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Gholizadeh A. Pectin methylesterase activity of plant DUF538 protein superfamily. Physiol Mol Biol Plants 2020; 26:829-839. [PMID: 32255943 PMCID: PMC7113335 DOI: 10.1007/s12298-020-00763-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2019] [Revised: 12/21/2019] [Accepted: 01/14/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
DUF538 (domain of unknown function 538) proteins are known as a group of putative hypothetical proteins in a wide range of plant species. They have been identified from some plants challenged with various environmental stresses. However, a little is known about their functional properties. They have been newly predicted to have binding capacity and esterase-type hydrolytic activity towards bacterial lipopolysaccharides and chlorophyll molecules as carboxylic compounds in plants. In the present study, the binding ability and the methylesterase activity of DUF538 proteins towards pectin molecules were also predicted. Their similarities to pectin methylesterases and their binding ability to pectin molecule were predicted using bioinformatic tools as well as the experimental method. A probable cooperation was speculated between DUF538 and pectin methylesterase protein families in cell wall associated defense responses in plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashraf Gholizadeh
- Research Institute for Fundamental Sciences, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran
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Li L, Du Y, He C, Dietrich CR, Li J, Ma X, Wang R, Liu Q, Liu S, Wang G, Schnable PS, Zheng J. Maize glossy6 is involved in cuticular wax deposition and drought tolerance. J Exp Bot 2019; 70:3089-3099. [PMID: 30919902 PMCID: PMC6598097 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erz131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2018] [Accepted: 03/04/2019] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Cuticular waxes, long-chain hydrocarbon compounds, form the outermost layer of plant surfaces in most terrestrial plants. The presence of cuticular waxes protects plants from water loss and other environmental stresses. Cloning and characterization of genes involved in the regulation, biosynthesis, and extracellular transport of cuticular waxes onto the surface of epidermal cells have revealed the molecular basis of cuticular wax accumulation. However, intracellular trafficking of synthesized waxes to the plasma membrane for cellular secretion is poorly understood. Here, we characterized a maize glossy (gl6) mutant that exhibited decreased epicuticular wax load, increased cuticle permeability, and reduced seedling drought tolerance relative to wild-type. We combined an RNA-sequencing-based mapping approach (BSR-Seq) and chromosome walking to identify the gl6 candidate gene, which was confirmed via the analysis of multiple independent mutant alleles. The gl6 gene represents a novel maize glossy gene containing a conserved, but uncharacterized, DUF538 domain. This study suggests that the GL6 protein may be involved in the intracellular trafficking of cuticular waxes, opening the door to elucidating the poorly understood process by which cuticular wax is transported from its site of biosynthesis to the plasma membrane.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Li
- Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, P. R. China
- Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
- Seed Science and Technology Research Center, Beijing Innovation Research Center on the Whole Process of Crop Seeds, China Agricultural University, Beijing, P. R. China
| | - Yicong Du
- Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, P. R. China
| | - Cheng He
- Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, P. R. China
- Department of Plant Pathology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA
| | - Charles R Dietrich
- Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
- Present address: Monsanto, Chesterfield, MO 63005-63017, USA
| | - Jiankun Li
- Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, P. R. China
| | - Xiaoli Ma
- College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, P. R. China
- Present address: Center for Plant Molecular Biology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen 72076, Germany
| | - Rui Wang
- Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, P. R. China
| | - Qiang Liu
- Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
- College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, P. R. China
| | - Sanzhen Liu
- Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
- Department of Plant Pathology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA
| | - Guoying Wang
- Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, P. R. China
| | - Patrick S Schnable
- Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
