Biogenesis of protein bodies during legumin accumulation in developing olive (Olea europaea L.) seed.

Much of our current knowledge about seed development and differentiation regarding reserves synthesis and accumulation come from monocot (cereals) plants. Studies in dicotyledonous seeds differentiation are limited to a few species and in oleaginous species are even scarcer despite their agronomic and economic importance. We examined the changes accompanying the differentiation of olive endosperm and cotyledon with a focus on protein bodies (PBs) biogenesis during legumin protein synthesis and accumulation, with the aim of getting insights and a better understanding of the PBs' formation process. Cotyledon and endosperm undergo differentiation during seed development, where an asynchronous time-course of protein synthesis, accumulation, and differential PB formation patterns was found in both tissues. At the end of seed maturation, a broad population of PBs, particularly in cotyledon cells, was distinguishable in terms of number per cell and morphometric and cytochemical features. Olive seed development is a tissue-dependent process characterized by differential rates of legumin accumulation and PB formation in the main tissues integrating seed. One of the main features of the impressive differentiation process is the specific formation of a broad group of PBs, particularly in cotyledon cells, which might depend on selective accumulation and packaging of proteins and specific polypeptides into PBs. The nature and availability of the major components detected in the PBs of olive seed are key parameters in order to consider the potential use of this material as a suitable source of carbon and nitrogen for animal or even human use.

Thiol-based redox regulation in sexual plant reproduction: new insights and perspectives.

The success of sexual reproduction in plants involves (i) the proper formation of the plant gametophytes (pollen and embryo sac) containing the gametes, (ii) the accomplishment of specific interactions between pollen grains and the stigma, which subsequently lead to (iii) the fusion of the gametes and eventually to (iv) the seed setting. Owing to the lack of mobility, plants have developed specific regulatory mechanisms to control all developmental events underlying the sexual plant reproduction according to environmental challenges. Over the last decade, redox regulation and signaling have come into sight as crucial mechanisms able to manage critical stages during sexual plant reproduction. This regulation involves a complex redox network which includes reactive oxygen species (ROS), reactive nitrogen species (RNS), glutathione and other classic buffer molecules or antioxidant proteins, and some thiol/disulphide-containing proteins belonging to the thioredoxin superfamily, like glutaredoxins (GRXs) or thioredoxins (TRXs). These proteins participate as critical elements not only in the switch between the mitotic to the meiotic cycle but also at further developmental stages of microsporogenesis. They are also implicated in the regulation of pollen rejection as the result of self-incompatibility. In addition, they display precise space-temporal patterns of expression and are present in specific localizations like the stigmatic papillae or the mature pollen, although their functions and subcellular localizations are not clear yet. In this review we summarize insights and perspectives about the presence of thiol/disulphide-containing proteins in plant reproduction, taking into account the general context of the cell redox network.

Analysis of the effects of polymorphism on pollen profilin structural functionality and the generation of conformational, T- and B-cell epitopes.

An extensive polymorphism analysis of pollen profilin, a fundamental regulator of the actin cytoskeleton dynamics, has been performed with a major focus in 3D-folding maintenance, changes in the 2-D structural elements, surface residues involved in ligands-profilin interactions and functionality, and the generation of conformational and lineal B- and T-cell epitopes variability. Our results revealed that while the general fold is conserved among profilins, substantial structural differences were found, particularly affecting the special distribution and length of different 2-D structural elements (i.e. cysteine residues), characteristic loops and coils, and numerous micro-heterogeneities present in fundamental residues directly involved in the interacting motifs, and to some extension these residues nearby to the ligand-interacting areas. Differential changes as result of polymorphism might contribute to generate functional variability among the plethora of profilin isoforms present in the olive pollen from different genetic background (olive cultivars), and between plant species, since biochemical interacting properties and binding affinities to natural ligands may be affected, particularly the interactions with different actin isoforms and phosphoinositides lipids species. Furthermore, conspicuous variability in lineal and conformational epitopes was found between profilins belonging to the same olive cultivar, and among different cultivars as direct implication of sequences polymorphism. The variability of the residues taking part of IgE-binding epitopes might be the final responsible of the differences in cross-reactivity among olive pollen cultivars, among pollen and plant-derived food allergens, as well as between distantly related pollen species, leading to a variable range of allergy reactions among atopic patients. Identification and analysis of commonly shared and specific epitopes in profilin isoforms is essential to gain knowledge about the interacting surface of these epitopes, and for a better understanding of immune responses, helping design and development of rational and effective immunotherapy strategies for the treatment of allergy diseases.

