Cyclic AMP-dependent Protein Kinase in Paramecium tetraurelia

Nucleoside analogue activators of cyclic AMP-independent protein kinase A of Trypanosoma

Protein kinase A (PKA), the main effector of cAMP in eukaryotes, is a paradigm for the mechanisms of ligand-dependent and allosteric regulation in signalling. Here we report the orthologous but cAMP-independent PKA of the protozoan Trypanosoma and identify 7-deaza-nucleosides as potent activators (EC₅₀ ≥ 6.5 nM) and high affinity ligands (K_D ≥ 8 nM). A co-crystal structure of trypanosome PKA with 7-cyano-7-deazainosine and molecular docking show how substitution of key amino acids in both CNB domains of the regulatory subunit and its unique C-terminal αD helix account for this ligand swap between trypanosome PKA and canonical cAMP-dependent PKAs. We propose nucleoside-related endogenous activators of Trypanosoma brucei PKA (TbPKA). The existence of eukaryotic CNB domains not associated with binding of cyclic nucleotides suggests that orphan CNB domains in other eukaryotes may bind undiscovered signalling molecules. Phosphoproteome analysis validates 7-cyano-7-deazainosine as powerful cell-permeable inducer to explore cAMP-independent PKA signalling in medically important neglected pathogens.

Signalling in ciliates: long- and short-range signals and molecular determinants for cellular dynamics

In ciliates, unicellular representatives of the bikont branch of evolution, inter- and intracellular signalling pathways have been analysed mainly in Paramecium tetraurelia, Paramecium multimicronucleatum and Tetrahymena thermophila and in part also in Euplotes raikovi. Electrophysiology of ciliary activity in Paramecium spp. is a most successful example. Established signalling mechanisms include plasmalemmal ion channels, recently established intracellular Ca²⁺ -release channels, as well as signalling by cyclic nucleotides and Ca²⁺ . Ca²⁺ -binding proteins (calmodulin, centrin) and Ca²⁺ -activated enzymes (kinases, phosphatases) are involved. Many organelles are endowed with specific molecules cooperating in signalling for intracellular transport and targeted delivery. Among them are recently specified soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptors (SNAREs), monomeric GTPases, H⁺ -ATPase/pump, actin, etc. Little specification is available for some key signal transducers including mechanosensitive Ca²⁺ -channels, exocyst complexes and Ca²⁺ -sensor proteins for vesicle-vesicle/membrane interactions. The existence of heterotrimeric G-proteins and of G-protein-coupled receptors is still under considerable debate. Serine/threonine kinases dominate by far over tyrosine kinases (some predicted by phosphoproteomic analyses). Besides short-range signalling, long-range signalling also exists, e.g. as firmly installed microtubular transport rails within epigenetically determined patterns, thus facilitating targeted vesicle delivery. By envisaging widely different phenomena of signalling and subcellular dynamics, it will be shown (i) that important pathways of signalling and cellular dynamics are established already in ciliates, (ii) that some mechanisms diverge from higher eukaryotes and (iii) that considerable uncertainties still exist about some essential aspects of signalling.

Inactivation of Ca2+-induced ciliary reversal by high-salt extraction in the cilia of Paramecium

Intracellular Ca(2+) induces ciliary reversal and backward swimming in Paramecium. However, it is not known how the Ca(2+) signal controls the motor machinery to induce ciliary reversal. We found that demembranated cilia on the ciliated cortical sheets from Paramecium caudatum lost the ability to undergo ciliary reversal after brief extraction with a solution containing 0.5 M KCl. KNO(3), which is similar to KCl with respect to chaotropic effect; it had the same effect as that of KCl on ciliary response. Cyclic AMP antagonizes Ca(2+)-induced ciliary reversal. Limited trypsin digestion prevents endogenous A-kinase and cAMP-dependent phosphorylation of an outer arm dynein light chain and induces ciliary reversal. However, the trypsin digestion prior to the high-salt extraction did not affect the inhibition of Ca(2+)-induced ciliary reversal caused by the high-salt extraction. Furthermore, during the course of the high-salt extraction, some axonemal proteins were extracted from ciliary axonemes, suggesting that they may be responsible for Ca(2+)-induced ciliary reversal.

