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Although the S-like ribonucleases (RNases) share sequence homology with the S-RNases involved in the self-incompatibility mechanism in plants, they are not associated with this mechanism. They usually function in stress responses in non-carnivorous plants and in carnivory in carnivorous plants. In this study, we clarified the structures of the S-like RNases of Aldrovanda vesiculosa, Nepenthes bicalcarata and Sarracenia leucophylla, and compared them with those of other plants. At ten positions, amino acid residues are conserved or almost conserved only for carnivorous plants (six in total). In contrast, two positions are specific to non-carnivorous plants. A phylogenetic analysis revealed that the S-like RNases of the carnivorous plants form a group beyond the phylogenetic relationships of the plants. We also prepared and characterized recombinant S-like RNases of Dionaea muscipula, Cephalotus follicularis, A. vesiculosa, N. bicalcarata and S. leucophylla, and RNS1 of Arabidopsis thaliana. The recombinant carnivorous plant enzymes showed optimum activities at about pH 4.0. Generally, poly(C) was digested less efficiently than poly(A), poly(I) and poly(U). The kinetic parameters of the recombinant D. muscipula enzyme (DM-I) and A. thaliana enzyme RNS1 were similar. The k cat/K m of recombinant RNS1 was the highest among the enzymes, followed closely by that of recombinant DM-I. On the other hand, the k cat/K m of the recombinant S. leucophylla enzyme was the lowest, and was ~1/30 of that for recombinant RNS1. The magnitudes of the k cat/K m values or k cat values for carnivorous plant S-like RNases seem to correlate negatively with the dependency on symbionts for prey digestion.

3-Deoxyanthocyanins are rare anthocyanin pigments produced by some mosses, ferns, and higher plants. The enzymes and genes responsible for biosynthesis of 3-deoxyanthocyanins have not been well characterized. We identified a novel gene encoding UDP-glucose:3-deoxyanthocyanidin 5-O-glucosyltransferase (dA5GT) from Sinningia cardinalis, which accumulates abundant 3-deoxyanthocyanins in its petals. Five candidate genes (ScUGT1 to ScUGT5) were isolated from an S. cardinalis flower cDNA by degenerate PCR targeted for the UGT88 clade. ScUGT1, ScUGT3, and ScUGT5 exhibited 45-47% identity with rose anthocyanidin 5,3-O-glucosyltransferase, which catalyzes glucosylation at the 5- and 3-position of 3-hydroxyanthocyanidin. Based on its temporal and spatial gene expression patterns, and enzymatic activity assays of the recombinant protein, ScUGT5 was screened as a dA5GT candidate. Recombinant ScUGT5 protein expressed in Escherichia coli was used to analyze the detailed enzymatic properties. The results demonstrated that ScUGT5 specifically transferred a glucosyl moiety to 3-deoxyanthocyanidins in the presence of UDP-glucose, but not to other flavonoid compounds, such as 3-hydroxyanthocyanidins, flavones, flavonols, or flavanones.

Pyruvate, orthophosphate dikinase (PPDK; E.C.2.7.9.1) is most well known as a photosynthetic enzyme in C4 plants. The enzyme is also ubiquitous in C3 plant tissues, although a precise non-photosynthetic C3 function(s) is yet to be validated, owing largely to its low abundance in most C3 organs. The single C3 organ type where PPDK is in high abundance, and, therefore, where its function is most amenable to elucidation, are the developing seeds of graminaceous cereals. In this report, we suggest a non-photosynthetic function for C3 PPDK by characterizing its abundance and posttranslational regulation in developing Oryza sativa (rice) seeds. Using primarily an immunoblot-based approach, we show that PPDK is a massively expressed protein during the early syncitial-endosperm/-cellularization stage of seed development. As seed development progresses from this early stage, the enzyme undergoes a rapid, posttranslational down-regulation in activity and amount via regulatory threonyl-phosphorylation (PPDK inactivation) and protein degradation. Immunoblot analysis of separated seed tissue fractions (pericarp, embryo + aleurone, seed embryo) revealed that regulatory phosphorylation of PPDK occurs in the non-green seed embryo and green outer pericarp layer, but not in the endosperm + aleurone layer. The modestly abundant pool of inactive PPDK (phosphorylated + dephosphorylated) that was found to persist in mature rice seeds was shown to remain largely unchanged (inactive) upon seed germination, suggesting that PPDK in rice seeds function in developmental rather than in post-developmental processes. These and related observations lead us to postulate a putative function for the enzyme that aligns its PEP to pyruvate-forming reaction with biosynthetic processes that are specific to early cereal seed development.

