High-voltage paper electrophoresis (HVPE) of cell-wall building blocks and their metabolic precursors

Soluble Non-Starch Polysaccharides From Plantain (Musa x paradisiaca L.) Diminish Epithelial Impact of Clostridioides difficile

Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is a leading cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea. Adhesion of this Gram-positive pathogen to the intestinal epithelium is a crucial step in CDI, with recurrence and relapse of disease dependent on epithelial interaction of its endospores. Close proximity, or adhesion of, hypervirulent strains to the intestinal mucosa are also likely to be necessary for the release of C. difficile toxins, which when internalized, result in intestinal epithelial cell rounding, damage, inflammation, loss of barrier function and diarrhoea. Interrupting these C. difficile-epithelium interactions could therefore represent a promising therapeutic strategy to prevent and treat CDI. Intake of dietary fibre is widely recognised as being beneficial for intestinal health, and we have previously shown that soluble non-starch polysaccharides (NSP) from plantain banana (Musa spp.), can block epithelial adhesion and invasion of a number of gut pathogens, such as E. coli and Salmonellae. Here, we assessed the action of plantain NSP, and a range of alternative soluble plant fibres, for inhibitory action on epithelial interactions of C. difficile clinical isolates, purified endospore preparations and toxins. We found that plantain NSP possessed ability to disrupt epithelial adhesion of C. difficile vegetative cells and spores, with inhibitory activity against C. difficile found within the acidic (pectin-rich) polysaccharide component, through interaction with the intestinal epithelium. Similar activity was found with NSP purified from broccoli and leek, although seen to be less potent than NSP from plantain. Whilst plantain NSP could not block the interaction and intracellular action of purified C. difficile toxins, it significantly diminished the epithelial impact of C. difficile, reducing both bacteria and toxin induced inflammation, activation of caspase 3/7 and cytotoxicity in human intestinal cell-line and murine intestinal organoid cultures. Dietary supplementation with soluble NSP from plantain may therefore confer a protective effect in CDI patients by preventing adhesion of C. difficile to the mucosa, i.e. a “contrabiotic” effect, and diminishing its epithelial impact. This suggests that plantain soluble dietary fibre may be a therapeutically effective nutritional product for use in the prevention or treatment of CDI and antibiotic-associated diarrhoea.

Characterisation of the non-oxidative degradation pathway of dehydroascorbic acid in slightly acidic aqueous solution

Although l-ascorbate (vitamin C) is an important biological antioxidant, its degradation pathways in vivo remain incompletely characterised. Ascorbate is oxidised to dehydroascorbic acid, which can be either hydrolysed to diketogulonate (DKG) or further oxidised. DKG can be further degraded, oxidatively or non-oxidatively. Here we characterise DKG products formed non-enzymically and non-oxidatively at 20 °C and at a slightly acidic pH typical of the plant apoplast. High-voltage electrophoresis revealed at least five products, including two novel CPLs (epimers of 2-carboxy-l-threo-pentonolactone), which slowly interconverted with CPA (2-carboxy-l-threo-pentonate). One of the two CPLs has an exceptionally low pK_a. The CPL structures were supported by MS [(C₆H₇O₇)^-] and by ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. Xylonate and its lactone also appeared. Experiments with [1-¹⁴C]DKG showed that all five products (including the 5-carbon xylonate and its lactone) retained DKG's carbon-1; therefore, most xylonate arose by decarboxylation of CPLs or CPA, one of whose -COOH groups originates from C-2 or C-3 of DKG after a 'benzilic acid rearrangement'. Since CPLs appeared before CPA, a DKG lactone is probably the main species undergoing this rearrangement. CPA and CPL also form non-enzymically in vivo, where they may be useful to researchers as 'fingerprints', or to organisms as 'signals', indicating a non-oxidative, slightly acidic biological compartment.