cAMP regulates vegetative growth and cell cycle in Candida albicans

We demonstrate here the regulatory role of cAMP in cell cycle of Candida albicans. cAMP was found to be a positive signal for growth and morphogenesis. Phosphodiesterase inhibitor aminophylline exhibited significant effects, i.e., increased growth, as well as induced morphogenesis. Atropine and trifluoperazine negatively regulated (inhibited) growth and did not induce morphogenesis. These changes were attributed to increase in cAMP levels and protein kinase A (PKA) activity in presence of aminophylline, while reduction was observed in atropine and trifluoperazine (TFP) grown cells. Alteration in cAMP signaling pathway affected the cell cycle progression in Candida albicans. Increased cAMP levels in aminophylline grown cells reduced the duration of cell cycle by inciting the cell cycle-specific expression of G1 cyclins (CLN1 and CLN2). However atropine and trifluoperazine delayed the expression of G1 cyclins and hence prolonged the cell cycle. Implication of cAMP signaling pathway in both the cell cycle and morphogenesis further opened the channels to explore the potential of this pathway to serve as a target for development of new antifungal drugs.

Isolation and characterization of a Paramecium cDNA clone encoding a putative serine/threonine protein kinase

Mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases, a closely related family of protein kinases, are involved in cell cycle regulation and differentiation in yeast and human cells. They have not been documented in ciliates. We used PCR to amplify DNA sequences of a ciliated protozoan--Paramecium caudatum--using primers corresponding to amino acid sequences that are common to MAP kinases. We isolated and sequenced one putative MAP kinase-like serine/threonine kinase cDNA from P. caudatum. This cDNA, called pcstk1 (Paramecium caudatum Serine/Threonine Kinase 1) shared approximately 35% amino acid identity with MAP kinases from yeast. MAP kinases are activated by phosphorylation of specific threonine and tyrosine residues. These two amino acid residues are conserved in the PCSTK1 sequence at positions Thr 159 and Tyr 161. The PSTAIRE motif, which is characteristic of the CDK2 gene family, cannot be found in ORF of PCSTK1. The highest homology score was to human STK9, which contains MAP type kinase domains. Comparisons of expression level have shown that pcstk1 is expressed equally in cells at different stages (sexual and asexual). We discussed the possibility, as in other organisms, that a family of MAP kinase genes exists in P. caudatum.

Augmented ciliary reorientation response and cAMP-dependent protein phosphorylation induced by glycerol in triton-extracted Paramecium

In the presence of 30% glycerol, the cilia of a permeabilized cell model from Paramecium exhibit dynamic orientation changes while displaying only a restricted cyclic beating with a very small amplitude. The direction of cilia under these conditions corresponds to the direction of the effective power stroke of cilia beating in the absence of glycerol, i.e., pointing posteriorly in the absence of Ca2+ and anteriorly at > 10(-6) M Ca2+. Ciliary reorientation toward the posterior in response to the removal of Ca2+ is particularly conspicuous; all the cilia become predominantly pointing to the posterior end all through their beating phases. Previous studies suggested that the effect of glycerol is caused through modification of cAMP-dependent protein phosphorylation. To determine whether glycerol in fact affects ciliary reorientation through changes in protein phosphorylation, here we examined protein phosphorylation in the axonemes. Glycerol stimulated cAMP-induced phosphorylation of 29-kDa and 65-kDa proteins. The stimulation of phosphorylation was found to be partly due to the inhibition of endogenous phosphodiesterase (PDE), and partly due to the inhibition of the dephosphorylation of the 29-kDa and 65-kDa phosphoproteins within the axoneme. Thus glycerol appears to cause predominant posterior orientation of cilia by stimulating cAMP-dependent phosphorylation on those proteins. In addition, glycerol appears to inhibit ciliary beating through inhibition of dynein ATPase.

