Developmental expression of the mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase complex in pea (Pisum sativum) seedlings

Stoichiometry of two plant glycine decarboxylase complexes and comparison with a cyanobacterial glycine cleavage system

The multienzyme glycine cleavage system (GCS) converts glycine and tetrahydrofolate to the one-carbon compound 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate, which is of vital importance for most if not all organisms. Photorespiring plant mitochondria contain very high levels of GCS proteins organised as a fragile glycine decarboxylase complex (GDC). The aim of this study is to provide mass spectrometry-based stoichiometric data for the plant leaf GDC and examine whether complex formation could be a general property of the GCS in photosynthesizing organisms. The molar ratios of the leaf GDC component proteins are 1L2 -4P2 -8T-26H and 1L2 -4P2 -8T-20H for pea and Arabidopsis, respectively, as determined by mass spectrometry. The minimum mass of the plant leaf GDC ranges from 1550 to 1650 kDa, which is larger than previously assumed. The Arabidopsis GDC contains four times more of the isoforms GCS-P1 and GCS-L1 in comparison with GCS-P2 and GCS-L2, respectively, whereas the H-isoproteins GCS-H1 and GCS-H3 are fully redundant as indicated by their about equal amounts. Isoform GCS-H2 is not present in leaf mitochondria. In the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, GCS proteins concentrations are low but above the complex formation threshold reported for pea leaf GDC. Indeed, formation of a cyanobacterial GDC from the individual recombinant GCS proteins in vitro could be demonstrated. Presence and metabolic significance of a Synechocystis GDC in vivo remain to be examined but could involve multimers of the GCS H-protein that dynamically crosslink the three GCS enzyme proteins, facilitating glycine metabolism by the formation of multienzyme metabolic complexes. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD018211.

Advanced Proteomic Approaches to Elucidate Somatic Embryogenesis

Somatic embryogenesis (SE) is a cell differentiation process by which a somatic cell changes its genetic program and develops into an embryonic cell. Investigating this process with various explant sources in vitro has allowed us to trace somatic embryo development from germination to plantlets and has led to the generation of new technologies, including genetic transformation, endangered species conservation, and synthetic seed production. A transcriptome data comparison from different stages of the developing somatic embryo has revealed a complex network controlling the somatic cell's fate, suggesting that an interconnected network acts at the protein level. Here, we discuss the current progress on SE using proteomic-based data, focusing on changing patterns of proteins during the establishment of the somatic embryo. Despite the advanced proteomic approaches available so far, deciphering how the somatic embryo is induced is still in its infancy. The new proteomics techniques that lead to the quantification of proteins with different abundances during the induction of SE are opening this area of study for the first time. These quantitative differences can elucidate the different pathways involved in SE induction. We envisage that the application of these proteomic technologies can be pivotal to identifying proteins critical to the process of SE, demonstrating the cellular localization, posttranslational modifications, and turnover protein events required to switch from a somatic cell to a somatic embryo cell and providing new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying SE. This work will help to develop biotechnological strategies for mass production of quality crop material.

Activity of the mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase complex in plants is stimulated in the presence of malate

The effect of malate on the steady-state activity of the pea (Pisum sativum L.) and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) leaf pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC) has been studied in isolated mitochondria. The addition of malate was found to be stimulatory for the mitochondrial PDC, however there was no stimulation of chloroplast PDC. The stimulation was saturated below 1mM malate and was apparently related to а partially activated complex, which activity increased in the presence of malate by about twofold. Malate also reversed the reduction of PDC activity in the presence of glycine. Based on the obtained kinetic data, we suggest that the effect of malate is rather not a direct activation of PDC but involves the establishment of NAD-malate dehydrogenase equilibrium, decreasing concentration of NADH and relieving its inhibitory effect of PDC.

Ethylene and reactive oxygen species are involved in root aerenchyma formation and adaptation of wheat seedlings to oxygen-deficient conditions

Exposing plants to hypoxic conditions greatly improves their anoxic stress tolerance by enhancing the activities of glycolysis and fermentation in roots. Ethylene may also be involved in these adaptive responses because its synthesis is increased in roots under hypoxic conditions. Here it is reported that pre-treatment of wheat seedlings with an ethylene precursor, 1-aminocyclopropanecarboxylic acid (ACC), enhanced accumulation of ethylene in the roots of wheat seedlings, and enhanced their tolerance of oxygen-deficient conditions through increasing the expression of genes encoding ethanol fermentation enzymes, alcohol dehydrogenase and pyruvate decarboxylase, in the roots. Lysigenous aerenchyma formation in root was induced by ACC pre-treatment and was further induced by growth under oxygen-deficient conditions. ACC pre-treatment increased the expression of three genes encoding respiratory burst oxidase homologue (a plant homologue of gp91(phox) in NADPH oxidase), which has a role in the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), in roots of seedlings. Co-treatment with ACC and an NADPH oxidase inhibitor, diphenyleneiodonium, partly suppressed the ACC-induced responses. These results suggest that ethylene and ROS are involved in adaptation of wheat seedlings to oxygen-deficient conditions through controlling lysigenous aerenchyma formation and the expression of genes encoding ethanol fermentation enzymes.