A cDNA corresponding to 1-Cys peroxiredoxin, an evolutionarily conserved thiol-specific antioxidant enzyme, was isolated from Xerophyta viscosa Baker, a resurrection plant indigenous to Southern Africa and belonging to the family Velloziaceae. The cDNA, designated XvPer1, contains an open reading frame that encodes a polypeptide of 219 residues with a predicted molecular weight of 24.2 kDa. The XvPer1 polypeptide shows significant sequence identity (approx. 70%) to other recently identified plant 1-Cys peroxiredoxins and relatively high levels of sequence similarity (approx. 40%) to non-plant 1-Cys peroxiredoxins. The XvPer1 cDNA contains a putative polyadenylation site. As for all 1-Cys peroxiredoxins identified to date, the amino acid sequence proposed to constitute the active site of the enzyme, PVCTTE, is highly conserved in XvPer1. It also contains a putative bipartite nuclear localization signal. Southern blot analysis revealed that there is a single copy of XvPer1 in the X. viscosa genome. All angiosperm 1-Cys peroxiredoxins described to date are seed-specific and absent in vegetative tissues even under stress conditions; therefore, XvPer1 is unique in that it is expressed in the vegetative tissues of X. viscosa. The XvPer1 transcript was absent in fully hydrated X. viscosa tissue but levels increased in tissues subjected to abiotic stresses such as dehydration, heat (42 degrees C), high light intensity (1,500 micro mol photons m(-2) s(-1)) and when treated with abscisic acid (100 micro M ABA) and sodium chloride (100 mM NaCl). Western blot analyses correlated with the patterns of expression of XvPer1 transcripts under different stress conditions. Immunofluorescence analyses revealed that XvPer1 is localized in the nucleus of dehydrated X. viscosa leaf cells. These results suggest that XvPer1 is a stress-inducible gene, which may function to protect nucleic acids within the nucleus against oxidative injury.

In vitro treatment with trypsin of plasma membrane (PM) vesicles isolated from the leaves of Vallisneria gigantea Graebner, an aquatic monocot, produced a marked decrease in the Km for ATP and an increase in the Vmax of H+-transporting activity. Concomitantly, the removal of 8 kDa of the C-terminal domain from the 94-kDa PM H+-ATPase was confirmed by immunoblotting using different kinds of polyclonal antibody. Three partial clones of putative PM H+-ATPase genes (Vga1, 2, and 3) were isolated from leaves by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Northern blotting analysis revealed that the expression level of Vga3 was high and that of the other two genes was much lower. The H+-transporting activity of PM vesicles was substantially suppressed in the presence of inorganic phosphate (Pi), which has been supposed to be a noncompetitive inhibitor of the PM H+-ATPase, coincident with an increase in the Km for ATP and a decrease in the Vmax. After treatment of the isolated PM vesicles with trypsin, the inhibitory effect of Pi was no longer evident. This result indicates that Pi inhibited the activity through the C-terminal autoinhibitory domain of the PM H+-ATPase. Furthermore, Pi increased the Km for ATP of the H+-transporting activity in the PM vesicles isolated from both dark-adapted and red-light-irradiated leaves. The results suggest that regulation of the Km for ATP through the operation of photosynthesis is independent of regulation through the cytoplasmic level of Pi.

In mesophyll cells of the aquatic angiosperm Vallisneria gigantea Graebner, red, blue, or blue plus far-red light induced a typical membrane hyperpolarization, whereas far-red light alone had little effect. Both N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide, a potent inhibitor of H+-ATPase, and carbonylcyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone, an uncoupler, produced a considerable membrane depolarization in the dark-adapted cells and a complete suppression of the light-induced hyperpolarization. Although 3-(3',4'-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea (DCMU), an inhibitor of photosynthetic electron transport, did not affect the membrane potential in darkness, it completely inhibited the light-induced membrane hyperpolarization. In vivo illumination of the leaves with red light caused a substantial decrease in the Km for ATP, not only of the vanadate-sensitive ATP-hydrolyzing activity in leaf homogenate, but also of the ATP-dependent H+-transporting activity in plasma membrane (PM) vesicles isolated from the leaves by aqueous polymer two-phase partitioning methods. The effects of red light were negated by the presence of DCMU during illumination. In vivo illumination with far-red light had no effect on the Km for ATP of H+-transporting activity. These results strongly suggest that an electrogenic component in the membrane potential of the mesophyll cell is generated by the PM H+-ATPase, and that photosynthesis-dependent modulation of the enzymatic activity of the PM H+-ATPase is involved in the light-induced membrane hyperpolarization.

