Comparative studies of NADP-malic enzyme from C-4 and C-3 plants

Effects of altered phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase activities on transgenic C3 plant Solanum tuberosum

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) genes from Corynebacterium glutamicum (cppc), Escherichia coli (eppc) or Flaveria trinervia (fppc) were transferred to Solanum tuberosum. Plant regenerants producing foreign PEPC were identified by Western blot analysis. Maximum PEPC activities measured in eppc and fppc plants grown in the greenhouse were doubled compared to control plants. For cppc a transgenic plant line could be selected which exhibited a fourfold increase in PEPC activity. In the presence of acetyl-CoA, a known activator of the procaryotic PEPC, a sixfold higher activity level was observed. In cppc plants grown in axenic culture PEPC activities were even higher. There was a 6-fold or 12-fold increase in the PEPC activities compared to the controls measured in the absence or presence of acetyl-CoA, respectively. Comparable results were obtained by transient expression in Nicotiana tabacum protoplasts. PEPC of C. glutamicum (PEPC C.g.) in S. tuberosum leaf extracts displays its characteristic K(m) (PEP) value. Plant growth was examined with plants showing high expression of PEPC and, moreover, with a plant cell line expressing an antisense S. tuberosum (anti-sppc) gene. In axenic culture the growth rate of a cppc plant cell line was appreciably diminished, whereas growth rates of an anti-sppc line were similar or slightly higher than in controls. Malate levels were increased in cppc plants and decreased in antisense plants. There were no significant differences in photosynthetic electron transport or steady state CO2 assimilation between control plants and transformants overexpressing PEPC C.g. or anti-sppc plants. However, a prolonged dark treatment resulted in a delayed induction of photosynthetic electron transport in plants with less PEPC. Rates of CO2 release in the dark determined after a 45 min illumination period at a high proton flux density were considerably enhanced in cppc plants and slightly diminished in anti-sppc plants. When CO2 assimilation rates were corrected for estimated rates of mitochondrial respiration in the light, the electron requirement for CO2 assimilation determined in low CO2 was slightly lower in transformants with higher PEPC, whereas transformants with decreased PEPC exhibited an appreciably elevated electron requirement. The CO2 compensation point remained unchanged in plants (cppc) with high PEPC activity, but might be increased in an antisense plant cell line. Stomatal opening was delayed in antisense plants, but was accelerated in plants overexpressing PEPC C.g. compared to the controls.

Characterization and expression of a NADP-malic enzyme cDNA induced by salt stress from the facultative crassulacean acid metabolism plant, Mesembryanthemum crystallinum

The facultative halophyte and crassulacean acid-metabolism plant, Mesembryanthemum crystallium shifts from C3 photosynthesis to crassulacean acid metabolism when exposed to high-salt or drought conditions. To study the molecular basis of this metabolic transition, the expression of NADP(+)-dependent malic enzyme (NADP-ME), which catalyzes the decarboxylation of malate to release pyruvate and CO2, has been investigated. The complete nucleotide sequence of a full-length cDNA clone was determined and found to contain a single open reading frame encoding a 585-amino-acid polypeptide of 64284 Da. The ice plant (M. crystallinum) NADP-ME shares amino acid identities in the range 72.5-79.0% when compared to other higher-plant enzymes and is more closely related to C3 rather than C4 forms of the enzyme. Genomic Southern-blot analysis of ice-plant DNA indicates that NADP-ME is encoded by a small gene family. Steady-state transcript levels increase 8-10-fold in response to salt stress in the leaves. Transcript levels in roots are extremely low and are unaffected by salt-stress treatment. Nuclear run-on experiments, using isolated nuclei from leaf tissue, confirm that the accumulation of NADP-ME transcripts is, in part, the result of increased transcription of this gene during salt stress.

