Calcium-dependent protein kinase CDPK16 phosphorylates serine-856 of glutamate receptor-like GLR3.6 protein leading to salt-responsive root growth in Arabidopsis.

Calcium-permeable channels in the plasma membrane play vital roles in plant growth, development, and response to environmental stimuli. Arabidopsis possesses 20 glutamate receptor-like proteins that share similarities with animal ionotropic glutamate receptors and mediate Ca2+ influx in plants. Calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) phosphorylate serine (Ser)-860 of glutamate receptor-like (GLR)3.7 protein, which interacts with 14-3-3ω and plays an essential role in salt and abscisic acid response in Arabidopsis by modulating Ca2+ signaling. However, the significance of CDPK- mediated phosphorylation status of Ser residues of GLR3.6 with regard to the functioning of GLR3.6 remains to be elucidated. In this study, we performed an in vitro kinase assay using CDPK16 and peptides containing the 14-3-3ω interacting domain of GLR3.6. We showed that Ser861/862 of GLR3.6 are required for the interaction with 14-3-3ω and that Ser856 of GLR3.6 is specifically phosphorylated by CDPK16 but not by CDPK3 and CDPK34. In addition, the expression of GLR3.6 was quickly downregulated by salt stress, and plants of glr3.6 mutants and GLR3.6-overexpression lines presented shorter and longer root lengths, respectively, under normal growth conditions than Col. Overexpression of the GLR3.6-Ser856 to Ala mutation resulted in a less sensitive phenotype in response to salt stress similar to glr3.6. Our results indicated that the Ser861/862 residues of GLR3.6 are required for interaction with 14-3-3ω. Additionally, the phosphorylation status of Ser856 residue of GLR3.6, which is mediated specifically by CDPK16, regulates root growth in normal and salt stress and conditions.

CFM6 is an Essential CRM Protein Required for the Splicing of nad5 Transcript in Arabidopsis Mitochondria.

Plant chloroplast RNA splicing and ribosome maturation (CRM)-domain-containing proteins are capable of binding RNA to facilitate the splicing of group I or II introns in chloroplasts, but their functions in mitochondria are less clear. In the present study, Arabidopsis thaliana CFM6, a protein with a single CRM domain, was expressed in most plant tissues, particularly in flower tissues, and restricted to mitochondria. Mutation of CFM6 causes severe growth defects, including stunted growth, curled leaves, delayed embryogenesis and pollen development. CFM6 functions specifically in the splicing of group II intron 4 of nad5, which encodes a subunit of mitochondrial complex I, as evidenced by the loss of nad5 intron 4 splicing and high accumulation of its pretranscripts in cfm6 mutants. The phenotypic and splicing defects of cfm6 were rescued in transgenic plants overexpressing 35S::CFM6-YFP. Splicing failure in cfm6 also led to the loss of complex I activity and to its improper assembly. Moreover, dysfunction of complex I induced the expression of proteins or genes involved in alternative respiratory pathways in cfm6. Collectively, CFM6, a previously uncharacterized CRM domain-containing protein, is specifically involved in the cis-splicing of nad5 intron 4 and plays a pivotal role in mitochondrial complex I biogenesis and normal plant growth.

Arabidopsis glutamate receptor GLR3.7 is involved in abscisic acid response.

The ionotropic glutamate receptor (iGluR) plays an important role in neuronal signaling in animal cells. There are at least 20 glutamate receptor-like (GLR) genes in Arabidopsis thaliana. These genes are involved in seed germination, root growth, wounding response, stomata closure, etc. A recent study showed that Arabidopsis clade III glutamate receptor GLR3.7 is involved in salt stress response. We tested whether GLR3.7 is involved in abscisic acid (ABA) response. In the present study, we found that the expression of GLR3.7 was reduced by ABA treatment. Under ABA-treated condition, GLR3.7 overexpression lines exhibited significantly higher seed germination rate at 60, 72 and 84 h under ABA-treated condition. A point mutation in 14-3-3 binding site of GLR3.7 in GLR3.7-S860A overexpression lines exhibited higher seed germination inhibition under ABA-treated conditions. Our results support that GLR3.7 is involved in ABA response in Arabidopsis. In addition, Ser-860 of GLR3.7 appears to be important in ABA response.

