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PubMed2002

The Dictyostelium LvsA protein is localized on the contractile vacuole and is required for osmoregulation.

LvsA is a Dictyostelium protein that is essential for cytokinesis and that is related to the mammalian beige/LYST family of proteins. To better understand the function of this novel protein family we tagged LvsA with GFP using recombination techniques. GFP-LvsA is primarily associated with the membranes of the contractile vacuole system and it also has a punctate distribution in the cytoplasm. Two markers of the Dictyostelium contractile vacuole, the vacuolar proton pump and calmodulin, show extensive colocalization with GFP-LvsA on contractile vacuole membranes. Interestingly, the association of LvsA with contractile vacuole membranes occurs only during the discharge phase of the vacuole. In LvsA mutants the contractile vacuole becomes disorganized and calmodulin dissociates from the contractile vacuole membranes. Consequently, the contractile vacuole is unable to function normally, it can swell but seems unable to discharge and the LvsA mutants become osmosensitive. These results demonstrate that LvsA can associate transiently with the contractile vacuole membrane compartment and that this association is necessary for the function of the contractile vacuole during osmoregulation. This transient association with specific membrane compartments may be a general property of other BEACH-domain containing proteins.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗
PubMed1991

Osmoregulation of thirst and vasopressin release in severe chronic renal failure.

Subjects with severe chronic renal failure (CRF) have higher plasma concentrations of arginine vasopressin (AVP) than normal subjects, and some develop severe thirst. Eight patients with CRF and seven matched controls underwent hypertonic saline infusion to explore the relationship of thirst and plasma AVP with plasma osmolality. Differences in urea concentration between the two groups were controlled for by correcting measured osmolality to a urea of zero. Linear regression analysis of the relationships between plasma AVP and thirst with plasma osmolality (corrected for urea) was performed. Mean results were: control, pAVP = 0.26 (pOsmc - 283.7) versus CRF, pAVP = 0.72 (pOsmc - 282.0); and control, thirst = 4.0 (pOsmc - 279.4) versus CRF, thirst = 3.5 (pOsmc - 281.8). The apparent sensitivity (slope) of AVP release was greater in severe CRF than in normal controls (P = 0.04). There was no significant difference between the groups in thirst sensitivity, threshold for thirst onset and threshold for AVP release. Osmoregulated thirst was normal in severe CRF, but increasing osmolality leads to higher concentrations of AVP than would be expected.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Osmoregulation of plasma vasopressin in diabetes mellitus with sustained hyperglycemia.

We studied osmoregulation of plasma vasopressin in 5 patients with newly diagnosed diabetes mellitus. All patients showed typical symptoms of uncontrolled diabetes mellitus such as marked hyperglycemia, polyuria, and polydipsia, but did not have advanced diabetic complications. Vasopressin release was studied using 5% hypertonic saline infusion test twice: before treatment when the patient was hyperglycemic, and after treatment 1 to 2 months later when the patient was euglycemic. Plasma vasopressin was measured by a sensitive and specific radioimmunoassay. The mean basal plasma vasopressin value in the patients was significantly higher in the hyperglycemic compared with the euglycemic state (3.75 +/- 0.70 vs 1.18 +/- 0.46 pmol/l, respectively; P < 0.05). The relationship of plasma vasopressin with serum sodium, but not plasma osmolality, during hyperglycemia showed an apparent hypersecretion of vasopressin. In both cases, the sensitivity of the vasopressin response to osmotic stimuli was significantly decreased. During euglycemia, the sensitivity of vasopressin secretion to either sodium or osmolality was almost normal, although a slight rise in the osmostat was observed compared with normal subjects. Together, we found that the positive correlation of vasopressin with sodium or osmolality is maintained but significantly altered in patients with untreated diabetes mellitus. Especially noteworthy is the lowered threshold and decreased sensitivity of osmotically-induced vasopressin secretion during hyperglycemia, which may be caused by multiple factors such as diabetes-associated hypovolemia, osmogenic effects of glucose and other osmoles, depletion of the pool of vasopressin available for release, and the metabolic derangement of osmoreceptor/magnocellular neurons.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Fps1p controls the accumulation and release of the compatible solute glycerol in yeast osmoregulation.

