Biomedical subjects

Henrik Vibe Scheller

Publications and source records attributed to Henrik Vibe Scheller.

26 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed2003

Solubilization of an arabinan arabinosyltransferase activity from mung bean hypocotyls.

The biosynthesis of polysaccharides destined for the plant cell wall and the subsequent assembly of the cell wall are poorly understood processes that are currently the focus of much research. Arabinan, a component of the pectic polysaccharide rhamnogalacturonan I, is composed of arabinosyl residues connected via various glycosidic linkages, and therefore, the biosynthesis of arabinan is likely to involve more than one arabinosyltransferase. We have studied the transfer of [(14)C]arabinose (Ara) from UDP-L-arabinopyranose onto polysaccharides using microsomal membranes isolated from mung bean (Vigna radiata) hypocotyls. [(14)C]arabinosyl and [(14)C]xylosyl residues were incorporated into endogenous products due to the presence of UDP-Xyl-4-epimerase activity. Enzymatic digestion of endogenous products with endo-arabinanase released very little radiolabeled sugars, whereas digestion with arabinofuranosidase released some [(14)C]Ara. Microsomal membranes solubilized with the detergent octyl glucoside were able to add a single [(14)C]Ara residue onto (1-->5)-linked alpha-L-arabino-oligosaccharide acceptors. The reaction had a pH optimum of 6.5 and a requirement for manganese ions. However, enzymatic digestion of the radiolabeled oligosaccharides with endo-arabinanase and arabinofuranosidases could not fully release the radiolabeled Ara residue, indicating that the [(14)C]Ara residue was not a (1-->2)-, (1-->3)-, or (1-->5)-linked alpha-L-arabinofuranosyl residue. Rather, mild acid treatment of the product suggested that the radiolabeled Ara residue was in a pyranose conformation, and this result was confirmed by thin-layer chromatography of radiolabeled partially methylated sugars. Using microsomal membranes separated on a discontinuous sucrose gradient, the arabinosyltransferase activity appears to be mainly localized to Golgi membranes.

Arabinose↗

PubMed2002

Intracellular feruloylation of arabinoxylan in wheat: evidence for feruloyl-glucose as precursor.

Incorporation of [(3)H]arabinose and [(14)C]ferulic acid into soluble and polymeric fractions from suspension-cultured wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cells and the corresponding extracellular medium was studied. The major part of these products was identified as arabinoxylan and two proteins of 40 and 100 kDa. The time course suggests an intracellular synthesis of feruloylated arabinoxylan with feruloyl-glucose as substrate. In contrast, synthesis of feruloylated proteins appears to occur with feruloyl-CoA as precursor. Intracellular formation of ferulic acid dimers is limited to 8,5'-diferulic acid, while other dimers appear to be formed extracellularly. [(3)H]Arabinose was incorporated into polymeric material in both the cellular and in the medium fraction while [(14)C]ferulic was only found in polymers from the cellular fraction, indicating synthesis of both feruloylated and non-feruloylated arabinoxylan by the cells.

Arabinose↗

PubMed2002

A stable LHCII-PSI aggregate and suppression of photosynthetic state transitions in the psae1-1 mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana.

During photosynthetic state transitions, a fraction of the major light-harvesting complex (LHCII) shuttles between photosystems II (PSII) and I (PSI), depending on whether or not it is phosphorylated. Its phosphorylation state in turn depends on the relative activity of the two photosystems, which is a function of redox state and illumination parameters. In the psae1-1 mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh., amounts of the PSI subunits E, C, D, H and L are decreased. A fraction of LHCII is stably associated with PSI when plants are exposed to low light conditions, giving rise to a high-molecular-mass protein-pigment complex detectable in native protein gels. The formation of this abnormal LHCII-PSI complex is associated with an almost complete suppression of state transitions, a drastic increase in the levels of phosphorylated LHCII under all light regimes tested, and a permanent reduction in PSII antenna size. All these observations suggest that the altered polypeptide composition of PSI perturbs the docking of phosphorylated LHCII, making psae1-1 a unique mutant for the study of PSI-LHCII interactions and additional effects of the mutation, such as a decrease in grana stacking and increased adenylate kinase activity.

Arabidopsis↗

PubMed2002

PSI-O, a new 10-kDa subunit of eukaryotic photosystem I.

A novel polypeptide with an apparent molecular mass of 9 kDa was detected after sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of Arabidopsis photosystem I (PSI) and was N-terminally sequenced. Corresponding cDNA clones encode a precursor protein of 140 amino acid residues which was imported into isolated intact chloroplasts and processed to the mature protein, designated PSI-O. The mature protein has two transmembrane helices and a calculated mass of 10104 Da. The PSI-O protein was also shown to be present in PSI isolated from barley and spinach, and was essentially absent in chloroplast grana. Expressed sequences encoding similar proteins are available from many species of plants and green algae.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2002

Pigment organization and energy transfer dynamics in isolated photosystem I (PSI) complexes from Arabidopsis thaliana depleted of the PSI-G, PSI-K, PSI-L, or PSI-N subunit.