The Glutamate Receptor-Like Protein GLR3.7 Interacts With 14-3-3ω and Participates in Salt Stress Response in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Ionotropic glutamate receptors (iGluRs) are ligand-gated cation channels that mediate fast excitatory neurotransmission in the mammalian central nervous system. In the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, a family of 20 glutamate receptor-like proteins (GLRs) shares similarities to animal iGluRs in sequence and predicted secondary structure. However, the function of GLRs in plants is little known. In the present study, a serine site (Ser-860) of AtGLR3.7 phosphorylated by a calcium-dependent protein kinase (CDPK) was identified and confirmed by an in vitro kinase assay. Using a bimolecular fluorescence complementation and quartz crystal microbalance analyses, the physical interaction between AtGLR3.7 and the 14-3-3ω protein was confirmed. The mutation of Ser-860 to alanine abolished this interaction, indicating that Ser-860 is the 14-3-3ω binding site of AtGLR3.7. Compared with wild type, seed germination of the glr3.7-2 mutant was more sensitive to salt stress. However, the primary root growth of GLR3.7-S860A overexpression lines was less sensitive to salt stress than that of the wild-type line. In addition, the increase of cytosolic calcium ion concentration by salt stress was significantly lower in the glr3.7-2 mutant line than in the wild-type line. Moreover, association of 14-3-3 proteins to microsomal fractions was less in GLR3.7-S860A overexpression lines than in GLR3.7 overexpression line under 150 mM NaCl salt stress condition. Overall, our results indicated that GLR3.7 is involved in salt stress response in A. thaliana by affecting calcium signaling.

Regulation of ABI5 expression by ABF3 during salt stress responses in Arabidopsis thaliana.

BACKGROUND: Basic region/leucine zippers (bZIPs) are transcription factors (TFs) encoded by a large gene family in plants. ABF3 and ABI5 are Group A bZIP TFs that are known to be important in abscisic acid (ABA) signaling. However, questions of whether ABF3 regulates ABI5 are still present. RESULTS: In vitro kinase assay results showed that Thr-128, Ser-134, and Thr-451 of ABF3 are calcium-dependent protein kinase phosphorylation sites. Bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) analysis results showed a physical interaction between ABF3 and 14-3-3ω. A Thr-451 to Ala point mutation abolished the interaction but did not change the subcellular localization. In addition, the Arabidopsis protoplast transactivation assay using a luciferase reporter exhibited ABI5 activation by either ABF3 alone or by co-expression of ABF3 and 14-3-3ω. Moreover, chromatin immunoprecipitation-qPCR results showed that in Arabidopsis, ABI5 ABA-responsive element binding proteins (ABREs) of the promoter region (between - 1376 and - 455) were enriched by ABF3 binding under normal and 150 mM NaCl salt stress conditions. CONCLUSION: Taken together, our results demonstrated that ABI5 expression is regulated by ABF3, which could contribute to salt stress tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana.

The Arabidopsis glutamate receptor-like gene GLR3.6 controls root development by repressing the Kip-related protein gene KRP4.

In Arabidopsis, 20 genes encode putative glutamate receptor-like proteins (AtGLRs). However, the functions of most genes are unknown. In this study, our results revealed that loss of function of AtGLR3.6 (atglr3.6-1) leads to reduced primary root growth and fewer lateral roots, whereas AtGLR3.6 overexpression induced both primary and lateral root growth. The glr3.6-1 mutant exhibited a smaller root meristem size compared with the wild type, indicating that AtGLR3.6 controls root meristem size. In addition, atglr3.6-1 roots show a decreased mitotic activity accounting for the reduced root meristem size. Furthermore, expression of a gene encoding a cell cycle inhibitor, the cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitor Kip-related protein 4 (KRP4), was significantly up-regulated in the mutant and down-regulated in AtGLR3.6-overexpressing roots, suggesting a role for KRP4 in AtGLR3.6-mediated root meristem maintenance. Importantly, the atglr3.6-1 mutant recovered most of its root growth when KRP4 expression is down-regulated, whereas elevated KRP4 expression in AtGLR3.6-overexpressing plants phenocopied the wild-type root growth, implying an underlying relationship between AtGLR3.6 and KRP4 genes. Cytosolic Ca(2+) elevation is reduced in atglr3.6-1 roots, suggesting impaired calcium signaling. Moreover, calcium treatment reduced the level of KRP4 and hence induced root growth. Collectively, we reveal that AtGLR3.6 is required for primary and lateral root development, and KRP4 functions as a downstream signaling element in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Engineered xylose utilization enhances bio-products productivity in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803.