Control of the ciliary beat by cyclic nucleotides in intact cortical sheets from Paramecium

The locomotor behavior of Paramecium depends on the ciliary beat direction and beat frequency. Changes in the ciliary beat are controlled by a signal transduction mechanism that follows changes in the membrane potential. These events take place in cilia covered with a ciliary membrane. To determine the effects of second messengers in the cilia, cortical sheets were used with intact ciliary membrane as a half-closed system in which each cilium is covered with a ciliary membrane with an opening to the cell body. Cyclic nucleotides and their derivatives applied from an opening to the cell body affected the ciliary beat. cAMP and 8-Br-cAMP increased the beat frequency and the efficiency of propulsion and acted antagonistically to the action of Ca(2+). cGMP and 8-Br-cGMP increased the efficiency of propulsion accompanying clear metachronal waves but decreased the beat frequency. These results indicate that the cyclic nucleotides affect target proteins in the ciliary axonemes surrounded by the ciliary membrane without a membrane potential and increase the efficiency of propulsion of the ciliary beat. In vitro phosphorylation of isolated ciliary axonemes in the presence of cyclic nucleotides and their derivatives revealed that the action of cAMP was correlated with the phosphorylation of 29-kDa and 65-kDa proteins and that the action of cGMP was correlated with the phosphorylation of a 42-kDa protein.

Protein phosphatase 2C is involved in the cAMP-dependent ciliary control in Paramecium caudatum

Forward swimming of the Triton-extracted model of Paramecium is stimulated by cAMP. Backward swimming of the model induced by Ca(2+) is depressed by cAMP. Cyclic AMP and Ca(2+) act antagonistically in setting the direction of the ciliary beat. Some ciliary axonemal proteins from Paramecium caudatum are phosphorylated in a cAMP-dependent manner. In the presence of cAMP, axonemal 29- and 65-kDa polypeptides were phosphorylated by endogenous A-kinase in vitro. These phosphoproteins, however, were not dephosphorylated after in vitro phosphorylation, presumably because of the low endogenous phosphoprotein phosphatase activity associated with isolated axonemes. We purified the protein phosphatase that specifically dephosphorylated the 29- and 65-kDa phosphoproteins from Paramecium caudatum. The molecular weight of the protein phosphatase was 33 kDa. The protein phosphatase had common characteristics as protein phosphatase 2C (PP2C). The characteristics of the protein phosphatase were the same as those of the PP2C from Paramecium tetraurelia (PtPP2C) [Grothe et al., 1998: J. Biol. Chem. 273:19167-19172]. We concluded that the phosphoprotein phosphatase is the PP2C from Paramecium caudatum (PcPP2C). The PcPP2C markedly accelerated the backward swimming of the Triton-extracted model in the presence of Ca(2+). On the other hand, the PcPP2C slightly depressed the forward swimming speed. This indicates that the PP2C plays a role in the cAMP-dependent regulation of ciliary movement in Paramecium caudatum through dephosphorylation of 29- and/or 65-kDa regulatory phosphoproteins by terminating the action of cAMP.

Evidence for cAMP-dependent protein kinase in the dinoflagellate, Amphidinium operculatum

A cAMP dependent protein kinase (PKA) was identified in the dinoflagellate Amphidinium operculum. In vitro kinase activity towards kemptide, a PKA-specific substrate, was not detectable in crude lysates. However, fractionation of dinoflagellate extracts by gel filtration chromatography showed PKA-like activity toward kemptide at approximately 66 kDa. These findings suggest that possible low molecular mass inhibitors in crude lysates were removed by the gel filtration chromatography. Pre-incubation of extracts with cAMP prior to chromatography resulted in an apparent molecular mass shift in the in vitro kinase assay to 40 kDa. An in-gel kinase assay reflected activity of the free catalytic subunit at approximately 40 kDa. Furthermore, western blotting with an antibody to the human PKA catalytic subunit confirmed a catalytic subunit with a mass of approximately 40 kDa. Results from this study indicate that the PKA in A. operculatum has a catalytic subunit of similar size to that in higher eukaryotes, but with a holoenzyme of a size suggesting a dimeric, rather than tetrameric structure.

