Ligand Specificity of a High Affinity Cytokinin-binding Protein

Physiology and toxicology of hormone-disrupting chemicals in higher plants

Higher plants are exposed to natural environmental organic chemicals, associated with plant-environment interactions, and xenobiotic environmental organic chemicals, associated with anthropogenic activities. The effects of these chemicals result not only from interaction with metabolic targets, but also from interaction with the complex regulatory networks of hormone signaling. Purpose-designed plant hormone analogues thus show extensive signaling effects on gene regulation and are as such important for understanding plant hormone mechanisms and for manipulating plant growth and development. Some natural environmental chemicals also act on plants through interference with the perception and transduction of endogenous hormone signals. In a number of cases, bioactive xenobiotics, including herbicides that have been designed to affect specific metabolic targets, show extensive gene regulation effects, which are more in accordance with signaling effects than with consequences of metabolic effects. Some of these effects could be due to structural analogies with plant hormones or to interference with hormone metabolism, thus resulting in situations of hormone disruption similar to animal cell endocrine disruption by xenobiotics. These hormone-disrupting effects can be superimposed on parallel metabolic effects, thus indicating that toxicological characterisation of xenobiotics must take into consideration the whole range of signaling and metabolic effects. Hormone-disruptive signaling effects probably predominate when xenobiotic concentrations are low, as occurs in situations of residual low-level pollutions. These hormone-disruptive effects in plants may thus be of importance for understanding cryptic effects of low-dosage xenobiotics, as well as the interactive effects of mixtures of xenobiotic pollutants.

Characterization of a benzyladenine binding-site peptide isolated from a wheat cytokinin-binding protein: sequence analysis and identification of a single affinity-labeled histidine residue by mass spectrometry

A wheat embryo cytokinin-binding protein was covalently modified with the radiolabeled photoaffinity ligand 2-azido-N6-[14C]benzyladenine. A single labeled peptide was obtained after proteolytic digestion and isolation by reversed-phase and anion-exchange HPLC. Sequencing by classical Edman degradation identified 11 of the 12 residues but failed to identify the labeled amino acid. Analysis by laser photodissociation Fourier-transform mass spectrometry of 10 pmol of the peptide independently confirmed the Edman data and also demonstrated that the histidine residue nearest the C terminus (underlined) was modified by the reagent in the sequence Ala-Phe-Leu-Gln-Pro-Ser-His-His-Asp-Ala-Asp-Glu.

Resolution and properties of a protein kinase catalyzing the phosphorylation of a wheat germ cytokinin-binding protein

The major cytokinin binding protein of wheat germ (CBP) was extensively purified employing chromatography on Cibacron F3GA-Sepharose CL6B and concanavalin A-agarose as key purification steps. The major polypeptides present in the purified CBP preparations have molecular weights of 60,000 +/- 4,000, 42,000 +/- 3,000, and 37,000 +/- 3,000, respectively. A protein kinase that catalyzes the phosphorylation of CBP (CBP kinase) was extensively purified from wheat germ by affinity chromatography on casein-Sepharose 4B and CBP-Sepharose 4B. The purification procedure resolves CBP kinase from an abundant casein kinase that does not phosphorylate CBP. CBP kinase catalyzes the phosphorylation of casein, phosvitin, CBP, and the wheat germ cyclic AMP-binding protein cABPII. CBP kinase phosphorylates the major 60,000 dalton subunit of CBP as well as 16,000 to 18,000 dalton polypeptides present in CBP preparations. CBP fractions with differing activities as substrates for CBP kinase were partly resolved by gel filtration and by chromatography on DEAE-Sephacel.

Conformational analysis of cytokinins and analogs

The conformational energy surfaces of 12 active cytokinins and analogs are studied with the aid of PCILO quantum mechanical calculations. The resulting conformational energy maps indicate that cytokinin activity is associated with the ability of the above molecules to attain a specific conformation, presumably related to their conformation at the active site of cytokinin receptor(s). The calculations locate the conformational energy minima and describe the flexibility of the studied molecules in terms of conformational barriers and transition paths. An approximate relation is found between cytokinin activity and the values of energy barriers to transitions between certain local minima. According to this relation, active compounds should have rotational barriers within 4-12 kcal/mol, besides the known hitherto constitutional requirements for high physiological activity.