Hydrolysis of plant biomass generates a mixture of simple sugars that is particularly rich in glucose and xylose. Fermentation of the released sugars emits CO2 as byproduct due to metabolic inefficiencies. Therefore, the ability of a microbe to simultaneously convert biomass sugars and photosynthetically fix CO2 into target products is very desirable. In this work, the cyanobacterium, Synechocystis 6803, was engineered to grow on xylose in addition to glucose. Both the xylA (xylose isomerase) and xylB (xylulokinase) genes from Escherichia coli were required to confer xylose utilization, but a xylose-specific transporter was not required. Introduction of xylAB into an ethylene-producing strain increased the rate of ethylene production in the presence of xylose. Additionally, introduction of xylAB into a glycogen-synthesis mutant enhanced production of keto acids. Isotopic tracer studies found that nearly half of the carbon in the excreted keto acids was derived from the engineered xylose metabolism, while the remainder was derived from CO2 fixation.

A type III ACC synthase, ACS7, is involved in root gravitropism in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Ethylene is an important plant hormone that regulates developmental processes in plants. The ethylene biosynthesis pathway is a highly regulated process at both the transcriptional and post-translational level. The transcriptional regulation of these ethylene biosynthesis genes is well known. However, post-translational modifications of the key ethylene biosynthesis enzyme 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) synthase (ACS) are little understood. In vitro kinase assays were conducted on the type III ACS, AtACS7, fusion protein and peptides to determine whether the AtACS7 protein can be phosphorylated by calcium-dependent protein kinase (CDPK). AtACS7 was phosphorylated at Ser216, Thr296, and Ser299 by AtCDPK16 in vitro. To investigate further the function of the ACS7 gene in Arabidopsis, an acs7-1 loss-of-function mutant was isolated. The acs7-1 mutant exhibited less sensitivity to the inhibition of root gravitropism by treatment with the calcium chelator ethylene glycol tetraacetic acid (EGTA). Seedlings were treated with gradient concentrations of ACC. The results showed that a certain concentration of ethylene enhanced the gravity response. Moreover, the acs7-1 mutant was less sensitive to inhibition of the gravity response by treatment with the auxin polar transport inhibitor 1-naphthylphthalamic acid, but exogenous ACC application recovered root gravitropism. Altogether, the results indicate that AtACS7 is involved in root gravitropism in a calcium-dependent manner in Arabidopsis.

Comparative phosphoproteomic analysis of microsomal fractions of Arabidopsis thaliana and Oryza sativa subjected to high salinity.

Plants respond to salt stress by initiating phosphorylation cascades in their cells. Many key phosphorylation events take place at membranes. Microsomal fractions from 400 mM salt-treated Arabidopsis suspension plants were isolated, followed by trypsin shaving, enrichment using Zirconium ion-charged or TiO(2) magnetic beads, and tandem mass spectrometry analyses for site mapping. A total of 27 phosphorylation sites from 20 Arabidopsis proteins including photosystem II reaction center protein H PsbH were identified. In addition to Arabidopsis, microsomal fractions from shoots of 200 mM salt-treated rice was carried out, followed by trypsin digestion using shaving or tube-gel, and enrichment using Zirconium ion-charged or TiO(2) magnetic beads. This yielded identification of 13 phosphorylation sites from 8 proteins including photosystem II reaction center protein H PsbH. Label-free quantitative analysis suggests that the phosphorylation sites of PsbH were regulated by salt stress in Arabidopsis and rice. Sequence alignment of PsbH phosphorylation sites indicates that Thr-2 and Thr-4 are evolutionarily conserved in plants. Four conserved phosphorylation motifs were predicted, and these suggest that a specific unknown kinase or phosphatase is involved in high-salt stress responses in plants.