Green plant photosystem I (PSI) consists of at least 18 different protein subunits. The roles of some of these protein subunits are not well known, in particular those that do not occur in the well characterized PSI complexes from cyanobacteria. We investigated the spectroscopic properties and excited-state dynamics of isolated PSI-200 particles from wild-type and mutant Arabidopsis thaliana plants devoid of the PSI-G, PSI-K, PSI-L, or PSI-N subunit. Pigment analysis and a comparison of the 5 K absorption spectra of the various particles suggests that the PSI-L and PSI-H subunits together bind approximately five chlorophyll a molecules with absorption maxima near 688 and 667 nm, that the PSI-G subunit binds approximately two red-shifted beta-carotene molecules, that PSI-200 particles without PSI-K lack a part of the peripheral antenna, and that the PSI-N subunit does not bind pigments. Measurements of fluorescence decay kinetics at room temperature with picosecond time resolution revealed lifetimes of ~0.6, 5, 15, 50, 120, and 5000 ps in all particles. The 5- and 15-ps phases could, at least in part, be attributed to the excitation equilibration between bulk and red chlorophyll forms, though the 15-ps phase also contains a contribution from trapping by charge separation. The 50- and 120-ps phases predominantly reflect trapping by charge separation. We suggest that contributions from the core antenna dominate the 15-ps trapping phase, that those from the peripheral antenna proteins Lhca2 and Lhca3 dominate the 50-ps phase, and that those from Lhca1 and Lhca4 dominate the 120-ps phase. In the PSI-200 particles without PSI-K or PSI-G protein, more excitations are trapped in the 15-ps phase and less in 50- and 120-ps phases, which is in agreement with the notion that these subunits are involved in the interaction between the core and peripheral antenna proteins.

Arabidopsis↗

PubMed2002

Dynamic changes in cell wall polysaccharides during wheat seedling development.

Changes in arabinoxylan content and composition during development of wheat seedlings were investigated. The cell walls isolated from the seedlings showed an increasing content of arabinoxylan during development, which could be correlated to increased activity of xylan synthase and arabinoxylan arabinosyltransferase. Arabinoxylan changed from initially having a high degree of arabinose substitution to a much lower degree of substitution. beta-Glucan was present in the walls at the early stages of development, but was actively degraded after day 4. Increased deposition of arabinoxylan did not take place until beta-glucan had been fully degraded. Ferulic and p-coumaric acid esters were present at all points but increased significantly from day 3 to 6, where lignification began. Ferulic acid dimers did not appear in the cell wall until day three and the different ferulic acid dimers varied in the course of accumulation. The ratio of ferulic acid dimers to free ferulic acid was maximal at the time when the wall had been depleted for beta-glucan, which had not yet been fully replaced by arabinoxylan. This pattern suggests a role for ferulic acid dimers in stabilizing the wall during the transition from a flexible to a more rigid structure. To investigate if the same changes could be observed within a single seedling, 7 day old seedlings were divided into four sections and the walls were analyzed. Some of the changes observed during the seedling development could also be observed within a single seedling, when analyzing the segments from the elongation zone at the base to the top of the leaf. However, the expanding region of older seedlings was much richer in hydroxycinnamates than the expanding region of younger seedlings. Diferulic acids are stabilizing the wall in the transition phase from an expanding to a mature wall. This transition can take place in different manners depending on the cell and tissue type.

Cell Wall↗

PubMed2002

Arabinoxylan biosynthesis in wheat. Characterization of arabinosyltransferase activity in Golgi membranes.

Arabinoxylan arabinosyltransferase (AX-AraT) activity was investigated using microsomes and Golgi vesicles isolated from wheat (Triticum aestivum) seedlings. Incubation of microsomes with UDP-[(14)C]-beta-L-arabinopyranose resulted in incorporation of radioactivity into two different products, although most of the radioactivity was present in xylose (Xyl), indicating a high degree of UDP-arabinose (Ara) epimerization. In isolated Golgi vesicles, the epimerization was negligible, and incubation with UDP-[(14)C]Ara resulted in formation of a product that could be solubilized with proteinase K. In contrast, when Golgi vesicles were incubated with UDP-[(14)C]Ara in the presence of unlabeled UDP-Xyl, the product obtained could be solubilized with xylanase, whereas proteinase K had no effect. Thus, the AX-AraT is dependent on the synthesis of unsubstituted xylan acting as acceptor. Further analysis of the radiolabeled product formed in the presence of unlabeled UDP-Xyl revealed that it had an apparent molecular mass of approximately 500 kD. Furthermore, the total incorporation of [(14)C]Ara was dependent on the time of incubation and the amount of Golgi protein used. AX-AraT activity had a pH optimum at 6, and required the presence of divalent cations, Mn(2+) being the most efficient. In the absence of UDP-Xyl, a single arabinosylated protein with an apparent molecular mass of 40 kD was radiolabeled. The [(14)C]Ara labeling became reversible by adding unlabeled UDP-Xyl to the reaction medium. The possible role of this protein in arabinoxylan biosynthesis is discussed.

Carbon Radioisotopes↗

PubMed2001

Photosystem I activity is increased in the absence of the PSI-G subunit.

PSI-G is a subunit of photosystem I in eukaryotes. The function of PSI-G was characterized in Arabidopsis plants transformed with a psaG cDNA in antisense orientation. Several plants with significantly decreased PSI-G protein content were identified. Plants with reduced PSI-G content were indistinguishable from wild type when grown under optimal conditions, despite a 40% reduction of photosystem I. This decrease of photosystem I was correlated with a similar reduction in state transitions. Surprisingly, the reduced photosystem I content was compensated for by a more effective photosystem I because the light-dependent reduction of NADP(+) in vitro was 48% higher. Photosystem I antenna size determined from flash-induced P700 absorption changes did not reveal any significant effect on the size of the photosystem I antenna in the absence of PSI-G, whereas a 17% reduction was seen in the absence of PSI-K. However, nondenaturing green gels revealed that the interaction between photosystem I and the light-harvesting complex I was less stable in the absence of PSI-G. Thus, PSI-G plays a role in stabilizing the binding of the peripheral antenna. The increased activity in the absence of PSI-G suggests that PSI-G could have an important role in regulation of photosystem I.

Arabidopsis↗