Carnivorous plants acquire significant amounts of nitrogen from insects. The tropical carnivorous plant Nepenthes accumulates acidic fluid containing aspartic proteinase (AP) in its trapping organs (pitchers), suggesting that the plant utilizes insect protein as a nitrogen source. Aspartic proteinases have been purified and characterized from sterile pitcher fluid of several species of Nepenthes; however, there is, as of yet, no information about sequence and expression of Nepenthes AP genes. To identify the pitcher AP, we cloned plant AP homologs from N. alata and examined their expressions. Five AP homologs ( NaAP1-NaAP5) were obtained by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction with degenerate primers designed for the conserved sequences of plant APs. Alignment of deduced amino acid sequences with other plant APs demonstrated that NaAP1-NaAP4 contained a plant-specific insert (PSI), a unique sequence of plant AP. However, NaAP5 did not possess the insert, and had a shorter sequence (by >100 amino acids) than the other APs. Northern analysis using a part of the coding region of NaAP1 as a probe showed that bands of approx. 1.8 kb corresponding to the sizes of NaAP1-NaAP4 mRNA were present in roots, stems, leaves, tendrils, and lower part of the pitchers, but a band of approx. 1.3 kb corresponding to the size of NaAP5 mRNA was not observed in any organs. In pitchers, highest expressions of NaAP1-NaAP4 were seen in the lower part of open pitchers containing natural prey, suggesting that the expressions of NaAP1-NaAP4 are coupled with prey capture. Transcripts of NaAP2 and NaAP4 were detected in the digestive glands, where AP secretion may occur. This result suggests that NaAP2 and NaAP4 are the possible APs secreted into the pitcher of N. alata.

Betanidin 6-O-glucosyltransferase (6-GT) is involved in the glycosylation of betacyanins, which replace the chromogenic anthocyanins as flower colorants in the Caryophyllales. The 6-GT cDNA was cloned from a cDNA library of Dorotheanthus bellidiformis (Burm. f.) N.E. Br., and the amino acid and nucleotide sequences were shown to be distinctly different from the corresponding betanidin 5-O-glucosyltransferase (5-GT) from the same plant species. Although both enzymes share very similar substrates, the proteins show only 19% amino acid sequence identity. In contrast, the protein sequence of the 6-GT showed significant identity to GTs from other species and may identify a new cluster of putative anthocyanidin GTs. Therefore, 6-GT and 5-GT apparently have evolved independently from ancestral glucosyltransferases involved in flavonoid biosynthesis.

We report the isolation, sequencing and analysis of the cDNA corresponding to an alpha-D-xylosidase involved in the mobilisation of xyloglucan from the cotyledons of germinated nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus L.) seeds. The translated open reading frame (2,808 bp including the stop codon), gave a polypeptide of 935 amino acids. It included the sequences of eleven peptides obtained by endo-proteinase digestion of the protein, and a putative hydrophobic signal sequence characteristic of a protein that is directed through the plasma membrane. The deduced molecular weight of the translated protein was appreciably higher than the molecular weight determined by sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, suggesting post-translational modification. The protein sequence showed high homology (76.0% identity over 896 amino acids) with a putative alpha-xylosidase sequence from Arabidopsis thaliana and there was homology with several alpha-glucosidases, notably those associated with the plant cell apoplast. The enzyme is a member of Family 31 of the glycosyl hydrolases and it fits into Clade 1 of the phylogenic analysis of alpha-glucosidases. Although in vivo the nasturtium enzyme catalyses mobilisation of cell wall xyloglucan, the homology of its primary sequence with alpha-glucosidases prompted study of its action on a range of alpha-glucosides. It was active against several alpha-(1-->4)-and alpha-(1-->6)-linked substrates, the former being hydrolysed faster. The functional and evolutionary relationships between this alpha-D-xylosidase and plant "apoplastic" alpha-D-glucosidases are discussed.