Analysis of micronuclear, macronuclear and cDNA sequences encoding the regulatory subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase of Euplotes octocarinatus: evidence for a ribosomal frameshift

We have isolated and characterized the micronuclear gene encoding the regulatory subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase of the ciliated protozoan Euplotes octocarinatus, as well as its macronuclear version and the corresponding cDNA. Analyses of the sequences revealed that the micronuclear gene contains one small 69-bp internal eliminated sequence (IES) that is removed during macronuclear development. The IES is located in the 5'-noncoding region of the micronuclear gene and is flanked by a pair of tetranucleotide 5'-TACA-3' direct repeats. The macronuclear DNA molecule carrying this gene is approximately 1400 bp long and is amplified to about 2000 copies per macronucleus. Sequence analysis suggests that the expression of this gene requires a +1 ribosomal frameshift. The deduced protein shares 31% identity with the cAMP-dependent protein kinase type I regulatory subunit of Homo sapiens, and 53% identity with the regulatory subunit R44 of one of the two cAMP-dependent protein kinases of Paramecium. In addition, it contains two highly conserved cAMP binding sites in the C-terminal domain. The putative autophosphorylation site ARTSV of the regulatory subunit of E. octocarinatus is similar to that of the regulatory subunit R44 of Paramecium but distinct from the consensus motif RRXSZ of other eukaryotic regulatory subunits of cAMP-dependent protein kinases.

Purification and characterization of cAMP dependent protein kinase from Microsporum gypseum

A cyclic AMP dependent protein kinase (PKA), its regulatory (R) and catalytic (C) subunits were purified to homogeneity from soluble extract of Microsporum gypseum. Purified enzyme showed a final specific activity of 277.9 nmol phosphate transferred min(-1) mg protein(-1) with kemptide as substrate. The enzyme preparation showed two bands with molecular masses of 76 kDa and 45 kDa on sodium dodecyl polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The 76 kDa subunit was found to be the regulatory (R) subunit of PKA holoenzyme as determined by its immunoreactivity and the isoelectric point of this subunit was 3.98. The 45 kDa subunit was found to be the catalytic (C) subunit by its immunoreactivity and phosphotransferase activity. Gel filtration using Sepharose CL-6B revealed the molecular mass of PKA holoenzyme to be 240 kDa, compatible with its tetrameric structure, consisting of two regulatory subunits (76 kDa) and two catalytic subunits (45 kDa). The specificity of enzyme towards protein acceptors in decreasing order of phosphorylation was found to be kemptide, casein, syntide and histone IIs. Purified enzyme had apparent K(m) values of 71 microM and 25 microM for ATP and kemptide, respectively. Phosphorylation was strongly inhibited by mammalian PKA inhibitor (PKI) but not by inhibitors of other protein kinases. The PKA showed maximum activity at pH 7.0 and enzyme activity was inhibited in the presence of N-ethylmaleimide (NEM) which shows the involvement of sulfhydryl groups for the activity of PKA. PKA phosphorylated a number of endogenous proteins suggesting the multifunctional role of cAMP dependent protein kinase in M. gypseum. Further work is under progress to identify the natural substrates of this enzyme through which it may regulate the enzymes involved in phospholipid metabolism.

Phosphorylation of linker histones by a protein kinase A-like activity in mitotic nuclei

Micronuclear linker histones of the ciliated protozoan, Tetrahymena thermophila, are extensively phosphorylated in vivo. Each of these polypeptides, alpha, beta, gamma, and delta, contains sites for phosphorylation by cyclic-AMP dependent protein kinase (PKA) but not Cdc2 kinase, and some data have been presented implicating PKA kinase in their phosphorylation in vitro and in vivo (Sweet, M. T., and Allis, C. D. (1993) Chromosoma 102, 637-647; Sweet, M. T., Jones, K., and Allis, C. D. (1996) J. Cell Biol., in press). In this report we have extended these analyses by showing that Cdc2 and PKA kinase are not evenly distributed between micro- and macronuclei. Macronuclei, but not micronuclei, contain a 36-kDa polypeptide that is immunoreactive with p34Cdc2 antibodies. In contrast, a 40-kDa polypeptide is detected with PKA antibodies in micronuclei, that is not detected in macronuclei. In support, extracts from micronuclei, but not macronuclei, contain a kinase activity that resembles some, but not all, characteristics of PKA from other sources. Immunodepletion experiments using anti-PKA antibodies show that a 40-kDa polypeptide can be specifically removed from these extracts with a concomitant loss in kinase activity. Microsequence analyses of delta demonstrate that this linker histone is phosphorylated in vivo on two PKA consensus sequences located in its carboxyl-terminal domain, an optimum PKA consensus sequence, Arg-Lys-Asn-Ser, and a less optimal PKA sequence, Lys-Ser-Ser-Val. Collectively, these results suggest that PKA or a PKA-like kinase is responsible for the phosphorylation of linker histone in mitotically dividing micronuclei. In contrast, macronuclei, which divide amitotically, phosphorylate linker histone H1 using a distinct, Cdc2-like kinase.