A mutation in the E2 subunit of the mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase complex in Arabidopsis reduces plant organ size and enhances the accumulation of amino acids and intermediate products of the TCA cycle

The mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (mtPDC) plays a pivotal role in controlling the entry of carbon into the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle for energy production. This multi-enzyme complex consists of three components: E1, E2, and E3. In Arabidopsis, there are three genes, mtE2-1, mtE2-2, and mtE2-3, which encode the putative mtPDC E2 subunit but how each of them contributes to the total mtPDC activity remains unknown. In this work, we characterized an Arabidopsis mutant, m132, that has abnormal small organs. Molecular cloning indicated that the phenotype of m132 is caused by a mutation in the mtE2-1 gene, which results in a truncation of 109 amino acids at the C-terminus of the encoded protein. In m132, mtPDC activity is only 30% of the WT and ATP production is severely impaired. The mutation in the mtE2-1 gene also leads to the over-accumulation of most intermediate products of the TCA cycle and of all the amino acids for protein synthesis. Our results suggest that, among the three mtE2 genes, mtE2-1 is a major contributor to the function of Arabidopsis mtPDC and that the functional disruption of mtE2-1 profoundly affects plant growth and development, as well as its metabolism.

Oxidation of an Adjacent Methionine Residue Inhibits Regulatory Seryl-Phosphorylation of Pyruvate Dehydrogenase

A Met residue is located adjacent to phosphorylation site 1 in the sequences of mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase E1α subunits. When synthetic peptides including site 1 were treated with H2O2, the Met residue was oxidized to methionine sulfoxide (MetSO), and the peptides were no longer phosphorylated by E1α-kinase. Isolated mitochondria were incubated under state III or IV conditions, lysed, the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC) immunoprecipitated, and tryptic peptides analyzed by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. In all instances both Met and MetSO site 1 tryptic-peptides were detected. Similar results were obtained when suspension-cultured cells were incubated with chemical agents known to stimulate production of reactive oxygen species within the mitochondria. Treatment with these agents had no effect upon the amount of total PDC, but decreased the proportion of P-PDC. We propose that the redox-state of the Met residue adjacent to phosphorylation site 1 of pyruvate dehydrogenase contributes to overall regulation of PDC activity in vivo.

Biochemical characterization, mitochondrial localization, expression, and potential functions for an Arabidopsis gamma-aminobutyrate transaminase that utilizes both pyruvate and glyoxylate

Gamma-aminobutyrate transaminase (GABA-T) catalyses the breakdown of GABA to succinic semialdehyde. In this report, the previously identified Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heyhn GABA-T (AtGABA-T) was characterized in more detail. Full-length AtGABA-T contains an N-terminal 36 amino acid long targeting pre-sequence (36 amino acids) that is both sufficient and necessary for targeting the enzyme to mitochondria. Removal of the pre-sequence encoding this N-terminal targeting domain and co-expression of the resulting truncated AtGABA-T cDNA with the GroES/EL molecular chaperone complex in Escherichia coli yielded good recovery of the soluble recombinant proteins. Activity assays indicated that purified recombinant GABA-T has both pyruvate- and glyoxylate-dependent activities, but cannot utilize 2-oxoglutarate as amino acceptor. Kinetic parameters for glyoxylate- and pyruvate-dependent GABA-T activities were similar, with physiologically relevant affinities. Assays of GABA-T activity in cell-free leaf extracts from wild-type Arabidopsis and two knockout mutants in different genetic backgrounds confirmed that the native enzyme possesses both pyruvate- and glyoxylate-dependent activities. The GABA-T transcript was present throughout the plant, but its expression was highest in roots and increased as a function of leaf development. A GABA-T with dual functions suggests the potential for interaction between GABA metabolism and photorespiratory glyoxylate production.

Localization of the Carnation Italian ringspot virus replication protein p36 to the mitochondrial outer membrane is mediated by an internal targeting signal and the TOM complex

BACKGROUND

Carnation Italian ringspot virus (CIRV) is a positive-strand RNA virus that causes massive structural alterations of mitochondria in infected host cells, the most conspicuous being the formation of numerous internal vesicles/spherules that are derived from the mitochondrial outer membrane and serve as the sites for viral RNA replication. While the membrane-bound components of the CIRV replication complex, including a 36-kD RNA-binding protein (p36), are known to be essential for these changes in mitochondrial morphology and are relatively well characterized in terms of their roles in nascent viral RNA synthesis, how these proteins are specifically targeted and inserted into mitochondria is poorly defined.

RESULTS

Here we report on the molecular signal responsible for sorting p36 to the mitochondrial outer membrane. Using a combination of gain-of-function assays with portions of p36 fused to reporter proteins and domain-swapping assays with p36 and another closely-related viral RNA-binding protein, p33, that sorts specifically to the peroxisomal boundary membrane, we show that the mitochondrial targeting information in p36 resides within its two transmembrane domains (TMDs) and intervening hydrophilic loop sequence. Comprehensive mutational analysis of these regions in p36 revealed that the primary targeting determinants are the moderate hydrophobicity of both TMDs and the positively-charged face of an amphipathic helix within the intervening loop sequence. We show also using bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) that p36 interacts with certain components of the translocase complex in the mitochondrial outer membrane (TOM), but not with the sorting and assembly machinery (SAM).