Calcium-dependent protein kinases from Arabidopsis show substrate specificity differences in an analysis of 103 substrates.

The identification of substrates represents a critical challenge for understanding any protein kinase-based signal transduction pathway. In Arabidopsis, there are more than 1000 different protein kinases, 34 of which belong to a family of Ca(2+)-dependent protein kinases (CPKs). While CPKs are implicated in regulating diverse aspects of plant biology, from ion transport to transcription, relatively little is known about isoform-specific differences in substrate specificity, or the number of phosphorylation targets. Here, in vitro kinase assays were used to compare phosphorylation targets of four CPKs from Arabidopsis (CPK1, 10, 16, and 34). Significant differences in substrate specificity for each kinase were revealed by assays using 103 different substrates. For example CPK16 phosphorylated Serine 109 in a peptide from the stress-regulated protein, Di19-2 with K(M) ∼70 µM, but this site was not phosphorylated significantly by CPKs 1, 10, or 34. In contrast, CPKs 1, 10, and 34 phosphorylated 93 other peptide substrates not recognized by CPK16. Examples of substrate specificity differences among all four CPKs were verified by kinetic analyses. To test the correlation between in vivo phosphorylation events and in vitro kinase activities, assays were performed with 274 synthetic peptides that contained phosphorylation sites previously mapped in proteins isolated from plants (in vivo-mapped sites). Of these, 74 (27%) were found to be phosphorylated by at least one of the four CPKs tested. This 27% success rate validates a robust strategy for linking the activities of specific kinases, such as CPKs, to the thousands of in planta phosphorylation sites that are being uncovered by emerging technologies.

Proteomic profiling of proteins associated with the rejuvenation of Sequoia sempervirens (D. Don) Endl.

BACKGROUND: Restoration of rooting competence is important for rejuvenation in Sequoia sempervirens (D. Don) Endl and is achieved by repeatedly grafting Sequoia shoots after 16 and 30 years of cultivation in vitro. RESULTS: Mass spectrometry-based proteomic analysis revealed three proteins that differentially accumulated in different rejuvenation stages, including oxygen-evolving enhancer protein 2 (OEE2), glycine-rich RNA-binding protein (RNP), and a thaumatin-like protein. OEE2 was found to be phosphorylated and a phosphopeptide (YEDNFDGNSNVSVMVpTPpTDK) was identified. Specifically, the protein levels of OEE2 increased as a result of grafting and displayed a higher abundance in plants during the juvenile and rejuvenated stages. Additionally, SsOEE2 displayed the highest expression levels in Sequoia shoots during the juvenile stage and less expression during the adult stage. The expression levels also steadily increased during grafting. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate a positive correlation between the gene and protein expression patterns of SsOEE2 and the rejuvenation process, suggesting that this gene is involved in the rejuvenation of Sequoia sempervirens.

Functional phosphoproteomic profiling of phosphorylation sites in membrane fractions of salt-stressed Arabidopsis thaliana.

BACKGROUND: Under conditions of salt stress, plants respond by initiating phosphorylation cascades. Many key phosphorylation events occur at the membrane. However, to date only limited sites have been identified that are phosphorylated in response to salt stress in plants. RESULTS: Membrane fractions from three-day and 200 mM salt-treated Arabidopsis suspension plants were isolated, followed by protease shaving and enrichment using Zirconium ion-charged magnetic beads, and tandem mass spectrometry analyses. From this isolation, 18 phosphorylation sites from 15 Arabidopsis proteins were identified. A unique phosphorylation site in 14-3-3-interacting protein AHA1 was predominately identified in 200 mM salt-treated plants. We also identified some phosphorylation sites in aquaporins. A doubly phosphorylated peptide of PIP2;1 as well as a phosphopeptide containing a single phosphorylation site (Ser-283) and a phosphopeptide containing another site (Ser-286) of aquaporin PIP2;4 were identified respectively. These two sites appeared to be novel of which were not reported before. In addition, quantitative analyses of protein phosphorylation with either label-free or stable-isotope labeling were also employed in this study. The results indicated that level of phosphopeptides on five membrane proteins such as AHA1, STP1, Patellin-2, probable inactive receptor kinase (At3g02880), and probable purine permease 18 showed at least two-fold increase in comparison to control in response to 200 mM salt-stress. CONCLUSION: In this study, we successfully identified novel salt stress-responsive protein phosphorylation sites from membrane isolates of abiotic-stressed plants by membrane shaving followed by Zr4+-IMAC enrichment. The identified phosphorylation sites can be important in the salt stress response in plants.