The oxidation of dehydroascorbic acid and 2,3-diketogulonate by distinct reactive oxygen species

l-Ascorbate, dehydro-l-ascorbic acid (DHA), and 2,3-diketo-l-gulonate (DKG) can all quench reactive oxygen species (ROS) in plants and animals. The vitamin C oxidation products thereby formed are investigated here. DHA and DKG were incubated aerobically at pH 4.7 with peroxide (H2O2), 'superoxide' (a ∼50 : 50 mixture of [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]), hydroxyl radicals (•OH, formed in Fenton mixtures), and illuminated riboflavin (generating singlet oxygen, 1O2). Products were monitored electrophoretically. DHA quenched H2O2 far more effectively than superoxide, but the main products in both cases were 4-O-oxalyl-l-threonate (4-OxT) and smaller amounts of 3-OxT and OxA + threonate. H2O2, but not superoxide, also yielded cyclic-OxT. Dilute Fenton mixture almost completely oxidised a 50-fold excess of DHA, indicating that it generated oxidant(s) greatly exceeding the theoretical •OH yield; it yielded oxalate, threonate, and OxT. 1O2 had no effect on DHA. DKG was oxidatively decarboxylated by H2O2, Fenton mixture, and 1O2, forming a newly characterised product, 2-oxo-l-threo-pentonate (OTP; '2-keto-l-xylonate'). Superoxide yielded negligible OTP. Prolonged H2O2 treatment oxidatively decarboxylated OTP to threonate. Oxidation of DKG by H2O2, Fenton mixture, or 1O2 also gave traces of 4-OxT but no detectable 3-OxT or cyclic-OxT. In conclusion, DHA and DKG yield different oxidation products when attacked by different ROS. DHA is more readily oxidised by H2O2 and superoxide; DKG more readily by 1O2 The diverse products are potential signals, enabling organisms to respond appropriately to diverse stresses. Also, the reaction-product 'fingerprints' are analytically useful, indicating which ROS are acting in vivo.

Oxalyltransferase, a plant cell-wall acyltransferase activity, transfers oxalate groups from ascorbate metabolites to carbohydrates

In the plant apoplast, ascorbate is oxidised, via dehydroascorbic acid, to O-oxalyl esters [oxalyl-l-threonate (OxT) and cyclic oxalyl-l-threonate (cOxT)]. We tested whether OxT and cOxT can donate the oxalyl group in transacylation reactions to form oxalyl-polysaccharides, potentially modifying the cell wall. [oxalyl-14 C]OxT was incubated with living spinach (Spinacia oleracea) and Arabidopsis cell-suspension cultures in the presence or absence of proposed acceptor substrates (carbohydrates). In addition, [14 C]OxT and [14 C]cOxT were incubated in vitro with cell-wall enzyme preparations plus proposed acceptor substrates. Radioactive products were monitored electrophoretically. Oxalyltransferase activity was detected. Living cells incorporated oxalate groups from OxT into cell-wall polymers via ester bonds. When sugars were added, [14 C]oxalyl-sugars were formed, in competition with OxT hydrolysis. Preferred acceptor substrates were carbohydrates possessing primary alcohols e.g. glucose. A model transacylation product, [14 C]oxalyl-glucose, was relatively stable in vivo (half-life >24 h), whereas [14 C]OxT underwent rapid turnover (half-life ~6 h). Ionically wall-bound enzymes catalysed similar transacylation reactions in vitro with OxT or cOxT as oxalyl donor substrates and any of a range of sugars or hemicelluloses as acceptor substrates. Glucosamine was O-oxalylated, not N-oxalylated. We conclude that plants possess apoplastic acyltransferase (oxalyltransferase) activity that transfers oxalyl groups from ascorbate catabolites to carbohydrates, forming relatively long-lived O-oxalyl-carbohydrates. The findings increase the range of known metabolites whose accumulation in vivo indicates vitamin C catabolism. Possible signalling roles of the resulting oxalyl-sugars can now be investigated, as can the potential ability of polysaccharide oxalylation to modify the wall's physical properties.

