Neutral peptidases in the stroma of pea chloroplasts

One endopeptidase (EP1) and at least three aminopeptidases (AP1, AP2, and AP3) were discovered in the stroma of chloroplasts isolated from pea seedlings (Pisum sativum L.), and purified over 100-fold. EP1 requires added Mg²⁺ or Ca²⁺ for activity, may have an additional tightly bound metal atom, and is inhibited by sulfhydryl reagents but not by serine residue-directed inhibitors. It is reversibly inhibited by dithiothreitol. Its specificity is for the bond between two adjacent Ala or Gly residues. Its molecular mass is 93 kilodaltons, estimated on a gel filtration column. Aminopeptidase activities were detected with the aid of different amino acyl-β-naphthylamides as substrates. They were resolved into at least three individual proteins by gel filtration and DEAE-cellulose chromatography, having apparent molecular masses of 269,000 (AP1), 84,000 (AP2), and 42,000 (AP3) daltons, respectively. Each has a unique specificity for substrates, with AP1 hydrolyzing only the Prolyl-β-naphthylamide. None of the APs require added divalent cations for activity, but the possibility of a tightly bound metal function was suggested in AP2 and AP3 (not AP1) from effects of inhibitors. A probable sulfhydryl residue function was indicated for all three, from inhibition by p-hydroxymercuribenzoate and Zn²⁺. All these peptidases had pH optima at 7.7.