A nucleoside diphosphate kinase from Paramecium tetraurelia with protein kinase activity

Nucleoside diphosphate kinase (NDP kinase) from Paramecium was purified to homogeneity. The native enzyme was 80 kDa (by gel filtration), with subunits of 18 and 20 kDa. Near the amino terminus, 15 of 20 residues were identical with those in human NDP kinase, and 17 of 20 with the awd gene product from Drosophila. NDP kinase bound alpha-labeled ATP and GTP, and a photoreactive GTP analog labeled both subunits. Purified NDP kinase underwent autophosphorylation on a histidine and a serine residue using either ATP or GTP as a substrate. The enzyme also catalyzed acid-stable phosphorylation of casein and phosvitin. This protein kinase activity is distinct from the histidine phosphorylation that is part of the NDP kinase catalytic cycle. Antiserum against the purified protein from Paramecium cross-reacted with 16- to 20-kDa proteins in most species tested, and with a larger protein (44 kDa) in Paramecium, Xenopus, and two human lines. The multiple forms (20 and 44 kDa) of the NDP kinase in Paramecium and its protein kinase activity, suggest that the protein is more than a housekeeping enzyme; it may have regulatory roles such as those of the NDP kinase-like awd protein of Drosophila and Nm23 protein of humans.

The 44-kDa regulatory subunit of the Paramecium cAMP-dependent protein kinase lacks a dimerization domain and may have a unique autophosphorylation site sequence

The 44-kDa regulatory subunit (R44) of one form of cAMP-dependent protein kinase of Paramecium was purified, and two partial internal amino acid sequences from it were used to clone the corresponding cDNA. This R44 cDNA clone was 1022-bp long, including 978 bp of coding sequence and 7 bp and 37 bp of 5' and 3' untranslated sequences, respectively. A 1.1-kb mRNA was labeled on a Northern blot. The deduced R44 amino acid sequence had 31%-38% positional identity to the sequences of other cloned cAMP-dependent protein kinase regulatory subunits. R44 sequence showed equal sequence similarity to mammalian types I and II regulatory subunits. The N-terminal sequence encoding the regulatory subunit dimerization domain found in most regulatory subunits is not present in the R44 clone, confirming the lack of regulatory subunit dimer formation previously reported for the Paramecium cAMP-dependent protein kinase. The putative autophosphorylation site of R44 contains the amino acid sequence TRTS, distinct from the consensus sequence RRXS, where X is any residue, found in other autophosphorylated cAMP-dependent protein kinase regulatory subunits and many cAMP-dependent protein kinase substrates.

Paramecium has two regulatory subunits of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase, one unique to cilia

The subunit composition and intracellular location of the two forms of cAMP-dependent protein kinase of Paramecium cilia were determined using antibodies against the 40-kDa catalytic (C) and 44-kDa regulatory (R44) subunits of the 70-kDa cAMP-dependent protein kinase purified from deciliated cell bodies. Both C and R44 were present in soluble and particulate fractions of cilia and deciliated cells. Crude cilia and a soluble ciliary extract contained a 48-kDa protein (R48) weakly recognized by one of several monoclonal antibodies against R44, but not recognized by an anti-R44 polyclonal serum. Gel-filtration chromatography of a soluble ciliary extract resolved a 220-kDa form containing C and R48 and a 70-kDa form containing C and R44. In the large enzyme, R48 was the only protein to be autophosphorylated under conditions that allow autophosphorylation of R44. The subunits of the large enzyme subsequently were purified to homogeneity by cAMP-agarose chromatography. Both C and R48 were retained by the column and eluted with I M NaCl; no other proteins were purified in this step. These results confirm that the ciliary cAMP-dependent protein kinases have indistinguishable C subunits, but different R subunits. The small ciliary enzyme, like the cell-body enzyme, contains R44, whereas R48 is the R subunit of the large enzyme.

