Preliminary crystallographic analysis of an extremely thermostable glutamate dehydrogenase from the archaeon Pyrococcus woesei.

The extremely heat-stable glutamate dehydrogenase (GluDH) from Pyrococcus woesei was crystallized by the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method. Crystals suitable for X-ray crystallographic investigations were obtained using polyethylene glycol (PEG) 4000 and ammonium acetate as precipitating agents. The crystals obtained diffract to a resolution of 2.8 A, have a prismatic shape and grow up to 0.5 mm in their maximal dimension. They belong to the triclinic system (space group P1; a = 90.9, b = 92.8, c = 107.1 A, alpha = 69.1, beta = 80.7, Vgamma = 65.0 degrees ) with a unit-cell volume of 765052 A(3) which accommodates one GluDH hexamer of 276 kDa. The averaged density of the crystal determined by Ficoll-gradient centrifugation is 1.15 g cm(-3), which corresponds to a molecular mass of 255 kDa in the unit cell. A native data set has been collected on an MAR image-plate system using Cu Kalpha radiation. The completeness of the data set in the range 316-3 A is 74%, and contains 64% of the data in the outer shell (3.4-2.8 A), with an average R(merge) value of 9%. Calculation of self-rotation functions revealed the 32 symmetry of the hexamer; 3 non-crystallographic twofold axes were found at a distance of 120 degrees in a plane perpendicular to the non-crystallographic threefold axis.

The glutamate dehydrogenase-encoding gene of the hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus furiosus: sequence, transcription and analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence.

Glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) from the hyperthermophilic archaeon, Pyrococcus woesei, has been isolated, characterized and found to be very similar if not identical to the recently purified GDH from P. furiosus. Using a polymerase chain reaction, based on the N-terminal amino acid sequences of GDH, the P. furiosus gdh gene was identified, cloned into Escherichia coli and sequenced. The transcription start point of gdh has been mapped 1 nucleotide upstream from the ribosome-binding site. Using antiserum raised against purified GDH, expression of gdh was observed in E. coli. The deduced primary sequence of the P. furiosus GDH has been compared to various bacterial, archaeal and eukaryal GDHs and showed a high degree of similarity (32-52%).

Survey of the taxonomic and tissue distribution of microsomal binding sites for the non-host selective fungal phytotoxin, fusicoccin.

The recent identification of the fusicoccin-binding protein (FCBP) in plasma membranes from monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous angiosperms has opened the basis for an elucidation of the toxin's mechanism(s) of action and indicated a widespread occurrence of the FCBP in plants. Results of a detailed taxonomic survey of fusicoccin-binding sites are reported. Binding sites were not found in prokaryotes, animal tissues, fungi and algae including the most direct extant ancestors of the land plants (Coleochaete). From the Psilotales (Psilophytatae) to the monocotyledonous angiosperms, all taxa analyzed possessed high-affinity microsomal fusicoccin-binding sites. A heterogeneous picture emerged for the Bryophyta. Anthoceros crispulus (Anthocerotae), the only hornwort available to study, lacked fusicoccin binding. Within the Hepaticae as well as the Musci, species lacking and species exhibiting toxin binding were found. The binding site thus seems to have emerged very early in the evolution of the land plants. The tissue distribution of fusicoccin-binding sites was studied in Vicia faba L. shoots. All tissues analyzed showed fusicoccin binding, although not to the same extent. On a per-cell basis, guard cells were found to contain, compared to mesophyll cells, a nine-fold higher number of binding sites. Based on cell surface area, the site density is by a factor of 32 higher in guard cells than in mesophyll cells. Tissue specific expression of the binding sites is suggested by these findings.