The accumulation of compatible solutes, such as glycerol, in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is a ubiquitous mechanism in cellular osmoregulation. Here, we demonstrate that yeast cells control glycerol accumulation in part via a regulated, Fps1p-mediated export of glycerol. Fps1p is a member of the MIP family of channel proteins most closely related to the bacterial glycerol facilitators. The protein is localized in the plasma membrane. The physiological role of Fps1p appears to be glycerol export rather than uptake. Fps1 delta mutants are sensitive to hypo-osmotic shock, demonstrating that osmolyte export is required for recovery from a sudden drop in external osmolarity. In wild-type cells, the glycerol transport rate is decreased by hyperosmotic shock and increased by hypo-osmotic shock on a subminute time scale. This regulation seems to be independent of the known yeast osmosensing HOG and PKC signalling pathways. Mutants lacking the unique hydrophilic N-terminal domain of Fps1p, or certain parts thereof, fail to reduce the glycerol transport rate after a hyperosmotic shock. Yeast cells carrying these constructs constitutively release glycerol and show a dominant hyperosmosensitivity, but compensate for glycerol loss after prolonged incubation by glycerol overproduction. Fps1p may be an example of a more widespread class of regulators of osmoadaptation, which control the cellular content and release of compatible solutes.

Biological Transport↗
PubMed2002

Osmoregulated periplasmic glucans of the free-living photosynthetic bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides.

The osmoregulated periplasmic glucans (OPGs) produced by Rhodobacter sphaeroides, a free-living organism, were isolated by trichloracetic acid treatment and gel permeation chromatography. Compounds obtained were characterized by compositional analysis, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance. R. sphaeroides predominantly synthesizes a cyclic glucan containing 18 glucose residues that can be substituted by one to seven succinyl esters residues at the C6 position of some of the glucose residues, and by one or two acetyl residues. The glucans were subjected to a mild alkaline treatment in order to remove the succinyl and acetyl substituents, analyzed by MALDI mass spectrometry and purified by high-performance anion-exchange chromatography. Methylation analysis revealed that this glucan is linked by 17 1,2 glycosidic bonds and one 1,6 glycosidic bond. Homonuclear and (1)H/(13)C heteronuclear NMR experiments revealed the presence of a single alpha-1,6 glycosidic linkage, whereas all other glucose residues are beta-1,2 linked. The different anomeric proton signals allowed a complete sequence-specific assignment of the glucan. The structural characteristics of this glucan are very similar to the previously described OPGs of Ralstonia solanacearum and Xanthomonas campestris, except for its different size and the presence of substituents. Therefore, similar OPGs are synthesized by phytopathogenic as well as free-living bacteria, suggesting these compounds are intrinsic components of the Gram-negative bacterial envelope.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2002

The opgGIH and opgC genes of Rhodobacter sphaeroides form an operon that controls backbone synthesis and succinylation of osmoregulated periplasmic glucans.

Osmoregulated periplasmic glucans (OPGs) of Rhodobacter sphaeroides are anionic cyclic molecules that accumulate in large amounts in the periplasmic space in response to low osmolarity of the medium. Their anionic character is provided by the substitution of the glucosidic backbone by succinyl residues. A wild-type strain was subject to transposon mutagenesis, and putative mutant clones were screened for changes in OPGs by thin layer chromatography. One mutant deficient in succinyl substitution of the OPGs was obtained and the gene inactivated in this mutant was characterized and named opgC. opgC is located downstream of three ORFs, opgGIH, two of which are similar to the Escherichia coli operon, mdoGH, governing OPG backbone synthesis. Inactivation of opgG, opgI or opgH abolished OPG production and complementation analysis indicated that the three genes are necessary for backbone synthesis. In contrast, inactivation of a gene similar to ndvB, encoding the OPG-glucosyl transferase in Sinorhizobium meliloti, had no consequence on OPG synthesis in Rhodobacter sphaeroides. Cassette insertions in opgH had a polar effect on glucan substitution, indicating that opgC is in the same transcription unit. Expression of opgIHC in E. coli mdoB/mdoC and mdoH mutants allowed the production of slightly anionic and abnormally long linear glucans.

Bacterial Proteins↗
PubMed1995

Investigation into the role of N-acetylaspartate in cerebral osmoregulation.

Marked abnormalities of the magnetic resonance intensity of N-acetylaspartate (NAA) have been reported in patients with various neurological disorders, but the neurochemical consequences of these alterations are difficult to assess because the function of NAA remains speculative. The purpose of this study was to examine whether NAA plays a role in protecting neurons against osmotic stress. Intracerebral microdialysis was used to expose a small region of the rat dorsolateral striatum to an increasingly hyposmotic environment and to measure resulting changes in NAA extracellular concentrations. NAA changes in the extracellular fluid (ECF) were compared with those of the amino acids, in particular, taurine, known to be involved in brain osmoregulation. Stepped increases in cellular hydration produced by hyposmotic perfusion media induced a marked increase in ECF NAA, reflecting a redistribution of NAA from intra-to extracellular space. Parallel experiments showed that, of all the extracellular amino acids measured, only taurine markedly increased with hyposmolar perfusion medium, indicating that the ECF NAA increase associated with hyposmotic stress was a specific response and not passive leakage out of the cells. As NAA is predominantly neuronal, it may contribute to the protection of neurons against swelling (i.e., regulatory volume decrease). In conditions with impaired blood-brain barrier and cytotoxic oedema, efflux of intracellular NAA subsequent to sustained cellular swelling might lead to a reduction in total brain NAA detectable by magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Alternatively, redistribution of NAA from intra-to extracellular space implies changes in its chemical environment that may alter its magnetic resonance visibility.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1983