Identification and characterization of cAMP-dependent protein kinase and its possible direct interactions with protein phosphatase-1 in marine dinoflagellates

We have examined the nature of signal transduction involving reversible protein phosphorylation in marine Prorocentrale species. Of particular interest is the marine dinoflagellate Prorocentrum lima in which the tumour promoter okadaic acid is produced and may interfere with signal transduction. We have identified cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) activity in P. lima, P. micans, and P. minimum. The P. lima enzyme was characterized biochemically and appears to consist of two different isoforms in the R2C2 configuration. Whole cell extracts of P. micans and P. minimum treated with the specific PKA inhibitor peptide PKI (5-24) or cAMP demonstrated altered intensities of phosphopeptide 32P labeling, most likely involving regulation of a protein phosphatase via PKA activity. A primary candidate for PKA regulation is protein phosphatase-1 (PP-1), which in P. lima possesses a classical PKA consensus phosphorylation site. We demonstrate that a peptide fragment of PP-1 from P. lima corresponding to this PKA phosphorylation site can be effectively phosphorylated by PKA and dephosphorylated by calcineurin. We speculate that PP-1 activity among several lower eukaryotes may be mediated directly by reversible phosphorylation. Higher eukaryotes may have developed inhibitor proteins to provide more complex regulation of protein phosphatase activity.

Protein substrates for cGMP-dependent protein phosphorylation in cilia of wild type and atalanta mutants of Paramecium

In the ciliated protozoan Paramecium, swimming direction is regulated by voltage-gated Ca2+ channels in the ciliary membrane. In response to depolarizing stimuli, intraciliary Ca2+ rises, triggering reversal of the ciliary power stroke and backward swimming. One class of Ca(2+)-unresponsive behavioral mutants of Paramecium, atalanta mutants, cannot swim backward even though they have functional Ca2+ channels in their ciliary membrane. Several atalanta mutants were characterized with regard to several Ca(2+)-dependent activities, but no significant difference between wild type and the mutants was detected. However, one allelic group, atalanta A (initially characterized by Hinrichsen and Kung [1984: Genet. Res. Camb. 43:11-20]), showed a helical swimming path of opposite handedness from that of wild-type cells when detergent-permeabilized cells ("models") were reactivated with MgATP. When cGMP-dependent protein kinase purified from wild-type cells was added to atalanta A models, the handedness of the swimming path was reversed. Cyclic GMP stimulated in vitro phosphorylation of several proteins in isolated cilia, and the pattern of phosphoproteins was very similar for wild type and atalanta mutants, with one exception: a protein of 59 kDa was phosphorylated much less in the mutant ata A. When ciliary proteins were separated by gel electrophoresis and then phosphorylated "on blot" by purified cGMP-dependent protein kinase, phosphoprotein patterns were similar in wild type and ata mutants except that a 48 kDa protein (p48) from ata A3 was more heavily phosphorylated. This difference in p48 phosphorylation was also observed with cGMP-dependent protein kinase purified from ata A3 mutant cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

In vitro phosphorylation of ciliary dyneins by protein kinases from Paramecium

Paramecium dyneins were tested as substrates for phosphorylation by cAMP-dependent protein kinase, cGMP-dependent protein kinase, and two Ca(2+)-dependent protein kinases that were partially purified from Paramecium extracts. Only cAMP-dependent protein kinase caused significant phosphorylation. The major phosphorylated species was a 29 kDa protein that was present in both 22 S and 12 S dyneins; its phosphate-accepting activity peaked with 22 S dynein. In vitro phosphorylation was maximal at five minutes, then decreased. This decrease in phosphorylation was inhibited by the addition of vanadate or NaF. The 29 kDa protein was not phosphorylated by a heterologous cAMP-dependent protein kinase, the bovine catalytic subunit. Phosphorylation of dynein did not change its ATPase activity. In sucrose gradient fractions from the last step of dynein purification, phosphorylation by an endogenous kinase occurred. This phosphorylation could not be attributed to the small amounts of cAMP- and cGMP-dependent protein kinases known to be present, nor was it Ca(2+)-dependent. This previously uncharacterized ciliary protein kinase used casein as an in vitro substrate.