Metabolites of 2,3-diketogulonate delay peroxidase action and induce non-enzymic H2O2 generation: Potential roles in the plant cell wall

A proportion of the plant's l-ascorbate (vitamin C) occurs in the apoplast, where it and its metabolites may act as pro-oxidants and anti-oxidants. One ascorbate metabolite is 2,3-diketogulonate (DKG), preparations of which can non-enzymically generate H2O2 and delay peroxidase action on aromatic substrates. As DKG itself generates several by-products, we characterised these and their ability to generate H2O2 and delay peroxidase action. DKG preparations rapidly produced a by-product, compound (1), with λmax 271 and 251 nm at neutral and acidic pH respectively. On HPLC, (1) co-eluted with the major H2O2-generating and peroxidase-delaying principle. Compound (1) was slowly destroyed by ascorbate oxidase, and was less stable at pH 6 than at pH 1. Electrophoresis of an HPLC-enriched preparation of (1) suggested a strongly acidic (pKa ≈ 2.3) compound. Mass spectrometry suggested that un-ionised (1) has the formula C6H6O5, i.e. it is a reduction product of DKG (C6H8O7). In conclusion, compound (1) is the major H2O2-generating, peroxidase-delaying principle formed non-enzymically from DKG in the pathway ascorbate → dehydroascorbic acid → DKG → (1). We hypothesise that (1) generates apoplastic H2O2 (and consequently hydroxyl radicals) and delays cell-wall crosslinking - both these effects favouring wall loosening, and possibly playing a role in pathogen defence.

Ascorbate degradation in tomato leads to accumulation of oxalate, threonate and oxalyl threonate

Ascorbate content in plants is controlled by its synthesis from carbohydrates, recycling of the oxidized forms and degradation. Of these pathways, ascorbate degradation is the least studied and represents a lack of knowledge that could impair improvement of ascorbate content in fruits and vegetables as degradation is non-reversible and leads to a depletion of the ascorbate pool. The present study revealed the nature of degradation products using [¹⁴ C]ascorbate labelling in tomato, a model plant for fleshy fruits; oxalate and threonate are accumulated in leaves, as is oxalyl threonate. Carboxypentonates coming from diketogulonate degradation were detected in relatively insoluble (cell wall-rich) leaf material. No [¹⁴ C]tartaric acid was found in tomato leaves. Ascorbate degradation was stimulated by darkness, and the degradation rate was evaluated at 63% of the ascorbate pool per day, a percentage that was constant and independent of the initial ascorbate or dehydroascorbic acid concentration over periods of 24 h or more. Furthermore, degradation could be partially affected by the ascorbate recycling pathway, as lines under-expressing monodehydroascorbate reductase showed a slight decrease in degradation product accumulation.

The pectic disaccharides lepidimoic acid and β-d-xylopyranosyl-(1→3)-d-galacturonic acid occur in cress-seed exudate but lack allelochemical activity

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Cress-seed (Lepidium sativum) exudate exerts an allelochemical effect, promoting excessive hypocotyl elongation and inhibiting root growth in neighbouring Amaranthus caudatus seedlings. We investigated acidic disaccharides present in cress-seed exudate, testing the proposal that the allelochemical is an oligosaccharin-lepidimoic acid (LMA; 4-deoxy-β-l-threo-hex-4-enopyranuronosyl-(1→2)-l-rhamnose).

METHODS

Cress-seed exudate was variously treated [heating, ethanolic precipitation, solvent partitioning, high-voltage paper electrophoresis and gel-permeation chromatography (GPC)], and the products were bioassayed for effects on dark-grown Amaranthus seedlings. Two acidic disaccharides, including LMA, were isolated and characterized by electrophoresis, thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and then bioassayed.

KEY RESULTS

Cress-seed exudate contained low-Mr, hydrophilic, heat-stable material that strongly promoted Amaranthus hypocotyl elongation and inhibited root growth, but that separated from LMA on electrophoresis and GPC. Cress-seed exudate contained ∼250 µmLMA, whose TLC and electrophoretic mobilities, susceptibility to mild acid hydrolysis and NMR spectra are reported. A second acidic disaccharide, present at ∼120 µm, was similarly characterized, and shown to be β-d-xylopyranosyl-(1→3)-d-galacturonic acid (Xyl→GalA), a repeat unit of xylogalacturonan. Purified LMA and Xyl→GalA when applied at 360 and 740 µm, respectively, only slightly promoted Amaranthus hypocotyl growth, but equally promoted root growth and thus had no effect on the hypocotyl:root ratio, unlike total cress-seed exudate.

