Protein conformation of potato (Solanum tuberosum) lectin determined by circular dichroism

A rapid and effective method for purification of a heat-resistant lectin from potato (Solanum tuberosum) tubers

The potato lectin has been identified to consist of two chitin-binding modules, each containing twin hevein domains. Based on the thermotolerance of the hevein polypeptide, a simple, rapid, and effective protocol for the small-scale purification of the potato lectin has been developed in this study. The method involves only one anion exchange chromatographic step beyond the ammonium sulfate precipitation and the heating treatment. With this method, the potato lectin, a glycoprotein with molecular mass of approximately 60 kDa was found and purified to homogeneity with 9513.3 u/mg of specific hemagglutination (HA) activity in 76.8% yield. The homogeneity was confirmed by SDS-PAGE electrophoresis and reverse-phase HPLC analysis. The purified lectin was identified using MS-based peptide sequencing (MALDI-TOF/TOF) and showed a 100% Confidence Interval as being homologous to hevein domains in potato lectin. The periodic acid-Schiff staining and ferric-orcinol assay for pentose, as well as its HA activity inhibition by chitosan oligomers further confirmed the purified lectin as a potato chitin-binding lectin. It is noteworthy that the purified potato lectin exhibited heat resistance, by which, together with a short time precipitation by ammonium sulfate, more than 96% of the total proteins in the crude extract were removed. The lectin therefore was easily resolved from the other remining proteins on a DEAE-methyl polyacrylate column.

Potato lectin: an updated model of a unique chimeric plant protein

A complete cDNA encoding a potato tuber lectin has been identified and sequenced. Based on the deduced amino acid sequence, the still enigmatic molecular structure of the classical chimeric potato lectin could eventually be determined. Basically, the potato lectin consists of two nearly identical chitin-binding modules, built up of two in-tandem arrayed hevein domains that are interconnected by an extensin-like domain of approximately 60 amino acid residues. Although this structure confirms the 'canonical' chimeric nature of the Solanaceae lectins, it differs fundamentally from all previously proposed models. The new insights in the structure are also discussed in view of the physiological role of the Solanaceae lectins.

PLANT CELL WALL PROTEINS

The nature of cell wall proteins is as varied as the many functions of plant cell walls. With the exception of glycine-rich proteins, all are glycosylated and contain hydroxyproline (Hyp). Again excepting glycine-rich proteins, they also contain highly repetitive sequences that can be shared between them. The majority of cell wall proteins are cross-linked into the wall and probably have structural functions, although they may also participate in morphogenesis. On the other hand, arabinogalactan proteins are readily soluble and possibly play a major role in cell-cell interactions during development. The interactions of these proteins between themselves and with other wall components is still unknown, as is how wall components are assembled. The possible functions of cell wall proteins are suggested based on repetitive sequence, localization in the plant body, and the general morphogenetic pattern in plants.

Tandem mass spectrometry and structural elucidation of glycopeptides from a hydroxyproline-rich plant cell wall glycoprotein indicate that contiguous hydroxyproline residues are the major sites of hydroxyproline O-arabinosylation

