Redox- and pH-dependent association of plastocyanin with lipid bilayers: effect on protein conformation and thermal stability

Stability of sunflower 2S albumins and LTP to physiologically relevant in vitro gastrointestinal digestion

In order for a protein to elicit a systemic allergic response it must reach the circulatory system through the intestinal mucosa as a sufficiently large fragment with adequate structural integrity. Sunflower LTP and 2S albumins (SFA8 and three mixed fractions of Alb1 and Alb2) were digested in simulated gastric fluid (SGF) for 2h and the conditions were then changed to mimic the intestinal environment for a further 2h digestion. The effects of phosphatidylcholine (PC) and emulsification on the digestibility of the proteins were investigated. PC protected all of the proteins studied against both gastric and intestinal digestive enzymes but to different extents. Emulsification of SFA8 resulted in strong protection against digestion, which was further enhanced by the presence of PC in the SGF. These results highlight the importance of considering real food structures such as emulsified systems and also the gastrointestinal environment that proteins are exposed to once consumed when assessing allergenicity.

Structural comparison of the poplar plastocyanin isoforms PCa and PCb sheds new light on the role of the copper site geometry in interactions with redox partners in oxygenic photosynthesis

Plastocyanin (PC) from poplar leaves is present in two isoforms, PCa and PCb, which differ in sequence by amino acid replacements at locations remote from the copper center and simultaneously act in the photosynthetic electron-transport chain. We describe ultra-high resolution structures of PCa and high-resolution structures of PCb, both under oxidizing and reducing conditions at pH 4, 6 and 8. The docking on cytochrome f and photosystem I, respectively, has been modeled for both isoforms. PCa and PCb exhibit closely similar overall and active-site structures, except for a difference in the relative orientation of the acidic patches. The isoforms exhibit substantial differences in the dependence of the reduced (Cu(I)) geometry on pH. In PCa, the decrease in pH causes a gradual dissociation of His87 from Cu(I) at low pH, probably adopting a neutral tautomeric state. In PCb, the histidine remains covalently bound to Cu(I) and may adopt a doubly protonated state at low pH. The fact that both isoforms have similar although not identical functions in photosynthetic electron flows suggests that the His87 imidazole does not play a crucial role for the pathway of electron transport from cytochrome f to oxidized PC.

Mutants, overexpressors, and interactors of Arabidopsis plastocyanin isoforms: revised roles of plastocyanin in photosynthetic electron flow and thylakoid redox state

Two homologous plastocyanin isoforms are encoded by the genes PETE1 and PETE2 in the nuclear genome of Arabidopsis thaliana. The PETE2 transcript is expressed at considerably higher levels and the PETE2 protein is the more abundant isoform. Null mutations in the PETE genes resulted in plants, designated pete1 and pete2, with decreased plastocyanin contents. However, despite reducing plastocyanin levels by over approximately 90%, a pete2 null mutation on its own affects rates of photosynthesis and growth only slightly, whereas pete1 knockout plants, with about 60-80% of the wild-type plastocyanin level, did not show any alteration. Hence, plastocyanin concentration is not limiting for photosynthetic electron flow under optimal growth conditions, perhaps implying other possible physiological roles for the protein. Indeed, plastocyanin has been proposed previously to cooperate with cytochrome c(6A) (Cyt c(6A)) in thylakoid redox reactions, but we find no evidence for a physical interaction between the two proteins, using interaction assays in yeast. We observed homodimerization of Cyt c(6A) in yeast interaction assays, but also Cyt c(6A) homodimers failed to interact with plastocyanin. Moreover, phenotypic analysis of atc6-1 pete1 and atc6-1 pete2 double mutants, each lacking Cyt c(6A) and one of the two plastocyanin-encoding genes, failed to reveal any genetic interaction. Overexpression of either PETE1 or PETE2 in the pete1 pete2 double knockout mutant background results in essentially wild-type photosynthetic performance, excluding the possibility that the two plastocyanin isoforms could have distinct functions in thylakoid electron flow.

A brief history of the investigations on photosynthesis in Bulgaria

Investigations on photosynthesis in Bulgaria started in 1941 with the doctoral thesis of Kyrill Popov (University of Münster, Germany). In 1965, at the Institute of Plant Physiology, in Sofia, Kyrill Popov guided the establishment of a special group of researchers on the biochemistry, biophysics and physiology of photosynthesis. In this paper, a brief description of research in photosynthesis in Bulgaria is presented.

pH-dependent structural change of reduced spinach plastocyanin studied by perturbed angular correlation of γ-rays and dynamic light scattering

In this study the pH-dependent structural changes of reduced spinach plastocyanin were investigated using perturbed angular correlation (PAC) of gamma-rays and dynamic light scattering (DLS). PAC data of Ag-substituted plastocyanin indicated that the coordinating ligands are two histidine residues (His37, His87) and a cysteine residue (Cys84) in a planar configuration, whereas the methionine (Met92) found perpendicular to this plane is not a coordinating ligand at neutral pH. Two slightly different conformations with differences in the Cys-metal ion-His angles could be observed with PAC spectroscopy. At pH 5.3 a third coordination geometry appears which can be explained as the absence of the His87 residue and the coordination of Met92 as a ligand. With DLS the aggregation of reduced plastocyanin could be observed below pH 5.3, indicating that not only the metal binding site but also the aggregation properties of the protein change upon pH reduction. Both the structural changes at the metal binding site and the aggregation are shown to be reversible. These results support the hypothesis that the pH of the thylakoid lumen has to remain moderate during steady-state photosynthesis and indicate that low pH induced aggregation of plastocyanin might serve as a regulatory switch for photosynthesis.

Structural, biological, and evolutionary relationships of plant food allergens sensitizing via the gastrointestinal tract

The recently completed genome sequence of the model plant species Arabidopsis has been estimated to encode over 25,000 proteins, which, on the basis of their function, can be classified into structural and metabolic (the vast majority of plant proteins), protective proteins, which defend a plant against invasion by pathogens or feeding by pests, and storage proteins, which proved a nutrient store to support germination in seeds. It is now clear that almost all plant food allergens are either protective or storage proteins. It is also becoming evident that those proteins that trigger the development of an allergic response through the gastrointestinal tract belong primarily to two large protein superfamilies: (1) The cereal prolamin superfamily, comprising three major groups of plant food allergens, the 2S albumins, lipid transfer proteins, and cereal alpha-amylase/trypsin inhibitors, which have related structures, and are stable to thermal processing and proteolysis. They include major allergens from Brazil nut, peanuts, fruits, such as peaches, and cereals, such as rice and wheat; (2) The cupin superfamily, comprising the major globulin storage proteins from a number of plant species. The globulins have been found to be allergens in plant foods, such as peanuts, soya bean, and walnut; (3) The cyteine protease C1 family, comprising the papain-like proteases from microbes, plants, and animals. This family contains two notable allergens that sensitize via the GI tract, namely actinidin from kiwi fruit and the soybean allergen, Gly m Bd 30k/P34. This study describes the properties, structures, and evolutionary relationships of these protein families, the allergens that belong to them, and discusses them in relation to the role protein structure may play in determining protein allergenicity.