Phosphorylation of linker histones by cAMP-dependent protein kinase in mitotic micronuclei of Tetrahymena

Linker histones (LHs) in transcriptionally inactive, mitotically dividing micronuclei of Tetrahymena thermophila, alpha, beta, gamma and delta, are highly phosphorylated in vivo. Analysis of the derived sequences of these LHs suggests that none of these polypeptides contain sites of phosphorylation by p34cdc2, the kinase thought to play an essential role governing the entry of all cells into mitosis. Surprisingly alpha, beta, gamma and delta each contain sites for phosphorylation by cyclic AMP-dependent kinase (PKA). p34cdc2 kinase phosphorylases H1 in vitro but fails to phosphorylate alpha, beta, gamma and delta. Conversely, PKA phosphorylates each of the micronuclear LHs but is unable to phosphorylate macronuclear H1. Micronuclear LHs labeled in vivo with [32P]phosphate were purified by reverse phase HPLC. Phosphoamino acid analysis showed that all four micronuclear LHs are phosphorylated exclusively on serine residues in vitro. Cyanogen bromide mapping of alpha, beta, gamma and delta labeled in vivo or in vitro by PKA indicates that each LH is phosphorylated only on peptides that contain either optimum (RR/KXS) or less optimum (RXXS) PKA sequences. This study suggests that PKA or a PKA-like activity(ies), but not p34cdc2 kinase, is(are) responsible for the in vivo phosphorylation of LHs in the mitotic micronucleus of Tetrahymena. We suggest that, at least in Tetrahymena, PKA-driven phosphorylation or dephosphorylation plays a significant role in the control of mitotic processes such as chromosome condensation.

Small GTP-binding proteins associated with secretory vesicles of Paramecium

GTP-binding proteins act as molecular switches in a variety of membrane-associated processes, including secretion. One group of GTP-binding proteins, 20-30 kDa, is related to the product of the ras proto-oncogene. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, ras-like GTP-binding proteins regulate vesicular traffic in secretion. The ciliate protist Paramecium tetraurelia contains secretory vesicles (trichocysts) whose protein contents are released by regulated exocytosis. Using [alpha-32P]GTP and an on-blot assay for GTP-binding, we detected at least seven GTP-binding proteins of low molecular mass (22-31 kDa) in extracts of Paramecium tetraurelia. Subcellular fractions contained characteristic subsets of these seven; cilia were enriched for the smallest (22 kDa). The pattern of GTP-binding proteins was altered in two mutants defective in the formation or discharge of trichocysts. Trichocysts isolated with their surrounding membranes intact contained two minor GTP-binding proteins (23.5 and 29 kDa) and one major GTP-binding protein (23 kDa) that were absent from demembranated trichocysts. This differential localization of GTP-binding proteins suggests functional specialization of specific GTP-binding proteins in ciliary motility and exocytosis.

Identification of a 42 kDa protein as a substrate of protein phosphatase 1 in cilia from Paramecium

Okadaic acid, a specific inhibitor of protein phosphatase 1 in Paramecium causes sustained backward swimming in response to depolarising stimuli (S. Klumpp et al. (1990) EMBO J. 9, 685). Here, we employ okadaic acid, tautomycin, microcystin LR and inhibitor 1 as phosphatase inhibitors to identify a 42 kDa protein in the excitable ciliary membrane that is dephosphorylated by protein phosphatase 1. Identification of the 42 kDa protein was facilitated by the finding that the protein kinase responsible for its phosphorylation uses Ca-ATP as a substrate just as effectively as Mg-ATP. Notably, dephosphorylation of the 42 kDa protein is specifically inhibited by cyclic AMP; cyclic GMP has no effect.