Hydroxyproline-rich glycoproteins (HRGPs) occur in the extracellular matrix of land plants and green algae. HRGPs contain from 2 to 95% of their dry weight as carbohydrate, predominantly as oligoarabinosides and/or as heteropolysaccharides which are O-linked to the hydroxyproline residues. A glycosylation code that determines the presence or absence and extent of arabinosylation at each hydroxyproline residue is likely, as each HRGP has a unique arabinosylation profile. Previously we noted a positive correlation between the contiguity of hydroxyproline residues and the extent of HRGP O-arabinosylation (Kieliszewski, M., deZacks, R., Leykam, J.F., and Lamport, D.T.A. (1992) Plant Physiol. 98, 919-926); most arabinosylated hydroxyproline residues and the longer arabinofuranoside chains occur in HRGPs where Hyp residues occur as blocks of tetrahydroxyproline, while those with little or no contiguous Hyp exhibit very little Hyp arabinosylation. In order to test this Hyp contiguity hypothesis, we have for the first time determined the arabinosylation site specifics of an HRGP, namely the proline and hydroxyproline-rich glycoprotein (PHRGP) isolated from Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii). Pronase digests of PHRGP yielded a major peptide and three glycopeptides whose structures were determined directly from the unfractionated underivatized Pronase digest by tandem mass spectrometry using collisionally induced dissociation. We corroborated the peptide and glycopeptide structures by Edman degradation, neutral sugar analyses, hydroxyproline arabinoside profiles, and further mass spectrometric analyses after purification of the major peptide and glycopeptides by a combination of hydrophilic interaction and reverse phase column chromatography. Consistent with the Hyp contiguity hypothesis, the structural analyses indicate that while the sequence Ile-Pro-Pro-Hyp is never arabinosylated and Lys-Pro-Hyp-Val-Hyp is only occasionally monoarabinosylated at Hyp-5, the peptide containing contiguous Hyp, Lys-Pro-Hyp-Hyp-Val, is always arabinosylated at Hyp-3, mainly by a triarabinoside. We also obtained precise molecular masses for both intact and anhydrous hydrogen fluoride-deglycosylated PHRGPs (73.113 and 53.834 kDa) via matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry, representing the first HRGP to be analyzed by this method.

A tobacco gene family for flower cell wall proteins with a proline-rich domain and a cysteine-rich domain

Flowering is known to be associated with the induction of many cell wall proteins. We report here five members of a tobacco gene family (CELP, Cys-rich extensin-like protein) whose mRNAs are found predominantly in flowers and encode extensin-like Pro-rich proteins. CELP mRNAs accumulate most abundantly in vascular and epidermal tissues of floral organs. In the pistil, CELP mRNAs also accumulate in a thin layer of cells between the transmitting tissue and the cortex of the style and in a surface layer of cells of the placenta in the ovary. This unique accumulation pattern of CELP mRNAs in the pistil suggests a possible role in pollination and fertilization processes. CELP genes encode a class of plant extracellular matrix proteins that have several distinct structural features: a Pro-rich extensin-like domain with Xaa-Pro3-7 motifs and Xaa-Pro doublets, a Cys-rich region, and a highly charged C terminus. The extensin-like domains in these proteins differ significantly in their length and these differences appear to be results of both long and short deletions within the coding regions of their genes. Furthermore, the number of charged amino acid residues in the C-terminal region varies among the CELPs. These structural differences may contribute to functional versatility in the CELPs. On the other hand, the Cys-rich domain is highly conserved among CELPs and the positions of the Cys residues are conserved, suggesting that this region may have a common functional role. The presence of a Pro-rich domain and a Cys-rich domain in these CELPs is reminiscent of a class of hydroxyproline-rich glycoproteins, solanaceous lectins, that are believed to be important in cell-cell recognition. The structure of these CELPs indicates that they may be multifunctional and that their genes may have arisen from recombinational events.

Physiochemical studies on achatininH, a novel sialic acid-binding lectin

We have purified a sialic acid-binding lectin, achatininH, in a single step by affinity chromatography, having high affinity for 9-O-acetylneuraminic acid. The physicochemical characterization of the interaction of achatininH with bivalent metal ions and sialic acid derivatives by the use of spectrofluorimetry, spectropolarimetry and precipitin reaction is reported. From fluorescence quenching studies the binding of Ca2+ (Ka = 251 +/- 9 M-1) and of Mn2+ (Ka = 86 +/- 5 M-1) was found to be weak, but their presence is absolutely necessary for sugar binding as well as biological activity. The nature and position of the substituent group play a very important role in the binding affinity. AchatininH shows a high affinity for 9-O-acetylneuraminic acid (Ka = 1.20 x 10(3) +/- 0.07 x 10(3) M-1) compared with that for the 4-O-acetyl derivative. In oligomers the binding strength increases in the order monosaccharide less than disaccharide less than trisaccharide. The binding affinity of achatininH for the disaccharide was found to reach a peak around pH 8. From c.d. spectral studies achatininH was found to have a high beta-sheet content (46%) and a low alpha-helix content (24%). From precipitin analysis at least one sugar-binding site on each of the 16 monomer subunits of the protein is indicated.