Proteomic profiling of tandem affinity purified 14-3-3 protein complexes in Arabidopsis thaliana.

In eukaryotes, 14-3-3 dimers regulate hundreds of functionally diverse proteins (clients), typically in phosphorylation-dependent interactions. To uncover new clients, 14-3-3 omega (At1g78300) from Arabidopsis was engineered with a "tandem affinity purification" tag and expressed in transgenic plants. Purified complexes were analyzed by tandem MS. Results indicate that 14-3-3 omega can dimerize with at least 10 of the 12 14-3-3 isoforms expressed in Arabidopsis. The identification here of 121 putative clients provides support for in vivo 14-3-3 interactions with a diverse array of proteins, including those involved in: (i) Ion transport, such as a K(+) channel (GORK), a Cl(-) channel (CLCg), Ca(2+) channels belonging to the glutamate receptor family (1.2, 2.1, 2.9, 3.4, 3.7); (ii) hormone signaling, such as ACC synthase (isoforms ACS-6, -7 and -8 involved in ethylene synthesis) and the brassinolide receptors BRI1 and BAK1; (iii) transcription, such as 7 WRKY family transcription factors; (iv) metabolism, such as phosphoenol pyruvate carboxylase; and (v) lipid signaling, such as phospholipase D (beta and gamma). More than 80% (101) of these putative clients represent previously unidentified 14-3-3 interactors. These results raise the number of putative 14-3-3 clients identified in plants to over 300.

Mass spectrometry-based proteomic analysis of the epitope-tag affinity purified protein complexes in eukaryotes.

In recent years, MS has been widely used to study protein complex in eukaryotes. The identification of interacting proteins of a particular target protein may help defining protein-protein interaction and proteins of unknown functions. To isolate protein complexes, high-speed ultracentrifugation, sucrose density-gradient centrifugation, and coimmunoprecipitation have been widely used. However, the probability of getting nonspecific binding is comparatively high. Alternatively, by use of one- or two-step (tandem affinity purification) epitope-tag affinity purification, protein complexes can be isolated by affinity or immunoaffinity columns. These epitope-tags include protein A, hexahistidine (His), c-Myc, hemaglutinin (HA), calmodulin-binding protein, FLAG, maltose-binding protein, Strep, etc. The isolated protein complex can then be subjected to protease (i.e., trypsin) digestion followed by an MS analysis for protein identification. An example, the epitope-tag purification of the Arabidopsis cytosolic ribosomes, is addressed in this article to show the success of the application. Several representative protein complexes in eukaryotes been isolated and characterized by use of this approach are listed. In this review, the comparison among different tag systems, validation of interacting relationship, and choices of MS analysis method are addressed. The successful rate, advantages, limitations, and challenges of the epitope-tag purification are also discussed.

The Arabidopsis AtDi19 gene family encodes a novel type of Cys2/His2 zinc-finger protein implicated in ABA-independent dehydration, high-salinity stress and light signaling pathways.

