Insertion of pea lectin into a phospholipid monolayer.

Pea lectin (PSL) is a secretory sugar-binding protein, readily soluble in aqueous solutions of low osmolarity. However, PSL also appears to be associated with the plasma membrane at the tip of young pea root hairs. By using the Wilhelmy plate method, we found that PSL can insert into a lipid monolayer. This property appeared to be independent of the sugar-binding ability of the protein. This result suggests that PSL may be directly involved in membrane-mediated interactions with saccharide ligands, for example during root hair infection by symbiotic rhizobia.

Sugar-binding activity of pea (Pisum sativum) lectin is essential for heterologous infection of transgenic white clover hairy roots by Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar viciae.

Legume lectin stimulates infection of roots in the symbiosis between leguminous plants and bacteria of the genus Rhizobium. Introduction of the Pisum sativum lectin gene (psl) into white clover hairy roots enables heterologous infection and nodulation by the pea symbiont R. leguminosarum biovar viciae (R.l. viciae). Legume lectins contain a specific sugar-binding site. Here, we show that inoculation of white clover hairy roots co-transformed with a psl mutant encoding a non-sugar-binding lectin (PSL N125D) with R.l. viciae yielded only background pseudo-nodule formation, in contrast to the situation after transformation with wild type psl or with a psl mutant encoding sugar-binding PSL (PSL A126V). For every construct tested, nodulation by the homologous symbiont R.l. trifolii was normal. These results strongly suggest that (1) sugar-binding activity of PSL is necessary for infection of white clover hairy roots by R.l. viciae, and (2) the rhizobial ligand of host lectin is a sugar residue rather than a lipid.

Mutational analysis of the sugar-binding site of pea lectin.

Comparison of x-ray crystal structures of several legume lectins, co-crystallized with sugar molecules, showed a strong conservation of amino acid residues directly involved in ligand binding. For pea (Pisum sativum) lectin (PSL), these conserved amino acids can be classified into three groups: (I) D81 and N125, present in all legume lectins studied so far; (II) G99 and G216, conserved in almost all legume lectins; and (III) A217 and E218, which are only found in Vicieae lectins and are possibly determinants of sugar-binding specificity. Each of these amino acids in PSL was changed by site-directed mutagenesis, resulting in PSL molecules with single substitutions: for group I D81A, D81N, N125A; for group II G99R, G216L; and for group III A217L, E218Q, respectively. PSL double mutant Y124R; A126S was included as a control. The modified PSL molecules appeared not to be affected in their ability to form dimeric proteins, whereas the sugar-binding activity of each of the PSL mutants, with the exception of the control mutant (as shown by haemagglutination assays), was completely eliminated. These results confirm the model of the sugar-binding site of Vicieae lectins as deduced from X-ray analysis.

Pea (Pisum sativum L.) seed isolectins 1 and 2 and pea root lectin result from carboxypeptidase-like processing of a single gene product.

The complete amino acid sequences of the alpha-subunits of pea (Pisum sativum L.) seed and root lectin, the C-terminal amino acids of the beta-subunits of pea seed lectin, and most of the sequence of the beta-subunit of pea root lectin were determined. In contrast to earlier reports it was shown that the beta-subunits of both seed isolectins end at Asn-181. The alpha 1 subunits end at Gln-241 (major fraction) or Lys-240 (minor fraction), whereas the alpha 2 subunits end at Ser-239, Ser-238, Ser-237 or Thr-236. psl cDNA clones from seed are identical to psl cDNA clones from root, and root PSL is identical to seed PSL2, ending at Ser-239, Ser-238 or Ser-237. It seems that the presence of Lys-240 is the sole determinant of the charge difference between pea isolectins. PSL1 can be converted into PSL2 by carboxypeptidase P from Penicillium janthinellum. These results confirm that PSL from roots is encoded by the same gene as PSL from seeds. Thus, it seems that, next to an Asn-X specific protease responsible for the processing at positions 181/182 and 187/188, a carboxypeptidase is responsible for the conversion of PSL1 and PSL2, which is probably the final processing product.

Destabilization of pea lectin by substitution of a single amino acid in a surface loop.

Legume lectins are considered to be antinutritional factors (ANF) in the animal feeding industry. Inactivation of ANF is an important element in processing of food. In our study on the stability of Pisum sativum L. lectin (PSL), a conserved hydrophobic amino acid (Val103) in a surface loop was replaced with alanine. The mutant lectin, PSL V103A, showed a decrease in unfolding temperature (Tm) by some 10 degrees C in comparison with wild-type (wt) PSL, and the denaturation energy (delta H) is only about 55% of that of wt PSL. Replacement of an adjacent amino acid (Phe104) with alanine did not result in a significant difference in stability in comparison with wt PSL. Both mutations did not change the sugar-binding properties of the lectin, as compared with wt PSL and with PSL from pea seeds, at ambient temperatures. The double mutant, PSL V103A/F104A, was produced in Escherichia coli, but could not be isolated in an active (i.e. sugar-binding) form. Interestingly, the mutation in PSL V103A reversibly affected sugar-binding at 37 degrees C, as judged from haemagglutination assays. These results open the possibility of production of lectins that are active in planta at ambient temperatures, but are inactive and possibly non-toxic at 37 degrees C in the intestines of mammals.