This comparative study investigates the mechanism of cadmium accumulation in the semiaquatic plant Nymphoides peltata (Menyanthaceae) and the aquatic plant Nymphaea (Nymphaeaceae). It was conducted as part of an ongoing study of the use of water plants for phytoremediation. Epidermal structures, known as hydropotes, are located on the abaxial epidermis of the leaf laminae of Nymphoides peltata and are shown to contain phenols, peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase activities. When plants are subjected to 50 mg/l of cadmium in the growth medium, these hydropotes accumulate cadmium. Cadmium-induced increases in phenols, peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase activities were determined in plant extracts. Cadmium binding by polymerized phenols was demonstrated in vivo. In comparison with Nymphaeae epidermal glands, N. peltata hydropotes are larger, open, and create bigger crystal, the latter principally composed of calcium and, proportionally, less cadmium. Although both plants showed similar levels of cadmium accumulation, N. peltata was sensitive while Nymphaeae was resistant to this cadmium level. It is suggested that in these water plants the main mechanism for cadmium accumulation is based on the trapping of cadmium crystals by polymerized phenols in specialized epidermal structures and this is due to peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase activities. Nymphaeae, with greater peroxidase activity and more polyphenols, is more resistant to this heavy metal than N. peltata.

Plant tetrapyrrole metabolism is located in two different organelles and distributes end products into the whole cell. A complex regulatory network is involved to prevent metabolic imbalance and inefficient allocation of intermediates as well as to correlate the metabolic activities with organelle development. This review presents new findings about the control of tetrapyrrole biosynthesis and addresses the question of which regulatory principles are involved in controlling the expression of the participating enzymes and the metabolic flow in the entire pathway. It is suggested that functional organelles are required for nuclear gene expression and that metabolic signals participate in a signalling cascade transferring information from plastids to the nucleus. Recent reports about plastid-localised control mechanisms for plant tetrapyrrole metabolism are summarised and compared with results obtained in experiments on nucleus-plastid communication.

Co-localization of polyphenols and peroxidase activity was demonstrated in epidermal glands of the waterlily (Nymphaea) by histochemistry. Total phenols, tannins and peroxidase activity were determined quantitatively in plant extracts. Polyphenols were partially identified and were found to consist mainly of hydrolyzable tannins, gallic and tannic acid derivatives. Nymphaea polyphenols were shown to chelate Cr, Hg, and Pb in vitro, and Cd-binding by polymerized polyphenols was demonstrated in leaves exposed to Cd in vivo. Both polyphenols and peroxidases were found at very high constitutive levels, which were not induced or altered by external conditions, such as light and heavy-metal stress. It is suggested that the polymerization of polyphenols by peroxidases, enhanced after heavy-metal uptake and detoxification, is responsible for the binding of heavy metals in Nymphaea epidermal glands.

An aldose reductase homologue (ALDRXV4) was cloned from the resurrection plant Xerophyta viscosa Baker using complementation by functional sufficiency in Escherichia coli. A cDNA library constructed from X. viscosa leaves dehydrated to 85%, 37% and 5% relative water contents (RWC) was converted into an infective phagemid library. Escherichia coli (sr1::Tn10) cells transformed with ds-pBluescript phagemids were selected on minimal medium plates supplemented with 1 mM isopropyl beta-D-thiogalactopyranoside and 1.25 M sorbitol. Nine cDNA clones that conferred tolerance to the osmotically stressed E. coli cells were selected. The phagemid from one clone contained the ALDRXV4 insert. The E. coli cells expressing ALDRXV4 were capable of tolerating the osmotic stress, whereas control cultures were not. The ALDRXV4 insert contained an open reading frame that can code for 319 amino acids, and the predicted protein had a calculated Mr of 35,667. Amino acid sequence comparisons revealed significant similarity to several aldose reductases, with the highest similarity to aldose reductase proteins from Hordeum vulgare, Bromus inermis and Avena fatua, in the order of 66%, 65% and 65% respectively. Northern blot analysis revealed that ALDRXV4 was expressed only under dehydration conditions in X. viscosa leaves. Western blot analysis detected a protein of 36 kDa under dehydration conditions only. Aldose reductase activity levels in X. viscosa leaves increased as the leaf RWC decreased, whereas there was no significant change in aldose reductase activity in Sporobolus stafianus as the leaf RWC decreased.