Structure and functional features of olive pollen pectin methylesterase using homology modeling and molecular docking methods.

Pectin methylesterases (PMEs), a multigene family of proteins with multiple differentially regulated isoforms, are key enzymes implicated in the carbohydrates (pectin) metabolism of cell walls. Olive pollen PME has been identified as a new allergen (Ole e 11) of potential relevance in allergy amelioration, since it exhibits high prevalence among atopic patients. In this work, the structural and functional characterization of two olive pollen PME isoforms and their comparison with other PME plants was performed by using different approaches: (1) the physicochemical properties and functional-regulatory motifs characterization, (2) primary sequence analysis, 2D and 3D comparative structural features study, (3) conservation and evolutionary analysis, (4) catalytic activity and regulation based on molecular docking analysis of a homologue PME inhibitor, and (5) B-cell epitopes prediction by sequence and structural based methods and protein-protein interaction tools, while T-cell epitopes by inhibitory concentration and binding score methods. Our results indicate that the structural differences and low conservation of residues, together with differences in physicochemical and posttranslational motifs might be a mechanism for PME isovariants generation, regulation, and differential surface epitopes generation. Olive PMEs perform a processive catalytic mechanism, and a differential molecular interaction with specific PME inhibitor, opening new possibilities for PME activity regulation. Despite the common function of PMEs, differential features found in this study will lead to a better understanding of the structural and functional characterization of plant PMEs and help to improve the component-resolving diagnosis and immunotherapy of olive pollen allergy by epitopes identification.

Characterization of profilin polymorphism in pollen with a focus on multifunctionality.

Profilin, a multigene family involved in actin dynamics, is a multiple partners-interacting protein, as regard of the presence of at least of three binding domains encompassing actin, phosphoinositide lipids, and poly-L-proline interacting patches. In addition, pollen profilins are important allergens in several species like Olea europaea L. (Ole e 2), Betula pendula (Bet v 2), Phleum pratense (Phl p 12), Zea mays (Zea m 12) and Corylus avellana (Cor a 2). In spite of the biological and clinical importance of these molecules, variability in pollen profilin sequences has been poorly pointed out up until now. In this work, a relatively high number of pollen profilin sequences have been cloned, with the aim of carrying out an extensive characterization of their polymorphism among 24 olive cultivars and the above mentioned plant species. Our results indicate a high level of variability in the sequences analyzed. Quantitative intra-specific/varietal polymorphism was higher in comparison to inter-specific/cultivars comparisons. Multi-optional posttranslational modifications, e.g. phosphorylation sites, physicochemical properties, and partners-interacting functional residues have been shown to be affected by profilin polymorphism. As a result of this variability, profilins yielded a clear taxonomic separation between the five plant species. Profilin family multifunctionality might be inferred by natural variation through profilin isovariants generated among olive germplasm, as a result of polymorphism. The high variability might result in both differential profilin properties and differences in the regulation of the interaction with natural partners, affecting the mechanisms underlying the transmission of signals throughout signaling pathways in response to different stress environments. Moreover, elucidating the effect of profilin polymorphism in adaptive responses like actin dynamics, and cellular behavior, represents an exciting research goal for the future.

Biochemical characterization and cellular localization of 11S type storage proteins in olive (Olea europaea L.) seeds.

The composition of seed storage proteins (SSPs) in olive endosperm and cotyledon has been analyzed. Precursor forms of these proteins are made up of individual proteins, which have been purified to homogeneity and further named p1-p5 (20.5, 21.5, 25.5, 27.5, and 30 kDa, respectively). N-terminal sequences of p1 and p2 proteins displayed relevant homology to the basic subunit of the 11S family of plant SSPs (legumins). Two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis experiments allowed us to verify the basic character of p1 and p2 and the acidic character of p3, p4, and p5 proteins. In addition, the putative presence of highly similar isoforms or posttranslational modifications of these polypeptides was detected. As a result, a model describing the putative association of p1-p5 proteins into subunits of alpha(acidic)/beta(basic) type has been proposed. Solubility experiments have shown that the majority of these olive seed proteins from the 11S storage protein family are extracted with aqueous alcohol and only partially with water and diluted saline solutions, therefore suggesting their similarity to prolamines. Moreover, no visible differences were found in either subunit composition or 11S proteins mass among six olive cultivars examined. This result suggests that the synthesis of storage proteins is highly conserved in this plant species. By using a rabbit antiserum raised to p1 protein, the proteins have also been immunolocalized in olive seed tissues, showing that they accumulate in conspicuous protein bodies present in both the endosperm and the cotyledon.