- College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, P. R. China
- Correspondence: or
| | - Jun Zheng
- Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, P. R. China
- Correspondence: or
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Gholizadeh A. DUF538 protein superfamily is predicted to be chlorophyll hydrolyzing enzymes in plants. Physiol Mol Biol Plants 2016; 22:77-85. [PMID: 27186021 PMCID: PMC4840154 DOI: 10.1007/s12298-015-0331-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2015] [Revised: 10/28/2015] [Accepted: 11/30/2015] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
The possible hydrolytic activity towards chlorophyll molecules was predicted for DUF538 protein superfamily in plants. It was examined by using computational as well as experimental tools including in vitro chlorophyll degradation, antioxidant compounds production and in vivo real-time gene expression tests. Comparison of the computational data with the experimental results indicated that DUF538 proteins might be chlorophyll hydrolyzing enzyme (most probably carboxyesterase) which degrade chlorophyll molecules (66 % per 12 hrs) to produce new compounds (1.8 fold per 12 hrs) with antioxidant properties. The relevance of DUF538 gene expression level with the chlorophyll contents (2.8 fold increase per chlorophyll content of 50 %) of the drought-stressed leaves showed that chlorophyll degradation by DUF538 is most probably induced in response to stress stimuli. Despite membranous chlorophyll catabolic pathways, DUF538-dependent reactions is predicted to be occurred in the cytosol of the under stressed plants. We addressed as to whether chlorophyll breakdown to antioxidant compounds by DUF538 is a defense mechanism of plants against stress stimuli, in vivo? This question is going to be investigated in our next research project.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashraf Gholizadeh
- Research Institute for Fundamental Sciences (RIFS), University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran
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Takahashi S, Seki Y, Uchida A, Nakayama K, Satoh H. Are tyrosine residues involved in the photoconversion of the water-soluble chlorophyll-binding protein of Chenopodium album? Plant Biol (Stuttg) 2015; 17:632-638. [PMID: 25287526 DOI: 10.1111/plb.12274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2014] [Accepted: 09/29/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Non-photosynthetic and hydrophilic chlorophyll (Chl) proteins, called water-soluble Chl-binding proteins (WSCPs), are distributed in various species of Chenopodiaceae, Amaranthaceae, Polygonaceae and Brassicaceae. Based on their photoconvertibility, WSCPs are categorised into two classes: Class I (photoconvertible) and Class II (non-photoconvertible). Chenopodium album WSCP (CaWSCP; Class I) is able to convert the chlorin skeleton of Chl a into a bacteriochlorin-like skeleton under light in the presence of molecular oxygen. Potassium iodide (KI) is a strong inhibitor of the photoconversion. Because KI attacks tyrosine residues in proteins, tyrosine residues in CaWSCP are considered to be important amino acid residues for the photoconversion. Recently, we identified the gene encoding CaWSCP and found that the mature region of CaWSCP contained four tyrosine residues: Tyr13, Tyr14, Tyr87 and Tyr134. To gain insight into the effect of the tyrosine residues on the photoconversion, we constructed 15 mutant proteins (Y13A, Y14A, Y87A, Y134A, Y13-14A, Y13-87A, Y13-134A, Y14-87A, Y14-134A, Y87-134A, Y13-14-87A, Y13-14-134A, Y13-87-134A, Y14-87-134A and Y13-14-87-134A) using site-directed mutagenesis. Amazingly, all the mutant proteins retained not only chlorophyll-binding activity, but also photoconvertibility. Furthermore, we found that KI strongly inhibited the photoconversion of Y13-14-87-134A. These findings indicated that the four tyrosine residues are not essential for the photoconversion.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Takahashi
- Department of Biomolecular Science, Toho University, Funabashi, Chiba, Japan
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Takahashi S, Uchida A, Nakayama K, Satoh H. Effect of near-infrared irradiation on photoconversion of the water-soluble chlorophyll-binding protein of Chenopodium album. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem 2014; 79:439-42. [PMID: 25402334 DOI: 10.1080/09168451.2014.980221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
We investigated the effects of near-infrared irradiation on the photoconversion of Chenopodium album water-soluble chlorophyll-binding protein (CaWSCP) in the presence of sodium hydrosulfite and found a further photoconversion from CP742 to CP763, a novel form of CaWSCP. Interestingly, one-third of the absorption peak at 668 nm was recovered in CP763, but re-irradiation under oxidative conditions eliminated the photo convertibility of CaWSCP.
