Proteinase activity in potato plants

Purification and characterization of a serine protease from Cucumis trigonus Roxburghi

Kachri fruit, Cucumis trigonus Roxburghi, contains high protease activity and has been used as meat tenderizer in the Indian subcontinent. A 67 kDa serine protease from Kachri fruit was purified by DEAE-Sepharose and CM-Sepharose chromatography, whose optimum activity was at pH 11 and 70 degrees C. Its activity was strongly inhibited by PMSF, but not by EDTA, pepstatin, or cysteine protease inhibitors. The substrate specificity of the purified protease towards synthetic peptides was comparable to cucumisin, the first characterized subtilisin class plant protease from the sarcocarp of melon fruit (Cucumis melo). These characteristics, along with the N-terminal amino acid sequence, indicated that the isolated protease from Cucumis trigonus Roxburghi is a cucumisin homologue, which belongs to the serine protease family.

Taraxalisin -- a serine proteinase from dandelion Taraxacum officinale Webb s.l

Latex of dandelion roots contains a serine proteinase that hydrolyzes a chromogenic peptide substrate Glp-Ala-Ala-Leu-pNA optimally at pH 8.0. Maximal activity of the proteinase in the roots is attained in April, at the beginning of plant development after the winter period. The protease was isolated by ammonium sulfate precipitation of the root extract followed by affinity chromatography on a Sepharose-Ala-Ala-Leu-mrp and gel filtration on Superose 6R performed in FPLC regime. Pure serine proteinase named taraxalisin was inactivated by specific inhibitors of serine proteinases, diisopropylfluorophosphate (DFP) and phenylmethylsulfonylfluoride (PMSF). Its molecular mass is 67 kDa and pI 4.5. pH stability range is 6-9 in the presence of 2 mM Ca2+, temperature optimum is at 40 degrees C; Km=0.37+/-0.06 mM. The substrate specificity of taraxalisin towards synthetic peptides and insulin B-chain is comparable with that of two other subtilisin-like serine proteinases, cucumisin and macluralisin. The taraxalisin N-terminal sequence traced for 15 residues revealed 40% coinciding residues when aligned with that of subtilisin Carlsberg.

Cloning and characterization of a cathepsin D inhibitor gene from Solanum tuberosum L

A DNA clone encoding a cathepsin D inhibitor CathInh was isolated from a potato genomic library using a CathInh cDNA as hybridization probe. The amino acid sequence of the coding region is nearly identical with a CathInh cDNA and CathInh proteins previously isolated from a tuber-specific cDNA library and from tubers, respectively. Analysis of GUS activity resulting from expression of chimeric CathInh promoter-GUS genes in transgenic potato plants revealed expression exclusively confined to potato tubers. No GUS activity could be detected in any other organ of the transgenic plants either constitutively or after wounding or treatment with abscisic and jasmonic acid (JA). Interestingly, part of the promoter region of the CathInh gene, essential for GUS activity in tubers, shows striking similarity to promoter regions of tuber-specific class I patatin genes.

Multiple forms of soluble monophenol, dihydroxyphenylalanine: oxygen oxidoreductase (EC 1.14.18.1) from potato tubers (Solanum tuberosum). III. Influence of pH on the molecular weight distribution of enzyme activity in potato juice

Gel chromatography on Sepharose and on Sephadex was used to separate the soluble phenol oxidase in various potato juices into multiple molecular forms ranging from 36,000 to 800,000 daltons. Adjustment of potato juice from physiological pH (ca. 6) to pH 4.5 or to pH 7.8 resulted in the predominance of low-mol.-wt. (less than 150,000 daltons) or high-mol.-wt. (greater than 150,000 daltons) enzyme forms, respectively. This suggests association phenomena of subunits. In potato juice of physiological pH and in potato juice adjusted to pH 4.5, all enzyme forms exhibited both monophenol and o-diphenol oxidase activities (assayed at pH 6.0). In potato juice adjusted to pH 7.8 considerable loss of monophenol oxidase activity (assayed at pH 6.0) occurred. This suggests that o-diphenol oxidase is more alkali-stable than monophenol oxidase. The significance of these findings for enzyme purifications and for the in vivo action of the enzyme is discussed.