin, and by reaction of the acceptor protein with p-chloromercuribenzoate. We found that vinculin had a slightly greater elution volume in a gel filtration column equilibrated with alpha-actinin, indicating a higher effective Stokes radius due to the interaction of the two proteins.