CONCLUSIONS

LMA is present in cress seeds, probably formed by rhamnogalacturonan lyase action on rhamnogalacturonan-I during seed development. Our results contradict the hypothesis that LMA is a cress allelochemical that appreciably perturbs the growth of potentially competing seedlings. Since LMA and Xyl→GalA slightly promoted both hypocotyl and root elongation, their effect could be nutritional. We conclude that rhamnogalacturonan-I and xylogalacturonan (pectin domains) are not sources of oligosaccharins with allelochemical activity, and the biological roles (if any) of the disaccharides derived from them are unknown. The main allelochemical principle in cress-seed exudate remains to be identified.

Pectic polysaccharides are attacked by hydroxyl radicals in ripening fruit: evidence from a fluorescent fingerprinting method

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Many fruits soften during ripening, which is important commercially and in rendering the fruit attractive to seed-dispersing animals. Cell-wall polysaccharide hydrolases may contribute to softening, but sometimes appear to be absent. An alternative hypothesis is that hydroxyl radicals ((•)OH) non-enzymically cleave wall polysaccharides. We evaluated this hypothesis by using a new fluorescent labelling procedure to 'fingerprint' (•)OH-attacked polysaccharides.

METHODS

We tagged fruit polysaccharides with 2-(isopropylamino)-acridone (pAMAC) groups to detect (a) any mid-chain glycosulose residues formed in vivo during (•)OH action and (b) the conventional reducing termini. The pAMAC-labelled pectins were digested with Driselase, and the products resolved by high-voltage electrophoresis and high-pressure liquid chromatography.

KEY RESULTS

Strawberry, pear, mango, banana, apple, avocado, Arbutus unedo, plum and nectarine pectins all yielded several pAMAC-labelled products. GalA-pAMAC (monomeric galacturonate, labelled with pAMAC at carbon-1) was produced in all species, usually increasing during fruit softening. The six true fruits also gave pAMAC·UA-GalA disaccharides (where pAMAC·UA is an unspecified uronate, labelled at a position other than carbon-1), with yields increasing during softening. Among false fruits, apple and strawberry gave little pAMAC·UA-GalA; pear produced it transiently.

CONCLUSIONS

GalA-pAMAC arises from pectic reducing termini, formed by any of three proposed chain-cleaving agents ((•)OH, endopolygalacturonase and pectate lyase), any of which could cause its ripening-related increase. In contrast, pAMAC·UA-GalA conjugates are diagnostic of mid-chain oxidation of pectins by (•)OH. The evidence shows that (•)OH radicals do indeed attack fruit cell wall polysaccharides non-enzymically during softening in vivo. This applies much more prominently to drupes and berries (true fruits) than to false fruits (swollen receptacles). (•)OH radical attack on polysaccharides is thus predominantly a feature of ovary-wall tissue.

Boron bridging of rhamnogalacturonan-II is promoted in vitro by cationic chaperones, including polyhistidine and wall glycoproteins

Dimerization of rhamnogalacturonan-II (RG-II) via boron cross-links contributes to the assembly and biophysical properties of the cell wall. Pure RG-II is efficiently dimerized by boric acid (B(OH)3 ) in vitro only if nonbiological agents for example Pb(2+) are added. By contrast, newly synthesized RG-II domains dimerize very rapidly in vivo. We investigated biological agents that might enable this. We tested for three such agents: novel enzymes, borate-transferring ligands and cationic 'chaperones' that facilitate the close approach of two polyanionic RG-II molecules. Dimerization was monitored electrophoretically. Parsley shoot cell-wall enzymes did not affect RG-II dimerization in vitro. Borate-binding ligands (apiose, dehydroascorbic acid, alditols) and small organic cations (including polyamines) also lacked consistent effects. Polylysine bound permanently to RG-II, precluding electrophoretic analysis. However, another polycation, polyhistidine, strongly promoted RG-II dimerization by B(OH)3 without irreversible polyhistidine-RG-II complexation. Likewise, partially purified spinach extensins (histidine/lysine-rich cationic glycoproteins), strongly promoted RG-II dimerization by B(OH)3 in vitro. Thus certain polycations, including polyhistidine and wall glycoproteins, can chaperone RG-II, manoeuvring this polyanionic polysaccharide domain such that boron-bridging is favoured. These chaperones dissociate from RG-II after facilitating its dimerization, indicating that they act catalytically rather than stoichiometrically. We propose a natural role for extensin-RG-II interaction in steering cell-wall assembly.

