RESUMO
NAD(P)-malic enzyme (NAD(P)-ME) catalyzes the reversible oxidative decarboxylation of malate to pyruvate, CO2 , and NAD(P)H and is present as a multigene family in Arabidopsis thaliana. The carboxylation reaction catalyzed by purified recombinant Arabidopsis NADP-ME proteins is faster than those reported for other animal or plant isoforms. In contrast, no carboxylation activity could be detected in vitro for the NAD-dependent counterparts. In order to further investigate their putative carboxylating role in vivo, Arabidopsis NAD(P)-ME isoforms, as well as the NADP-ME2del2 (with a decreased ability to carboxylate pyruvate) and NADP-ME2R115A (lacking fumarate activation) versions, were functionally expressed in the cytosol of pyruvate carboxylase-negative (Pyc- ) Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains. The heterologous expression of NADP-ME1, NADP-ME2 (and its mutant proteins), and NADP-ME3 restored the growth of Pyc- S. cerevisiae on glucose, and this capacity was dependent on the availability of CO2 . On the other hand, NADP-ME4, NAD-ME1, and NAD-ME2 could not rescue the Pyc- strains from C4 auxotrophy. NADP-ME carboxylation activity could be measured in leaf crude extracts of knockout and overexpressing Arabidopsis lines with modified levels of NADP-ME, where this activity was correlated with the amount of NADP-ME2 transcript. These results indicate that specific A. thaliana NADP-ME isoforms are able to play an anaplerotic role in vivo and provide a basis for the study on the carboxylating activity of NADP-ME, which may contribute to the synthesis of C4 compounds and redox shuttling in plant cells.
Assuntos
Proteínas de Arabidopsis/genética , Arabidopsis/enzimologia , Malato Desidrogenase (NADP+)/genética , Malatos/metabolismo , NADP/metabolismo , NAD/metabolismo , Ácido Pirúvico/metabolismo , Saccharomyces cerevisiae/enzimologia , Arabidopsis/genética , Proteínas de Arabidopsis/metabolismo , Dióxido de Carbono/metabolismo , Clonagem Molecular , Expressão Gênica , Teste de Complementação Genética , Engenharia Genética , Glucose/metabolismo , Isoenzimas/genética , Isoenzimas/metabolismo , Malato Desidrogenase (NADP+)/metabolismo , Folhas de Planta/enzimologia , Folhas de Planta/genética , Proteínas Recombinantes/genética , Proteínas Recombinantes/metabolismo , Saccharomyces cerevisiae/genética , Transformação Genética , TransgenesRESUMO
Plant mitochondria can use L-malate and fumarate, which accumulate in large levels, as respiratory substrates. In part, this property is due to the presence of NAD-dependent malic enzymes (NAD-ME) with particular biochemical characteristics. Arabidopsis NAD-ME1 exhibits a non-hyperbolic behavior for the substrate L-malate, and its activity is strongly stimulated by fumarate. Here, the possible structural connection between these properties was explored through mutagenesis, kinetics, and fluorescence studies. The results indicated that NAD-ME1 has a regulatory site for L-malate that can also bind fumarate. L-Malate binding to this site elicits a sigmoidal and low substrate-affinity response, whereas fumarate binding turns NAD-ME1 into a hyperbolic and high substrate affinity enzyme. This effect was also observed when the allosteric site was either removed or altered. Hence, fumarate is not really an activator, but suppresses the inhibitory effect of l-malate. In addition, residues Arg50, Arg80 and Arg84 showed different roles in organic acid binding. These residues form a triad, which is the basis of the homo and heterotrophic effects that characterize NAD-ME1. The binding of L-malate and fumarate at the same allosteric site is herein reported for a malic enzyme and clearly indicates an important role of NAD-ME1 in processes that control flow of C4 organic acids in Arabidopsis mitochondrial metabolism.
