Subcellular Location of NADPH-Dependent Hydroxypyruvate Reductase Activity in Leaf Protoplasts of Pisum sativum L. and Its Role in Photorespiratory Metabolism

Protoplasts purified from pea (Pisum sativum L.) leaves were lysed and fractionated to assess the subcellular distribution of NADPH-dependent hydroxypyruvate reductase (NADPH-HPR) activity. Rate-zonal centrifugation and sucrose-gradient experiments demonstrated that most (about 70%) of the NADPH-HPR activity was located in the supernatant or cytosol fraction. Detectable, but relatively minor activities were associated with the chloroplast fraction (up to 10% on a chlorophyll basis when compared to the lysate) and with peroxisomes. The minor NADPH-HPR activity in the peroxisomes could be fully accounted for by the secondary NADPH-dependent activity of NADH-dependent HPR. The subcellular distribution of NADPH-HPR followed closely that previously determined for NADPH-dependent glyoxylate reductase (NADPH-GR), an enzyme localized predominantly in the cytosol of pea leaf protoplasts (CV Givan et al. 1988 J Plant Physiol 132: 593-599). Low activities of both NADPH-HPR and NADPH-GR were also found in purified chloroplasts prepared by mechanical homogenization of Pisum and Spinacia leaves. In pea and spinach chloroplasts, rates of both NADPH-HPR and NADPH-GR were lower than the activity of the NADH-dependent GR. The results are discussed in relation to a possible role for NADPH-HPR in the oxidative carbon pathway of photorespiration. Both NADPH-HPR and the GRs could function as auxiliary reactions to photorespiration, utilizing hydroxypyruvate and/or glyoxylate `leaked' or otherwise exported from peroxisomes. NADPH-HPR function might be especially significant under conditions of limiting NADH supply to peroxisomes, with extraperoxisomal reduced pyridine nucleotide acting as the reductant.     

Superoxide production by thylakoids during chilling and its implication in the susceptibility of plants to chilling-induced photoinhibition

Factors influencing the rate of superoxide (O ₂ ^- ) production by thylakoids were investigated to determine if increased production of the radical was related to injury induced by chilling at a moderate photon flux density (PFD). Plants used were Spinacia oleracea L., Cucumis sativus L. and Nerium oleander L. grown at either 200° C or 45° C. Superoxide production was determined by electron-spin-resonance spectroscopy of the (O ₂ ^- )-dependent rate of oxidation of 2-ethyl-1-hydroxy-2,5,5-trimethyl-3-oxazolidine (OXANOH) to the corresponding oxazolidinoxyl radical, OXANO ·. For all plants, the steady-state rate of O ₂ ^- production by thylakoids, incubated at 25° C and 350 mol photon · m^–2 · s^–1 (moderate PFD) with added ferredoxin and NADP, was between 7.5 and 12.5 mol · (mg chlorophyll)^–1 · h^–1. Incubation at 5° C and a moderate PFD, decreased the rate of O ₂ ^- production 40% and 15% by thylakoids from S. oleracea and 20° C-grown N. oleander, chillinginsensitive plants, but increased the rate by 56% and 5% by thylakoids from C. sativus and 45° C-grown N. oleander, chilling-sensitive plants. For all plants, the addition of either ferredoxin or methyl viologen increased the rate of O ₂ ^- -production at 25° C by 75–100%. With these electron acceptors, lowering the temperature to 5° C caused only a slight decrease in O ₂ ^- production. In the absence of added electron acceptors, thylakoids produced O ₂ ^- at a rate which was about 45% greater than that when ferredoxin and NADP were present. The addition of 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea reduced O ₂ ^- production under all conditions tested. The results show that the rate of O ₂ ^- production increases in thylakoids when the rate of electron transfer to NADP is reduced. This could explain differences in the susceptibility of thylakoids from chilling-sensitive and chilling-insensitive plants to chilling at a moderate PFD, and is consistent with the proposal that O ₂ ^- production is involved in the injury leading to the inhibition of photosynthesis induced under these conditions.Abbreviations Chl chlorophyll - DCMU 3-(3,4-dichlorophen-yl)-1,1-dimethylurea - Fd ferredoxin - MV methyl viologen - 20°oleander Nerium oleander grown at 20° C - 45°-oleander N. oleander grown at 45° C - OXANOH 2-ethyl-1-hydroxy-2,5,5-tri-methyl-3-oxazolidine - PFD photon flux density (photon fluence rate) - TEMED tetramethyl ethylenediamine We would like to thank R.T. Furbank, R.S.B.S., Australian National University, Canberra, A.C.T., and C.B. Osmond, now of Duke University, Durham, N.C., USA, for the gift of ferredoxin, R.A.J.H. was supported by a Commonwealth Postgraduate Research Award.     