Hydroxyproline O-arabinosyltransferase mutants oppositely alter tip growth in Arabidopsis thaliana and Physcomitrella patens

Hydroxyproline O-arabinosyltransferases (HPATs) are members of a small, deeply conserved family of plant-specific glycosyltransferases that add arabinose sugars to diverse proteins including cell wall-associated extensins and small signaling peptides. Recent genetic studies in flowering plants suggest that different HPAT homologs have been co-opted to function in diverse species-specific developmental contexts. However, nothing is known about the roles of HPATs in basal plants. We show that complete loss of HPAT function in Arabidopsis thaliana and the moss Physcomitrella patens results in a shared defect in gametophytic tip cell growth. Arabidopsis hpat1/2/3 triple knockout mutants suffer from a strong male sterility defect as a consequence of pollen tubes that fail to fully elongate following pollination. Knocking out the two HPAT genes of Physcomitrella results in larger multicellular filamentous networks due to increased elongation of protonemal tip cells. Physcomitrella hpat mutants lack cell-wall associated hydroxyproline arabinosides and can be rescued with exogenous cellulose, while global expression profiling shows that cell wall-associated genes are severely misexpressed, implicating a defect in cell wall formation during tip growth. Our findings point to a major role for HPATs in influencing cell elongation during tip growth in plants.

Fingerprinting of hydroxyl radical-attacked polysaccharides by N-isopropyl-2-aminoacridone labelling

Hydroxyl radicals (^•OH) cause non-enzymic scission of polysaccharides in diverse biological systems. Such reactions can be detrimental (e.g. causing rheumatic and arthritic diseases in mammals) or beneficial (e.g. promoting the softening of ripening fruit, and biomass saccharification). Here we present a method for documenting ^•OH action, based on fluorescent labelling of the oxo groups that are introduced as glycosulose residues when ^•OH attacks polysaccharides. The method was tested on several polysaccharides, especially pectin, after treatment with Fenton reagents. 2-Aminoacridone plus cyanoborohydride reductively aminated the oxo groups in treated polysaccharides; the product was then reacted with acetone plus cyanoborohydride, forming a stable tertiary amine with the carbohydrate linked to N-isopropyl-2-aminoacridone (pAMAC). Digestion of labelled pectin with ‘Driselase’ yielded several fluorescent products which on electrophoresis and HPLC provided a useful ‘fingerprint’ indicating ^•OH attack. The most diagnostic product was a disaccharide conjugate of the type pAMAC·UA-GalA (UA=unspecified uronic acid), whose UA-GalA bond was Driselase-resistant (product 2A). 2A was clearly distinguishable from GalA-GalA–pAMAC (disaccharide labelled at its reducing end), which was digestible to GalA–pAMAC. The methodology is applicable, with appropriate enzymes in place of Driselase, for detecting natural and artificial ^•OH attack in diverse plant, animal and microbial polysaccharides.

Non-enzymic scission of polysaccharides by hydroxyl radicals (^•OH) may be biologically detrimental or beneficial. We present a ‘fingerprinting’ method for detecting polysaccharides that have been ^•OH-attacked. The method detects the glycosulose residues introduced by ^•OH action.