CONCLUSION

Our results provide insight to how viruses, such as CIRV, exploit specific host-cell protein sorting pathways to facilitate their replication. The characterization of the targeting and insertion of p36 into the mitochondrial outer membrane also sheds light on the mechanisms involved in sorting of host-cell membrane proteins to mitochondria, a process that has been largely unexplored in plants.

Changes in dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase expression and activity during postnatal development and aging in the rat brain

Brain energy metabolism is increased during postnatal development and diminished in neurodegenerative diseases linked to senescence. The objective of this study was to determine if these conditions could involve postnatal or senescence-related shifts in activity or expression of dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (DLDH), a key mitochondrial oxidoreductase. Rats ranging from 10 to 60 days of age were used in studies of postnatal development, whereas rats aged 5 or 30 months were used in the aging studies. The expression of DLDH was determined by Western blot analysis using anti-DLDH antibodies and DLDH diaphorase activity was measured by an in-gel activity staining method using nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT)/NADH. Activity of DLDH dehydrogenase was measured as NAD+ oxidation of dihydrolipoamide. When these measures were considered in separate groups of 10-, 20-, 30-, or 60-day-old rats, all three showed an increase between 10 and 20 days of age. However, dehydrogenase activity of DLDH showed a further, progressive increase from 20 days to adulthood, in the absence of any further change in DLDH expression or diaphorase activity. No age-related decline in DLDH activity or expression was evident over the period from 5 to 30 months of age. Moreover, aging did not render DLDH more susceptible to oxidative inactivation by mitochondria-generated reactive oxygen species (ROS). Taken together, results of the present study indicate that (1) brain DLDH expression and activity undergo independent postnatal maturational increases; (2) senescence does not confer any detectable change in the activity of DLDH or its susceptibility to inactivation by mitochondrial oxidative stress.

Expression and assembly of Arabidopsis thaliana pyruvate dehydrogenase in insect cell cytoplasm

A vector was constructed for expression of Arabidopsis thaliana mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase (E1) in the cytoplasm of Trichoplusia ni cells. The construct pDDR101 comprises the mature-E1alpha coding sequence under control of the Polh promoter, plus the mature-E1beta coding sequence under control of the p10 promoter. The E1alpha sequence was engineered to include an N-terminal His-tag. When protein samples were subjected to immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography, the alpha- and beta-subunits co-eluted, indicating association. When the recombinant protein sample was analyzed further by gel permeation chromatography, it was demonstrated that a significant amount eluted at a size consistent with assembly into an alpha2beta2 heterotetramer. Recombinant E1 was able to decarboxylate [1-14C]pyruvate and was a substrate for in vitro phosphorylation by E1-kinase.

Regulation of pyruvate dehydrogenase complex activity in plant cells

The pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC) is subjected to multiple interacting levels of control in plant cells. The first level is subcellular compartmentation. Plant cells are unique in having two distinct, spatially separated forms of the PDC; mitochondrial (mtPDC) and plastidial (plPDC). The mtPDC is the site of carbon entry into the tricarboxylic acid cycle, while the plPDC provides acetyl-CoA and NADH for de novo fatty acid biosynthesis. The second level of regulation of PDC activity is the control of gene expression. The genes encoding the subunits of the mt- and plPDCs are expressed following developmental programs, and are additionally subject to physiological and environmental cues. Thirdly, both the mt- and plPDCs are sensitive to product inhibition, and, potentially, to metabolite effectors. Finally, the two different forms of the complex are regulated by distinct organelle-specific mechanisms. Activity of the mtPDC is regulated by reversible phosphorylation catalyzed by intrinsic kinase and phosphatase components. An additional level of sensitivity is provided by metabolite control of the kinase activity. The plPDC is not regulated by reversible phosphorylation. Instead, activity is controlled to a large extent by the physical environment that exists in the plastid stroma.

The complex fate of alpha-ketoacids

Plant cells are unique in that they contain four species of alpha-ketoacid dehydrogenase complex: plastidial pyruvate dehydrogenase, mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase, alpha-ketoglutarate (2-oxoglutarate) dehydrogenase, and branched-chain alpha-ketoacid dehydrogenase. All complexes include multiple copies of three components: an alpha-ketoacid dehydrogenase/decarboxylase, a dihydrolipoyl acyltransferase, and a dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase. The mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase complex additionally includes intrinsic regulatory protein-kinase and -phosphatase enzymes. The acyltransferases form the intricate geometric core structures of the complexes. Substrate channeling plus active-site coupling combine to greatly enhance the catalytic efficiency of these complexes. These alpha-ketoacid dehydrogenase complexes occupy key positions in intermediary metabolism, and a basic understanding of their properties is critical to genetic and metabolic engineering. The current status of knowledge of the biochemical, regulatory, structural, genomic, and evolutionary aspects of these fascinating multienzyme complexes are reviewed.