Mutational analysis of pea lectin. Substitution of Asn125 for Asp in the monosaccharide-binding site eliminates mannose/glucose-binding activity.

As part of a strategy to determine the precise role of pea (Pisum sativum) lectin, Psl, in nodulation of pea by Rhizobium leguminosarum, mutations were introduced into the genetic determinant for pea lectin by site-directed mutagenesis using PCR. Introduction of a specific mutation, N125D, into a central area of the sugar-binding site resulted in complete loss of binding of Psl to dextran as well as of mannose/glucose-sensitive haemagglutination activity. As a control, substitution of an adjacent residue, A126V, did not have any detectable influence on sugar-binding activity. Both mutants appeared to represent normal Psl dimers with a molecular mass of about 55 kDa, in which binding of Ca2+ and Mn2+ ions was not affected. These results demonstrate that the NHD2 group of Asn125 is essential in sugar binding by Psl. To our knowledge, Psl N125D is the first mutant legume lectin which is unable to bind sugar residues. This mutant could be useful in the identification of the potential role of the lectin in the recognition of homologous symbionts.

The promoter of the rice gene GOS2 is active in various different monocot tissues and binds rice nuclear factor ASF-1.

A single copy gene has been isolated, termed GOS2, from rice. Sequence comparison revealed highly similar genes in mammals and yeast, indicating that GOS2 encodes an evolutionary conserved protein. GOS2 mRNA was detected in all tissues examined. When the upstream region was translationally fused to the reporter gene gusA it was found to drive expression in a variety of rice tissues and in cell suspensions of other monocot species following introduction by particle bombardment. Therefore, the GOS2 promoter is potentially useful for genetic engineering of monocots. A DNA-binding activity from rice, termed rice ASF-1, with similar binding specificity as the cloned tobacco transcription factor TGA-1a, was found to bind to a TGACG sequence motif in the GOS2 promoter. Possible roles for rice ASF-1 in the transcriptional activation of the GOS2 promoter are discussed.

Structure and expression of a root-specific rice gene.

Two rice cDNA clones (COS6 and COS9) were isolated, corresponding to genes that were highly expressed in roots from seedlings and mature plants. A genomic clone (GOS9) corresponding to cDNA clone COS9 was isolated and the intron/exon structure was determined by comparing the nucleotide sequences of the mRNA and the genomic clone. 5' ends and 3' ends of the mRNA were determined by primer extension and S1-nuclease mapping respectively. The open reading frame present in GOS9 potentially encodes a protein (14 kDa) that does not show any significant homology to other proteins in databases.

Plant expression signals of the Agrobacterium T-cyt gene.

Within the 5' and 3' non-coding regions of the T-cyt gene from the octopine T-DNA of Agrobacterium tumefaciens sequences required for expression of this gene in plant cells were identified by deletion mutagenesis. The results show that 184 bp of the 5' non-coding region and 270 bp of the 3' non-coding region are sufficient for wild-type expression. Within the 5' non-coding region two essential expression signals were identified: (1.) an activator element located between -185 and -129 with respect to the ATG start codon and (2.) one out of two TATA boxes. Deletions of the activator element or the two TATA boxes resulted in nonfunctional genes. Deletion of the upstream TATA box and both putative CAAT boxes did not significantly affect expression. Within the 3' non-coding region, the polyadenylation box most distal to the stop codon was not essential for expression, but sequences more upstream, including a second polyadenylation box were found to be required for wild-type expression.

Effects of mutations in the TATA box region of the Agrobacterium T-cyt gene on its transcription in plant tissues.

We have generated mutations in the promoter region of the octopine type cytokinin gene of Agrobacterium tumefaciens, and studied their effects on mRNA formation in different plant species. The promoter region of this gene contains several putative TATA boxes. Phenotypic expression and Northern blot hybridization showed that TATA boxes are essential for expression, but that one TATA box leads to wild-type transcript levels. Analysis of the 5' ends of T-cyt transcripts by primer extension using RNA from T-cyt gene transformed tobacco shoots revealed two major cap site clusters and one minor cap site. TATA box consensus sequences can be found approximately 30 bp upstream from each cap site cluster. Deletion of a TATA box results in loss of the corresponding cap sites. An insertion of 7 bp between the right TATA box and corresponding cap sites results in a shift of the position of the cap sites, so that the original distance of TATA box to cap sites is conserved as much as possible.

The limited host range of an Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain extended by a cytokinin gene from a wide host range T-region.

The host range of Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain LBA649 (pTiAg57) is limited to grapevine and a few other plant species. Its host range was extended through the introduction of the T-region from the wide host range octopine plasmid pTiAch5. In contrast, R prime plasmids harboring the entire wide host range virulence region were unable to achieve this effect. Via site-directed mutagenesis a search was performed to identify the T-DNA genes which were responsible for the observed host range extension. Inactivation of one of the onc-genes (the cyt gene) was found to abolish the capacity of the T-region to extend the host range of LBA649. Therefore, we cloned the cyt gene into a disarmed T-region plant vector and used it in complementation studies with pTiAg57 via the binary vector strategy. We show that the mere presence of the cyt gene from a wide host range Ti plasmid is sufficient to extend the host range of LBA649 to certain plants. We conclude that the limited host range of LBA649 is not caused by a lack of recognition of plants but is mainly due to the absence or inactivity of a cyt gene in the T-region of pTiAg57.