Glycosylinositol phosphorylceramides from Rosa cell cultures are boron-bridged in the plasma membrane and form complexes with rhamnogalacturonan II

Boron (B) is essential for plant cell-wall structure and membrane functions. Compared with its role in cross-linking the pectic domain rhamnogalacturonan II (RG-II), little information is known about the biological role of B in membranes. Here, we investigated the involvement of glycosylinositol phosphorylceramides (GIPCs), major components of lipid rafts, in the membrane requirement for B. Using thin-layer chromatography and mass spectrometry, we first characterized GIPCs from Rosa cell culture. The major GIPC has one hexose residue, one hexuronic acid residue, inositol phosphate, and a ceramide moiety with a C18 trihydroxylated mono-unsaturated long-chain base and a C24 monohydroxylated saturated fatty acid. Disrupting B bridging (by B starvation in vivo or by treatment with cold dilute HCl or with excess borate in vitro) enhanced the GIPCs' extractability. As RG-II is the main B-binding site in plants, we investigated whether it could form a B-centred complex with GIPCs. Using high-voltage paper electrophoresis, we showed that addition of GIPCs decreased the electrophoretic mobility of radiolabelled RG-II, suggesting formation of a GIPC-B-RG-II complex. Last, using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, we showed that added GIPCs facilitate RG-II dimerization in vitro. We conclude that B plays a structural role in the plasma membrane. The disruption of membrane components by high borate may account for the phytotoxicity of excess B. Moreover, the in-vitro formation of a GIPC-B-RG-II complex gives the first molecular explanation of the wall-membrane attachment sites observed in vivo. Finally, our results suggest a role for GIPCs in the RG-II dimerization process.

Dietary supplementation with soluble plantain non-starch polysaccharides inhibits intestinal invasion of Salmonella Typhimurium in the chicken

Soluble fibres (non-starch polysaccharides, NSP) from edible plants but particularly plantain banana (Musa spp.), have been shown in vitro and ex vivo to prevent various enteric pathogens from adhering to, or translocating across, the human intestinal epithelium, a property that we have termed contrabiotic. Here we report that dietary plantain fibre prevents invasion of the chicken intestinal mucosa by Salmonella. In vivo experiments were performed with chicks fed from hatch on a pellet diet containing soluble plantain NSP (0 to 200 mg/d) and orally infected with S.Typhimurium 4/74 at 8 d of age. Birds were sacrificed 3, 6 and 10 d post-infection. Bacteria were enumerated from liver, spleen and caecal contents. In vitro studies were performed using chicken caecal crypts and porcine intestinal epithelial cells infected with Salmonella enterica serovars following pre-treatment separately with soluble plantain NSP and acidic or neutral polysaccharide fractions of plantain NSP, each compared with saline vehicle. Bacterial adherence and invasion were assessed by gentamicin protection assay. In vivo dietary supplementation with plantain NSP 50 mg/d reduced invasion by S.Typhimurium, as reflected by viable bacterial counts from splenic tissue, by 98.9% (95% CI, 98.1-99.7; P<0.0001). In vitro studies confirmed that plantain NSP (5-10 mg/ml) inhibited adhesion of S.Typhimurium 4/74 to a porcine epithelial cell-line (73% mean inhibition (95% CI, 64-81); P<0.001) and to primary chick caecal crypts (82% mean inhibition (95% CI, 75-90); P<0.001). Adherence inhibition was shown to be mediated via an effect on the epithelial cells and Ussing chamber experiments with ex-vivo human ileal mucosa showed that this effect was associated with increased short circuit current but no change in electrical resistance. The inhibitory activity of plantain NSP lay mainly within the acidic/pectic (homogalacturonan-rich) component. Supplementation of chick feed with plantain NSP was well tolerated and shows promise as a simple approach for reducing invasive salmonellosis.

Recombinant plants provide a new approach to the production of bacterial polysaccharide for vaccines

