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A cDNA, ApL1a, corresponding to a homologue of the large subunit of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGPase), has been isolated/characterised by screening a cDNA library prepared from leaves of Arabidopsis thaliana, followed by rapid amplification of cDNA 3'-ends (3'-RACE). Within the 1685 nucleotide-long sequence (excluding polyA tail), an open reading frame encodes a protein of 522 amino acids (aa), with a calculated molecular weight of 57.7 kDa. The derived aa sequence does not contain any discernible transit peptide cleavage site motif, similarly to two other recently sequenced full-length Arabidopsis homologues for AGPase, and shows ca. 58-78% identity to homologous proteins from other plants/tissues. The corresponding gene was found to be expressed in all tissues examined (rosette and stem leaves, stems, flowers and fruits). The ubiquitous expression of the gene is consistent with its critical role in starch synthesis in Arabidopsis.

ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGPase), a two-gene-encoded enzyme, is the key component of starch synthesis in all plants. In the present study, we have used an E. coli expression system for the (over)production of proteins derived from both full length and specifically truncated cDNAs encoding small subunits of AGPase from seed endosperm (AGPase-B1) and leaves (AGPase-B2) of barley (Hordeum vulgare). Based on immunoblot analyses, the molecular mass of the expressed AGPase-B1 (52 kD) was similar to that from endosperm extracts, whereas the expressed AGPase-B2 (56 kD) was larger than that in barley leaves (51 kD). Expression of truncated cDNAs for both the seed and leaf proteins has allowed for a direct verification of molecular masses that were earlier proposed for mature AGPases in barley tissues. The data suggest that seed AGPase-B1 does not undergo any post-translational proteolytic processing in barley, whereas the leaf homologue is processed to a smaller protein. Possible implications of these findings are discussed.

Recent advances in studies on plant ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGP), the key enzyme of starch biosynthesis, are presented. AGP constitutes the first committed and highly regulated step of starch synthesis in all plant tissues. The importance of AGP in carbohydrate metabolism and several of its features, such as potent regulation by cellular effectors (3-phosphoglycerate and Pi), an unusual two subunit-types structure, tissue-specific and developmentally-regulated expression, and presence of the AGP-deficient mutants, make it an attractive, but complex, target for biotechnological manipulations. Some strategies for future research on AGP are discussed.