Three unique base pair changes in a family with Gaucher disease

Summary Single-stranded cDNA was prepared from RNA obtained from a patient with type 1 Gaucher disease. The cDNA was amplified in vitro and analyzed by sequencing. Three base-pair changes were identified which included a G to C transversion at nucleotide 3119 of the active gene (Asp¹⁴⁰His), an A to C transversion at nucleotide 3170 (Lys¹⁵⁷Gln) and a G to A change at nucleotide 5309 (Glu³²⁶Lys). To study the mode of inheritance of the three different base-pair changes, genomic DNA was prepared from blood or skin fibroblasts of several family members. Genomic glucocerebrosidase DNA sequences were amplified and subjected to hybridization with allele-specific oligonucleotides (ASOs). The hybridization profiles demonstrated that two of the basepair changes originated from the mother and were transmitted to her two affected sons and to a grandchild, while the third base-pair change, originating from the father, was transmitted to his two affected sons, a carrier daughter and a second grandchild. Tests of other patients with Gaucher disease failed to disclose the presence of the three base-changes. This is a unique family with three base-pair changes tightly linked to Gaucher disease.     

Structure function studies on the lipoate-acetyltransferase--component-X-core assembly of the ox heart pyruvate dehydrogenase complex

Component X, the recently recognised subunit of mammalian pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, was shown by immune blotting to be present in all of nine tissues dissected from rat. This finding indicated that component X was not an isoenzyme of the lipoate acetyltransferase (E2) associated with one or a limited number of tissues. Native pyruvate dehydrogenase complex was shown to bind IgG raised to isolated component X, indicating that there were at least some regions of the X subunit exposed at the periphery of the complex. Lipoyl groups of ox heart pyruvate dehydrogenase complex were specifically cross-linked by reaction with phenylene-o-bismaleimide in the presence of pyruvate and the subunits contributing to the products of cross-linking were identified by immune blotting. Species with very high Mr containing both E2 and component X, were formed in high yield, as well as apparent E2/E2 and E2/X dimers and trimers and an X/X dimer. These results showed that acetylated lipoyl groups of different E2 and X subunits were able to interact in all possible combinations. The types of cross-linked E2 products formed suggested that two thiols, reactible with phenylene-o-bismaleimide, were rapidly generated in the presence of pyruvate. The results were most easily explained by the presence of two acetylatable lipoyl groups on each E2 polypeptide.     

The Mr-50 000 polypeptide of mammalian pyruvate dehydrogenase complex participates in the acetylation reactions

The mammalian pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, Mr 8.5 X 10(6), contains an additional tightly bound 50 000-Mr polypeptide, component X, which copurifies with the intact assembly. Small amounts of the individual E2 and X polypeptides were obtained by elution of the protein bands from SDS/polyacrylamide gels. One-dimensional peptide mapping studies with 125I-labelled lipoyl acetyltransferase (E2) and component X subunits indicate that these two proteins are structurally distinct entities. Similar analysis of purified subunits, initially radiolabelled in the intact complex in the presence of [2-14C]pyruvate and N-ethyl-[2,3-14C]maleimide confirm that distinct 14C-labelled peptides are generated from these two species. These protein-chemical data supplement recent immunological findings, which demonstrate that component X is not a proteolytic fragment of the larger lipoyl acetyltransferase (Mr 70 000) subunit. Incubation of the native PDC in the presence of [2-14C]pyruvate leads to rapid uptake of radiolabel, presumably as acetyl groups, into both E2 and protein X. Specific incorporation of acetyl groups declines to a similar extent on both polypeptides after inhibiting pyruvate dehydrogenase (E1) activity by phosphorylation or omitting thiamine diphosphate (TPP) from the assay mixture. Addition of CoASH promotes the parallel deacetylation of both lipoyl acetyltransferase and protein X in a reaction which displays sensitivity to N-ethylmaleimide.     

Antisera to gamma-aminobutyric acid. I. Production and characterization using a new model system

Antisera to the amino acid gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) have been developed with the aim of immunohistochemical visualization of neurons that use it as a neurotransmitter. GABA bound to bovine serum albumin was the immunogen. The reactivities of the sera to GABA and a variety of structurally related compounds were tested by coupling these compounds to nitrocellulose paper activated with polylysine and glutaraldehyde and incubating the paper with the unlabeled antibody enzyme method, thus simulating immunohistochemistry of tissue sections. The antisera did not react with L-glutamate, L-aspartate, D-aspartate, glycine, taurine, L-glutamine, L-lysine, L-threonine, L-alanine, alpha-aminobutyrate, beta-aminobutyrate, putrescine, or delta-aminolevulinate. There was cross-reaction with gamma-amino-beta-hydroxybutyrate, 1-10%, and the homologues of GABA: beta-alanine, 1-10%, delta-aminovalerate, approximately 10%, and epsilon-amino-caproate, approximately 10%. The antisera reacted slightly with the dipeptide gamma-aminobutyrylleucine, but not carnosine or homocarnosine. Immunostaining of GABA was completely abolished by adsorption of the sera to GABA coupled to polyacrylamide beads by glutaraldehyde. The immunohistochemical model is simple, amino acids and peptides are bound in the same way as in aldehyde-fixed tissue and, in contrast to radioimmunoassay, it uses an immunohistochemical detection system. This method has enabled us to define the high specificity of anti-GABA sera and to use them in some novel ways. The model should prove useful in assessing the specificity of other antisera.     