Bacterial polysaccharides have numerous clinical or industrial uses. Recombinant plants could offer the possibility of producing bacterial polysaccharides on a large scale and free of contaminating bacterial toxins and antigens. We investigated the feasibility of this proposal by cloning and expressing the gene for the type 3 synthase (cps3S) of Streptococcus pneumoniae in Nicotinia tabacum, using the pCambia2301 vector and Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated gene transfer. In planta the recombinant synthase polymerised plant-derived UDP-glucose and UDP-glucuronic acid to form type 3 polysaccharide. Expression of the cps3S gene was detected by RT-PCR and production of the pneumococcal polysaccharide was detected in tobacco leaf extracts by double immunodiffusion, Western blotting and high-voltage paper electrophoresis. Because it is used a component of anti-pneumococcal vaccines, the immunogenicity of the plant-derived type 3 polysaccharide was tested. Mice immunised with extracts from recombinant plants were protected from challenge with a lethal dose of pneumococci in a model of pneumonia and the immunised mice had significantly elevated levels of serum anti-pneumococcal polysaccharide antibodies. This study provides the proof of the principle that bacterial polysaccharide can be successfully synthesised in plants and that these recombinant polysaccharides could be used as vaccines to protect against life-threatening infections.

Trans-α-xylosidase and trans-β-galactosidase activities, widespread in plants, modify and stabilize xyloglucan structures

Cell-wall components are hydrolysed by numerous plant glycosidase and glycanase activities. We investigated whether plant enzymes also modify xyloglucan structures by transglycosidase activities. Diverse angiosperm extracts exhibited transglycosidase activities that progressively transferred single sugar residues between xyloglucan heptasaccharide (XXXG or its reduced form, XXXGol) molecules, at 16 μM and above, creating octa- to decasaccharides plus smaller products. We measured remarkably high transglycosylation:hydrolysis ratios under optimized conditions. To identify the transferred monosaccharide(s), we devised a dual-labelling strategy in which a neutral radiolabelled oligosaccharide (donor substrate) reacted with an amino-labelled non-radioactive oligosaccharide (acceptor substrate), generating radioactive cationic products. For example, 37 μM [Xyl-³H]XXXG plus 1 mM XXLG-NH₂ generated ³H-labelled cations, demonstrating xylosyl transfer, which exceeded xylosyl hydrolysis 1.6- to 7.3-fold, implying the presence of enzymes that favour transglycosylation. The transferred xylose residues remained α-linked but were relatively resistant to hydrolysis by plant enzymes. Driselase digestion of the products released a trisaccharide (α-[³H]xylosyl-isoprimeverose), indicating that a new xyloglucan repeat unit had been formed. In similar assays, [Gal-³H]XXLG and [Gal-³H]XLLG (but not [Fuc-³H]XXFG) yielded radioactive cations. Thus plants exhibit trans-α-xylosidase and trans-β-galactosidase (but not trans-α-fucosidase) activities that graft sugar residues from one xyloglucan oligosaccharide to another. Reconstructing xyloglucan oligosaccharides in this way may alter oligosaccharin activities or increase their longevity in vivo. Trans-α-xylosidase activity also transferred xylose residues from xyloglucan oligosaccharides to long-chain hemicelluloses (xyloglucan, water-soluble cellulose acetate, mixed-linkage β-glucan, glucomannan and arabinoxylan). With xyloglucan as acceptor substrate, such an activity potentially affects the polysaccharide's suitability as a substrate for xyloglucan endotransglucosylase action and thereby modulates cell expansion. We conclude that certain proteins annotated as glycosidases can function as transglycosidases.

Trans-α-xylosidase, a widespread enzyme activity in plants, introduces (1→4)-α-d-xylobiose side-chains into xyloglucan structures