Resolution and Properties of Two High Affinity Cyclic Adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate-Binding Proteins from Wheat Germ

A high affinity cAMP-binding protein (cABP II) was purified to homogeneity from wheat germ. The apparent molecular weight of cABP II, as determined from gel exclusion chromatography, is 5.2 x 10(5) (at low ionic strength) and 2.8 x 10(5) (at high ionic strength). One polypeptide subunit (molecular weight, 80,000) was resolved by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of cABP II under subunit dissociating conditions. The purification protocol employed resolves cABP II from a distinct, less acidic cAMP-binding protein (cABP I). The K(d) values for cAMP are about 10(-6) molar and 10(-7) molar for cABP II and cABP I, respectively. The cAMP-binding sites of cABP I and cABP II have a marked adenine-analog specificity, binding adenine, adenosine, adenine-derived nucleosides and nucleotides and a variety of adenine derivatives having cytokinin activity. While cABP II is phosphorylated in reactions catalyzed by endogenous protein kinases, there is no evidence for modulation of these cABP II-protein kinase interactions by cAMP.

Purification and Properties of a Protein Which Binds Cytokinin-active 6-Substituted Purines

A protein which binds 6-substituted purines of the cytokinin type with relatively high affinity has been extensively purified from wheat germ. Conventional chromatographic techniques, as well as an affinity matrix to which a cytokinin was covalently coupled, were used in the purification. The wheat germ cytokinin-binding protein (CBF-1) has four unlike subunits and an apparent molecular weight of 183,000 as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.CBF-1 is saturated at one cytokinin molecule per tetramer with a K(d) for 6-benzylaminopurine of 5 x 10(-7) molar. The protein exists both on the native wheat germ ribosome (1 molecule CBF-1 per 80S ribosome) and free in the cytosol with approximately three copies of the latter for each of the former. Data from affinity chromatography studies and cross-linking experiments strongly suggest that a specific binding site for CBF-1 occurs on the wheat germ ribosome.

The ligand specificity of the (adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate)-binding site of yeast glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase. Interaction with adenosine derivatives and pharmacologically-active compounds

The high-affinity cAMP-binding site of form-II yeast glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase has a marked specificity for adenosine derivatives, such ligands including N6-substituted adenosine derivatives active as cytokinins n plant systems and adenine nucleotides. Of a wide range of nucleotides and nucleosides examined only adenosine derivatives bind to the cAMP binding site. A variety of antimitotic compounds (including colchicine, colcemid and phenylcarbamate derivatives), adrenergic receptor antagonists (alprenolol and propranolol) and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents (notably indomethacin and flufenamic acid) displace cAMP from glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase. Colchicine, colcemid, N6-furfuryladenosine, indomethacin, flufenamic acid and propranolol inhibit cAMP binding to the enzyme in an apparently competitive fashion. Given the evolutionary conservatism and abundance of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, the affinity of the cAMP-binding site of this enzyme for a variety of structurally-disparate pharmacologically-active compounds compromises simple one-site interpretations of physiological responses to these agents.

Co-purification of Pea and Bean Leaf Soluble Auxin-binding Proteins with Ribulose-1,5-Bisphosphate Carboxylase

Soluble auxin-binding proteins (ABPs) were purified to constant specific activity from bean and pea leaves by a procedure involving (NH(4))(2)SO(4) fractionation, anion exchange chromatography and gel filtration. Pea and bean ABPs exactly co-purify with ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase (RuBPCase) in a variety of chromatographic separation procedures. The subunit compositions, electrophoretic purities and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA)-binding stoichiometries of the purified ABPs provide further evidence for the identity of RuBPCase and ABP. Pea ABP and bean ABP have dissociation constants for IAA of 0.8 and 1.3 micromolar, respectively, as determined by an (NH(4))(2)SO(4) precipitation assay for IAA-binding to insolubilized ABP. IAA can bind to soluble bean and pea ABP (RuBPCase) as determined by equilibrium dialysis with affinities and stoichiometries similar to those determined for insolubilized ABP.

A Cytokinin-binding Protein from Wheat Germ: Isolation by Affinity Chromatography and Properties

A cytokinin-binding protein has been isolated from wheat germ via ammonium sulfate precipitation, carboxymethyl Sephadex chromatography, and affinity chromatography on a column substituted with a derivative of kinetin riboside. On Sephadex G-200, the protein migrated with an apparent molecular weight of 122,000 daltons. The dissociation constant for kinetin was determined by equilibrium dialysis to be 1.2 micromolar; N(6)-benzylaminopurine and N(6)-(Delta(2)-isopentenyl)adenine were also strongly bound. Little affinity was exhibited toward either cis-zeatin or trans-zeatin.