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Takahashi S, Abe E, Nakayama K, Satoh H. Identification of genes encoding photoconvertible (Class I) water-soluble chlorophyll-binding proteins from Chenopodium ficifolium. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem 2014; 79:205-10. [PMID: 25333387 DOI: 10.1080/09168451.2014.972326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Photoconvertible water-soluble chlorophyll-binding proteins, called Class I WSCPs, have been detected in Chenopodiaceae, Amaranthaceae and Polygonaceae plant species. To date, Chenopodium album WSCP (CaWSCP) is the only cloned gene encoding a Class I WSCP. In this study, we identified two cDNAs encoding Chenopodium ficifolium Class I WSCPs, CfWSCP1, and CfWSCP2. Sequence analyses revealed that the open reading frames of CfWSCP1 and CfWSCP2 were 585 and 588 bp, respectively. Furthermore, both CfWSCPs contain cystein2 and cystein30, which are essential for the chlorophyll-binding ability of CaWSCP. Recombinant CfWSCP1 and CfWSCP2, expressed in Escherichia coli as hexa-histidine fusion proteins (CfWSCP1-His and CfWSCP2-His), formed inclusion bodies; however, we were able to solubilize these using a buffer containing 8 M urea and then refold them by dialysis. The refolded CfWSCP1-His and CfWSCP2-His could bind chlorophylls and exhibited photoconvertibility, confirming that the cloned CfWSCPs are further examples of Class I WSCPs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shigekazu Takahashi
- a Faculty of Science, Department of Biomolecular Science , Toho University , Funabashi , Japan
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Takahashi S, Seki Y, Uchida A, Nakayama K, Satoh H. Cysteine-2 and Cys30 are essential for chlorophyll-binding activity of the water-soluble chlorophyll-binding protein (WSCP) of Chenopodium album. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem 2014; 78:1825-32. [PMID: 25060234 DOI: 10.1080/09168451.2014.940274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Chenopodium album has a non-photosynthetic chlorophyll protein known as the water-soluble chlorophyll (Chl)-binding protein (WSCP). The C. album WSCP (CaWSCP) is able to photoconvert the chlorin skeleton of Chl a into a bacteriochlorin-like skeleton. Reducing reagents such as β-mercaptoethanol or dithiothreitol inhibit photoconversion, indicating that S-S bridge(s) in CaWSCP are quite important for it. Recently, we found that the mature region of CaWSCP contains five cysteine residues; Cys2, Cys30, Cys48, Cys63, and Cys144. To identify which cysteine residues are involved in the photoconversion, we generated five mutants (C2S, C30S, C48S, C63S, and C144S) by site-directed mutagenesis. Interestingly, C48S, C63S, and C144S mutants showed the same Chl-binding activity and photoconvertibility as those of the recombinant wild-type CaWSCP-His, while the C2S and C30S mutants completely lost Chl-binding activity. Our findings indicated that the S-S bridge between Cys2 and Cys30 in each CaWSCP subunit is essential for Chl-binding activity.
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Takahashi S, Yoshikawa M, Kamada A, Ohtsuki T, Uchida A, Nakayama K, Satoh H. The photoconvertible water-soluble chlorophyll-binding protein of Chenopodium album is a member of DUF538, a superfamily that distributes in Embryophyta. J Plant Physiol 2013; 170:1549-1552. [PMID: 23820553 DOI: 10.1016/j.jplph.2013.06.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2013] [Revised: 06/03/2013] [Accepted: 06/03/2013] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Various plants possess hydrophilic chlorophyll (Chl) proteins known as water-soluble Chl-binding proteins (WSCPs). WSCPs exist in two forms: Class I and Class II, of which Class I alone exhibits unique photoconvertibility. Although numerous genes encoding Class II WSCPs have been identified and the molecular properties of their recombinant proteins have been well characterized, no Class I WSCP gene has been identified to date. In this study, we cloned the cDNA and a gene encoding the Class I WSCP of Chenopodium album (CaWSCP). Sequence analyses revealed that CaWSCP comprises a single exon corresponding to 585bp of an open reading frame encoding 195 amino acid residues. The CaWSCP protein sequence possesses a signature of DUF538, a protein superfamily of unknown function found almost exclusively in Embryophyta. The recombinant CaWSCP was expressed in Escherichia coli as a hexa-histidine fusion protein (CaWSCP-His) that removes Chls from the thylakoid. Under visible light illumination, the reconstituted CaWSCP-His was successfully photoconverted into a different pigment with an absorption spectrum identical to that of native CaWSCP. Interestingly, while CaWSCP-His could bind both Chl a and Chl b, photoconversion occurred only in CaWSCP-His reconstituted with Chl a.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shigekazu Takahashi
- Department of Biomolecular Science, Toho University, 2-2-1 Miyama, Funabashi, Chiba 274-8510, Japan
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