RESUMO
A reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction experiment was done to synthesize a homologous polyphenol oxidase (PPO) probe from apricot (Prunus armeniaca var Bergeron) fruit. This probe was further used to isolate a full-length PPO cDNA, PA-PPO (accession no. AF020786), from an immature-green fruit cDNA library. PA-PPO is 2070 bp long and contains a single open reading frame encoding a PPO precursor peptide of 597 amino acids with a calculated molecular mass of 67.1 kD and an isoelectric point of 6.84. The mature protein has a predicted molecular mass of 56.2 kD and an isoelectric point of 5.84. PA-PPO belongs to a multigene family. The gene is highly expressed in young, immature-green fruit and is turned off early in the ripening process. The ratio of PPO protein to total proteins per fruit apparently remains stable regardless of the stage of development, whereas PPO specific activity peaks at the breaker stage. These results suggest that, in addition to a transcriptional control of PPO expression, other regulation factors such as translational and posttranslational controls also occur.
Assuntos
Catecol Oxidase/genética , Frutas/enzimologia , Frutas/genética , Sequência de Aminoácidos , Sequência de Bases , Catecol Oxidase/química , Catecol Oxidase/metabolismo , Clonagem Molecular , Primers do DNA/genética , DNA Complementar/genética , DNA de Plantas/genética , Frutas/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Regulação da Expressão Gênica no Desenvolvimento , Regulação Enzimológica da Expressão Gênica , Regulação da Expressão Gênica de Plantas , Genes de Plantas , Ponto Isoelétrico , Dados de Sequência Molecular , Peso Molecular , Família Multigênica , RNA de Plantas/genética , RNA de Plantas/metabolismo , Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase Via Transcriptase Reversa , Homologia de Sequência de AminoácidosRESUMO
A 29-kD polypeptide is the most abundant soluble protein in ripe cherry fruit (Prunus avium L); accumulation begins at the onset of ripening as the fruit turns from yellow to red. This protein was extracted from ripe cherries and purified by size-exclusion and ion-exchange chromatography. Antibodies to the purified protein were used to screen a cDNA library from ripe cherries. Numerous recombinant plaques reacted positively with the antibodies; the DNA sequence of representative clones encoded a polypeptide of 245 amino acid residues. A signal peptide was indicated, and the predicted mature protein corresponded to the purified protein in size (23.3 kD, by mass spectrometry) and isoelectric point (4.2). A search of known protein sequences revealed a strong similarity between this polypeptide and the thaumatin family of pathogenesis-related proteins. The cherry thaumatin-like protein does not have a sweet taste, and no antifungal activity was seen in preliminary assays. Expression of the protein appears to be regulated at the gene level, with mRNA levels at their highest in the ripe fruit.