The AtDi19 (drought-induced) gene family encodes seven hydrophilic proteins that contain two atypical Cys2/His2 (C2H2) zinc finger-like domains that are evolutionarily well-conserved within angiosperms suggesting a conserved and important function. Five of the seven Arabidopsis AtDi19-related:DsRed2 fusion proteins exhibited speckled patterns of localization within the nucleus as shown by transient expression analysis in Arabidopsis protoplasts. In contrast, AtDi19-2:DsRed2 was present in the nucleus and cytoplasm, whereas AtDi19-4:DsRed2 was localized to the nuclear periphery. mRNA expression studies showed that AtDi19 genes are ubiquitously expressed in Arabidopsis tissues, although some differences were observed. In seedlings, RT-PCR analyses showed that AtDi19-1 and AtDi19-3 steady-state transcript amounts were rapidly induced by dehydration, whereas transcript amounts for AtDi19-2 and AtDi19-4 increased in response to high-salt stress. In addition, the mRNA abundance of all the AtDi19-related gene family members was not regulated by ABA. These data, taken together, suggest that several AtDi19-related gene family members may function in ABA-independent, dehydration and salinity stress signaling pathways. However, they may also be regulated by other abiotic stimuli. AtDi19-7, for example, has been implicated in regulating light signaling and responses. Finally, we show that most AtDi19-related proteins are phosphorylated in vitro by calcium-dependent protein kinases suggesting that this post-translational modification may be important for regulating the function of this novel protein family.

A novel yeast two-hybrid approach to identify CDPK substrates: characterization of the interaction between AtCPK11 and AtDi19, a nuclear zinc finger protein.

Calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) are sensor-transducer proteins capable of decoding calcium signals in diverse phosphorylation-dependent calcium signaling networks in plants and some protists. Using a novel yeast two-hybrid (YTH) approach with constitutively active and/or catalytically inactive forms of AtCPK11 as bait, we identified AtDi19 as an AtCPK11-interacting protein. AtDi19 is a member of a small family of stress-induced genes. The interaction was confirmed using pull-down assays with in vitro translated AtCPK11 and GST-AtDi19 and localization studies in Arabidopsis protoplasts cotransfected with AtCPK11:GFP and AtDi19:DsRed2 protein fusions. We further showed that the interaction of AtDi19 is specific to both AtCPK4 and AtCPK11, whereas other closely related CPKs from Arabidopsis interacted weakly (e.g., AtCPK12) or did not interact (e.g., AtCPK26, AtCPK5 and AtCPK1) with AtDi19. Deletion analyses showed that a region containing two predicted nuclear localization signals (NLS) and a nuclear export signal (NES) of AtDi19 is essential for interaction with AtCPK11. We further demonstrated that AtDi19 is phosphorylated by AtCPK11 in a Ca(2+)-dependent manner at Thr105 and Ser107 within the AtDi19 bipartite NLS using in vitro kinase assays. Our data suggest that disruption of the autoinhibitor domain leading to the formation of a constitutively active CDPK may stabilize kinase-substrate interactions without affecting specificity.

Induction of RhoGAP and pathological changes characteristic of Alzheimer's disease by UAHFEMF discharge in rat brain.

Novel experiments with Ultrasound Associated with High Frequency Electromagnetic Field (UAHFEMF) irradiation on rats and mice found evidences of characteristic Alzheimer's disease (AD) degenerations including neurite plaques, beta-amyloid, TAU plaque and deposition in cells, Neuro-Fibrillary Tangle and Paired Helical Filament (PHF) with rats and mice irradiated up to 2454 hours. Concomitant passive avoidance test was performed on six mice, and all showed signs of visual and auditory agnosia and lost cognition of threatening condition. The post section Thioflavin-S fluorescent microscopy found dilated ventricles and dense amyloid-deposition in Ca3 and dentate gyrus. In addition, PHF was identified in the 2454 hours-irradiated rat brain by electron microscope. A human T-cell activation RhoGTPase-activating protein (TAGAP) isoform b homolog (GenBank accession # P84107) induced in the UAHFEMF-treated rat brain was identified using electron spray ionization (ESI) liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). We hypothesized that one of the causes of AD can be the UAHFEMF discharges in human brain.

Immunopurification of polyribosomal complexes of Arabidopsis for global analysis of gene expression.