NADP-dependent malate dehydrogenase (decarboxylating) from sugar cane leaves. Kinetic properties of different oligomeric structures

NADP-dependent malate dehydrogenase (decarboxylating) from sugar cane leaves was inhibited by increasing the ionic strength in the assay medium. The inhibitory effect was higher at pH 7.0 than 8.0, with median inhibitory concentrations (IC50) of 89 mM and 160 mM respectively, for inhibition by NaCl. Gel-filtration experiments indicated that the enzyme dissociated into dimers and monomers when exposed to high ionic strength (0.3 M NaCl). By using the enzyme-dilution approach in the absence and presence of 0.3 M NaCl, the kinetic properties of each oligomeric species of the protein was determined at pH 7.0 and 8.0. Tetrameric, dimeric and monomeric structures were shown to be active but with different V and Km values. The catalytic efficiency of the oligomers was tetramer greater than dimer greater than monomer, and each quaternary structure exhibited higher activity at pH 8.0 than 7.0. Dissociation constants for the equilibria between the different oligomeric forms of the enzyme were determined. It was established that Kd values were affected by pH and Mg2+ levels in the medium. Results suggest that the distinct catalytic properties of the different oligomeric forms of NADP-dependent malate dehydrogenase and changes in their equilibrium could be the molecular basis for an efficient physiological regulation of the decarboxylation step of C4 metabolism.

CO2 is the inorganic carbon substrate of NADP malic enzymes from Zea mays and from wheat germ

NADP malic enzyme (EC 1.1.1.40) was extracted and partially purified from the green leaves of Zea mays var. Felix and from wheat germ. The active inorganic carbon species for both enzymes was, in contrast to an earlier report, CO2 not HCO3-. The apparent Km, CO2 for the maize enzyme was 1.2 mM and the apparent Km, CO2 for the wheat germ preparation was 4.2 mM under conditions of substrate saturation, pH 7.3 and 17 degrees C. These observations support the views that CO2, rather than HCO3- as has been suggested, is produced in bundle-sheath chloroplasts and that the reaction mechanism catalysed by plant cytosolic and chloroplastic NADP malic enzymes is similar to that proposed for avian NADP malic enzymes.

The physiological role of malic enzyme in grape ripening

The high specificity of malic enzyme (ME; EC 1.1.1.40) from grape berries (Vitis vinifera L.) for the naturally occurring L-enantiomer of malic acid, its very selective C4-decarboxylation, and certain allosteric properties, reported previously, favour the conjecture of a regulatory function of ME in fruit malic acid degradation. On the other hand, high ME activity was detected even during the acid-accumulating phase of berry development. Also, the in vitro reversibility of the reaction supports the possibility of malate formation under conditions facilitating carboxylation of pyruvate, notably high CO2/HCO 3 (-) and NADPH/NADP ratios. However, a very limited incorporation of (14)C into malate and the uniform labeling pattern of the dicarboxylic acid after administration of [U-(14)C] alanine to grape berries before and after the onset of ripening, indicate that the 'reverse" reaction does not contribute essentially to grape malate synthesis. A regulatory mechanism mediating malic acid remetabolization on the basis of cosubstrate availability, comparable to the control of the hexose monophosphate shunt, is discussed.

Two forms of NADP-dependent malic enzyme in expanding maize leaves

Etiolated maize leaves (Zea mays L.) contain a major isozyme of NADP-dependent malic enzyme (L-malate dehydrogenase, decarboxylating, EC 1.1.1.40) having an isoelectric point of 5.28±0.03, a Km (L-malate) 0.3-0.6 mM at pH 7.45; a broad pH optimum around pH 6.9 under the conditions of assay; a molecular weight of 280,000 (sometimes accompanied by a minor component of 150,000); and an NAD-dependent activity about 1/50 the NADP-dependent activity. This isozyme, resembling the NADP-malic enzyme of vertebrates, is labeled type 1. The dominant isozyme of young green leaves (type 2) has, however, a pI 4.90±0.03, a Km (L-malate) 0.10-0.15 mM, a pH optimum of 8, and a molecular weight of 280,000. It is also more stable and exhibits an appreciable NAD-dependent activity (1/5-1/7 the NADP activity). Both isozymes show linear kinetics, dependence on Mn or Mg ions, similar Km (NADP(+)), and the typical increase of Km for L-malate with increasing pH values. Type 1 isozyme of maize is assumed to be cytosolic. Type 2 corresponds in each property to the chloroplast enzyme of bundle-sheath cells. It is present at a low level in etiolated leaves and develops to a high specific activity (up to 100 nmol min(-1) mg protein(-1) by 150 h illumination) during photosynthetic differentiation, replacing the type 1 form.