Mechanism for Cd2+ inhibition of (K++ Mg2+)ATPase activity and K+ (86Rb+) uptake join roots of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris)

Steady state kinetics were used to examine the influence of Cd²⁺ both on K⁺ stimulation of a membrane-bound ATPase from sugar beet roots (Beta vulgaris L. cv. Monohill) and on K⁺(⁸⁶Rb⁺) uptake in intact or excised beet roots. The in vitro effect of Cd²⁺ was studied both on a 12000–25000 g root fraction of the (Na⁺+K⁺+Mg²⁺)ATPase and on the ATPase when further purified by an aqueous polymer two-phase system. The observed data can be summarized as follows: 1) Cd²⁺ at high concentrations (>100 μM) inhibits the MgATPase activity in a competitive way, probably by forming a complex with ATP. 2) Cd²⁺ at concentrations <100 μM inhibits the specific K⁺ activation at both high and low affinity sites for K⁺. The inhibition pattern appears to be the same in the two ATPase preparations of different purity. In the presence of the substrate MgATP, and at K⁺ <5 mM, the inhibition by Cd²⁺ with respect to K⁺ is uncompetitive. In the presence of MgATP and K⁺ >10 μM, the inhibition by Cd²⁺ is competitive. 3) At the low concentrations of K⁺, Cd²⁺ also inhibits the 2,4-dinitrophenol(DNP)-sensitive (metabolic) K⁺(⁸⁶Rb⁺) uptake uncompetitively both in excised roots and in roots of intact plants. 4) The DNP-insensitive (non metabolic) K⁺(⁸⁶Rb⁺) uptake is little influenced by Cd²⁺. As Cd²⁺ inhibits the metabolic uptake of K⁺(⁸⁶Rb⁺) and the K⁺ activation of the ATPase in the same way at low concentrations of K⁺, the same binding site is probably involved. Therefore, under field conditions, when the concentration of K⁺ is low, the presence of Cd²⁺ could be disadvantageous.     

A selenomethionine-containing azurin from an auxotroph of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

The production and spectroscopic properties of an L-selenomethionine-containing homolog of Pseudomonas aeruginosa azurin are described. The amino acid substitution was carried out by developing an L-methionine-dependent bacterial strain from a fully functional ATCC culture. Uptake studies monitored using L-[75Se]methionine indicated that L-selenomethionine was incorporated into the protein synthetic pathway of Pseudomonas bacteria in a manner analogous to L-methionine. Several batches of bacteria were grown, and one sample of isolated and purified selenoazurin (azurin in which methionine was substituted by selenomethionine) was found (by neutron activation analysis) to contain 5.2 +/- 0.8 seleniums/copper. Correspondingly, a residual 0.35 methionines, relative to 6.0 in the native protein, were found by amino acid analysis in this azurin sample. The redox potential and extinction coefficient of this selenoazurin were found to be 333 +/- 1 mV (pH 7.0, I = 0.22) and 5855 +/- 160 M-1 cm-1 at 626 +/- 1 nm, respectively. Visible electronic, CD, and EPR spectra are reported and Gaussian curve fitting to the former spectrum allowed assignment of the selenomethionine Se----Cu(II) transition to a band found at 18034 cm-1, based upon an observed 450 cm-1 shift to the red from the analogous band position in the native protein. The data are consistent with a relatively more covalent copper site stabilizing the reduced, Cu(I), form in the selenoprotein. A role for the methionine as a modulator of the blue copper site redox potential by metal----ligand back bonding from Cu(I) is discussed in terms of a ligand sphere which limits the valence change at copper to much less than 1 during a redox cycle.     

1-Methylguanine and 7-methylguanine increase cell agglutinability

Summary 1-Methylguanine and 7-methylguanine, both metabolic products of tRNA degradation, are known to induce transformation of Chinese hamster fibroblasts in culture. The effects of these compounds on the cell membrane have been studied by the method of Concanavalin A-mediated hemadsorption. 1-Methylguanine or 7-methylguanine induced a 50% increase of Con A-mediated hemadsorption within 20 hours of exposure of the cells to the agent at a concentration of 10^-5 M. This alteration was reversed within 13 days when the cells were grown in the control medium. Prolonged treatment with 1-methylguanine or 7-methylguanine resulted in changes which were only slowly reversed during growth of the cells in the control medium. The effect of the methylated purines on the cell membrane could be completely inhibited by simultaneous addition of dibutyryl-cAMP at a concentration of 10^-5 M. The possible mechanism of cell membrane alteration by methylated purines and its relevance to transformation in vitro are discussed.