Angiosperms possess a retaining trans-α-xylosidase activity that catalyses the inter-molecular transfer of xylose residues between xyloglucan structures. To identify the linkage of the newly transferred α-xylose residue, we used [Xyl-(3)H]XXXG (xyloglucan heptasaccharide) as donor substrate and reductively-aminated xyloglucan oligosaccharides (XGO-NH(2)) as acceptor. Asparagus officinalis enzyme extracts generated cationic radioactive products ([(3)H]Xyl·XGO-NH(2)) that were Driselase-digestible to a neutral trisaccharide containing an α-[(3)H]xylose residue. After borohydride reduction, the trimer exhibited high molybdate-affinity, indicating xylobiosyl-(1→6)-glucitol rather than a di-xylosylated glucitol. Thus the trans-α-xylosidase had grafted an additional α-[(3)H]xylose residue onto the xylose of an isoprimeverose unit. The trisaccharide was rapidly acetolysed to an α-[(3)H]xylobiose, confirming the presence of an acetolysis-labile (1→6)-bond. The α-[(3)H]xylobiitol formed by reduction of this α-[(3)H]xylobiose had low molybdate-affinity, indicating a (1→2) or (1→4) linkage. In NaOH, the α-[(3)H]xylobiose underwent alkaline peeling at the moderate rate characteristic of a (1→4)-disaccharide. Finally, we synthesised eight non-radioactive xylobioses [α and β; (1↔1), (1→2), (1→3) and (1→4)] and found that the [(3)H]xylobiose co-chromatographed only with (1→4)-α-xylobiose. We conclude that Asparagus trans-α-xylosidase activity generates a novel xyloglucan building block, α-d-Xylp-(1→4)-α-d-Xylp-(1→6)-d-Glc (abbreviation: 'V'). Modifying xyloglucan structures in this way may alter oligosaccharin activities, or change their suitability as acceptor substrates for xyloglucan endotransglucosylase (XET) activity.

Oxidation of dehydroascorbic acid and 2,3-diketogulonate under plant apoplastic conditions

The rate of L-ascorbate catabolism in plants often correlates positively with the rate of cell expansion. The reason for this correlation is difficult to explore because of our incomplete knowledge of ascorbate catabolism pathways. These involve enzymic and/or non-enzymic oxidation to dehydroascorbic acid (DHA), which may then be hydrolysed to 2,3-diketogulonate (DKG). Both DHA and DKG were susceptible to further oxidation under conditions of pH and H₂O₂ concentration comparable with the plant apoplast. The kinetics of their oxidation and the identity of some of the products have been investigated here. DHA, whether added in pure form or generated in situ by ascorbate oxidation, was oxidised non-enzymically to yield, almost simultaneously, a monoanion (cyclic-oxalyl-threonate; cOxT) and a dianion (oxalyl-threonate; OxT). The monoanion was resistant to periodate oxidation, showing that it was not oxalic threonic anhydride. The OxT population was shown to be an interconverting mixture of 3-OxT and 4-OxT, differing in pK(a). The 3-OxT appeared to be formed earlier than 4-OxT, but the latter predominated at equilibrium. DKG was oxidised by H₂O₂ to two partially characterised products, one of which was itself further oxidised by H₂O₂ to yield threonate. The possible occurrence of these reactions in the apoplast in vivo and the biological roles of vitamin C catabolites are discussed.

Alternative pathways of dehydroascorbic acid degradation in vitro and in plant cell cultures: novel insights into vitamin C catabolism

L-Ascorbate catabolism involves reversible oxidation to DHA (dehydroascorbic acid), then irreversible oxidation or hydrolysis. The precursor–product relationships and the identity of several major DHA breakdown products remained unclear. In the presence of added H2O2, DHA underwent little hydrolysis to DKG (2,3-dioxo-L-gulonate). Instead, it yielded OxT (oxalyl L-threonate), cOxT (cyclic oxalyl L-threonate) and free oxalate (~6:1:1), essentially simultaneously, suggesting that all three product classes independently arose from one reactive intermediate, proposed to be cyclic-2,3-O-oxalyl-L-threonolactone. Only with plant apoplastic esterases present were the esters significant precursors of free oxalate. Without added H2O2, DHA was slowly hydrolysed to DKG. Downstream of DKG was a singly ionized dicarboxy compound (suggested to be 2-carboxy-L-xylonolactone plus 2-carboxy-L-lyxonolactone), which reversibly de-lactonized to a dianionic carboxypentonate. Formation of these lactones and acid was minimized by the presence of residual unreacted ascorbate. In vivo, the putative 2-carboxy-L-pentonolactones were relatively stable. We propose that DHA is a branch-point in ascorbate catabolism, being either oxidized to oxalate and its esters or hydrolysed to DKG and downstream carboxypentonates. The oxidation/hydrolysis ratio is governed by reactive oxygen species status. In vivo, oxalyl esters are enzymatically hydrolysed, but the carboxypentonates are stable. The biological roles of these ascorbate metabolites invite future exploration.