Immunoaffinity purification of polyribosomes (polysomes) from crude leaf extracts of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) was achieved with transgenic genotypes that overexpress a translational fusion of a ribosomal protein (RP) with a His(6)-FLAG dual epitope tag. In plants with a cauliflower mosaic virus 35S:HF-RPL18 transgene immunopurification with anti-FLAG agarose beads yielded 60-Svedberg ribosomal subunits, intact 80-Svedberg monosomes and polysomes. Sucrose density gradient fractionation of the purified complexes demonstrated that the distribution of polysome size was similar in crude cell extracts and the purified complexes. The immunopurified complexes included putative cytosolic RPs of Arabidopsis and ribosome-associated proteins, as well as full-length transcripts of high and low abundance. Whole-genome profiling using long DNA oligonucleotide-based microarrays provided a high level of reproducibility between polysomal mRNA samples immunopurified from two independent biological replicates (r approximately 0.90). Comparison of immunopurified and total cellular RNA samples revealed that for most of the genes, the mRNAs were associated with the epitope-tagged polysomal complexes, with an average relative level of association of 62.06% +/- 4.39%. The results demonstrate that the immunopurification of polysomes can be a valuable tool for the quantification of mRNAs present in translation complexes in plant cells. This technology can be extended to evaluation of mRNA populations at the cell- or tissue-specific level by regulation of the tagged RP with distinct promoters.

Proteomic characterization of evolutionarily conserved and variable proteins of Arabidopsis cytosolic ribosomes.

Analysis of 80S ribosomes of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) by use of high-speed centrifugation, sucrose gradient fractionation, one- and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, liquid chromatography purification, and mass spectrometry (matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight and electrospray ionization) identified 74 ribosomal proteins (r-proteins), of which 73 are orthologs of rat r-proteins and one is the plant-specific r-protein P3. Thirty small (40S) subunit and 44 large (60S) subunit r-proteins were confirmed. In addition, an ortholog of the mammalian receptor for activated protein kinase C, a tryptophan-aspartic acid-domain repeat protein, was found to be associated with the 40S subunit and polysomes. Based on the prediction that each r-protein is present in a single copy, the mass of the Arabidopsis 80S ribosome was estimated as 3.2 MD (1,159 kD 40S; 2,010 kD 60S), with the 4 single-copy rRNAs (18S, 26S, 5.8S, and 5S) contributing 53% of the mass. Despite strong evolutionary conservation in r-protein composition among eukaryotes, Arabidopsis 80S ribosomes are variable in composition due to distinctions in mass or charge of approximately 25% of the r-proteins. This is a consequence of amino acid sequence divergence within r-protein gene families and posttranslational modification of individual r-proteins (e.g. amino-terminal acetylation, phosphorylation). For example, distinct types of r-proteins S15a and P2 accumulate in ribosomes due to evolutionarily divergence of r-protein genes. Ribosome variation is also due to amino acid sequence divergence and differential phosphorylation of the carboxy terminus of r-protein S6. The role of ribosome heterogeneity in differential mRNA translation is discussed.

Humic substances affect the activity of chlorophyllase.

Three humic substances--humic acid, fulvic acid, and humin--were isolated from soils located in the northern and southern forests of the Yuanyang Lake Nature Preserve in northern Taiwan's Ilan County. Aqueous extracts of fresh wet soil and of three humic substances, at concentrations of 0.125, 0.25, and 0.5 mg/ml, were investigated for their effects on the activities of chlorophyllase a and b. Aqueous extracts of forest soils at the northern and southern bank, dominated by the pure vegetation of Formosan False cypress (Chamcaecyparis formosensis Matsum), stimulate both chlorophyllase a and b activities, while those of the southern bank, dominated by a Taiwanese Miscanthus (Miscanthus transmorrisonensis Hayata), inhibits such activities. All three humic substances, despite their soil sources, stimulate the activities of both chlorophyllase a and b. Fulvic acid stimulates more chlorophyllase a activity than either humic acid or humin. Humic acid stimulates more activity of chlorophyllase b than either fulvic acid or humin. Humin exhibited the least effect on chlorophyllase a and b. It is suggested that humic substances in the soil may accelerate the chlorophyll degradation of litter in the ecosystem and that chlorophyllase a and b may be different enzymes.