Sex-specific constitutive expression of the pre-neoplastic marker glutathione S-transferase, YfYf, in mouse liver

Hepatic glutathione S-transferase isoenzyme content has been investigated in both sexes of three inbred strains of mice (DBA/2, C3H/He, C57BL6). A polypeptide (Mr 24,800), which is immunologically related to Yf purified from rat lung, was found to be expressed as a major form in all male mouse livers but represented only a minor enzyme form in female mouse liver. Glutathione S-transferases comprising subunits with molecular masses of 25,800 (Ya) or 26,400 (Yb) were present in males and females of the three strains under investigation. Cytosolic isoenzymes from all strains and sexes were purified to apparent homogeneity and no significant inter-strain differences in the properties of the individual forms were observed. In addition, no differences were detected in the microsomal glutathione S-transferase content of the different strains or sexes.

Composition and properties of the sexual agglutinins of the flagellated green alga Chlamydomonas eugametos

Sexual interaction between gametes of opposite mating type (mt) of the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas eugametos starts with agglutination of the cells via particular glycoproteins on the flagellar surface. Purification of these socalled agglutinins was achieved by a three-step procedure consisting of, successively, gel filtration, anion-exchange chromatography, and high-performance gel filtration. The amino-acid and sugar compositions of both agglutinins showed a high degree of similarity; the most prominent amino acids were hydroxyproline, serine and glycine, and the main sugars were arabinose and galactose. The carbohydrate portions represented about half of the molecular mass of both agglutinins. Using high-performance gel filtration, a calibration curve was constructed for high-molecular-mass compounds from which the Stokes' radius of the sexual agglutinins could be estimated. The mt (+) agglutinin had a Stokes' radius of 39 nm and a sedimentation coefficient of 9.3 S. From these data its molecular mass was estimated to be 1.2·10(6). The corresponding data for the mt (-) agglutinin were 38 nm, 9.7 S and 1.3·10(6), respectively. The biological activity of both agglutinins was destroyed by mild periodate treatment. Treatment with specific glycosidases had a differential effect on the biological activity of the agglutinins. These observations indicate that carbohydrate side-chains are needed for biological activity and perhaps are responsible for the specifity of the sexual agglutinins. A comparison of both agglutinins is given and their possible structure is discussed in relation to their amino-acid and sugar compositions.

Further characterization of the cold agglutinin from the snail Achatina fulica

The cold agglutinin from the albumin gland of the snail Achatina fulica was purified to homogeneity by using sheep gastric mucin-Sepharose 4B as affinity column followed by gel filtration on Bio-Gel P-300. The homogeneity was checked by alkaline gel electrophoresis, immunodiffusion and immunoelectrophoresis. The purified cold agglutinin is a glycoprotein of native M2 220,000 consisting of three non-covalently bound subunits of Mr 84,000, 74,000 and 62,000 and having a pI value of 4.5. The predominant amino acids are aspartic acid and glutamic acid (or amides) and serine, which account for 39% of the residues. About 3% of the residues are half-cystine. The lectin is a glycoprotein with about 30.7% carbohydrate, the most abundant sugars being galactose, N-acetylgalactosamine and N-acetylglucosamine. Mannose, xylose and fucose are also present. The inhibition of agglutination of human umbilical-cord erythrocytes by the cold agglutinin is specific for methyl beta-D-galactoside and also for glycolipids present on cord erythrocytes. The c.d. data show only negative ellipticity values in the far-u.v. region for the protein at various concentrations and temperatures and also in the presence of the hapten lactose (at different concentrations), indicating the presence of a random-coil conformation in the agglutinin that varies according to temperature.