Studies of osmoregulation in salt adaptation of cyanobacteria with ESR spin-probe techniques.

Sucrose is accumulated in response to NaCl-induced stress in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus 6311. Internal cell volume was measured by ESR spectra with 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-oxopiperidinoxy free radical (TEMPONE) as a spin probe in order to calculate sucrose concentrations inside the cell. This method is rapid and reliable and provides an unambiguous measurement of absolute volumes in different osmotic environments. Because the osmolar concentration of sucrose does not counter-balance the osmolar concentrations of ions in the growth medium, we suggest that sucrose accumulation is one of the mechanisms involved in the process of adaptation to salt of Synechococcus 6311. The accumulation of sucrose in non-N(2)-fixing cyanobacteria such as Synechococcus 6311 and in N(2)-fixing cyanobacteria such as Nostoc muscorum suggests a common mechanism of osmoregulation of fresh water cyanobacteria in response to increasing NaCl concentrations in the growth medium.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1996

Structural characterization of a novel neuropeptide from the central nervous system of the leech Erpobdella octoculata. The leech osmoregulator factor.

Purification of a material immunoreactive to an antiserum against the C-terminal part of the oxytocin (Pro-Leu-Gly-amide) and present in the central nervous system of the Pharyngobdellid leech Erpobdella octoculata was performed by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography combined with both enzyme-linked immunosorbent and dot immunobinding assays for oxytocin. The amino acid sequence of the purified peptide (Ile-Pro-Glu-Pro-Tyr-Val-Trp-Asp) was established by Edman degradation and confirmed by electrospray mass spectrometry measurement. When injected in leeches, purified or synthetic peptides exert an anti-diuretic effect, the most effective ranged between 10 pmol and 1 nmol. They provoked an uptake of water 1-2 h post-injection. Furthermore, electrophysiological experiments conducted in the leech Hirudo medicinalis revealed an inhibition of the potency of Na+ conductances of leech skin by this peptide. Immunocytochemical studies with an antiserum against synthetic oxytocin-like molecule provided the cytological basis for existence of a neuropeptide, since large amounts of immunoreactive neurons were detected in the central nervous systems of E. octoculata. The purified molecule is both different to peptides of the oxytocin/vasopressin family and is a novel neuropeptide in the animal kingdom. It was named the leech osmoregulator factor (LORF). An identification of the proteins immunoreactive to an antiserum against oxytocin performed at the level of both central nervous systems extracts and in vitro central nervous system-translated RNA products indicated that in the two cases, a single protein was detected. These proteins with a molecular masses of, respectively, approximately 34 kDa (homodimer of 17 kDa) for the central nervous systems extracts and approximately 19 kDa for in vitro central nervous system-translated RNA products were not recognized by the antiserum against MSEL- and VLDV-neurophysin (proteins associated to oxytocin and vasopressin), confirming that LORF did not belong to the oxytocin/vasopressin family.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2002

EnvZ-OmpR interaction and osmoregulation in Escherichia coli.

EnvZ, a histidine kinase/phosphatase in Escherichia coli, responds to the osmolarity changes in the medium by regulating the phosphorylation state of the transcription factor OmpR, which controls the expression levels of outer membrane porin proteins OmpF and OmpC. Although both ompR and envZ genes are located on the ompB locus under the control of the ompB promoter and transcribed as a single polycistronic mRNA, the expression of envZ is known to be significantly less than ompR. However, to date no accurate estimation for the amounts of EnvZ and OmpR in the cell has been carried out. Here we examined the levels of EnvZ and OmpR in the wild-type strain MC4100 by quantitative Western blot analysis using anti-OmpR and anti-EnvZc (cytoplasmic domain of EnvZ) antisera. It was observed that during exponential growth in L-broth medium there were approximately 3500 and 100 molecules per cell of OmpR and EnvZ, respectively. The levels of OmpR and EnvZ in MC4100 cells grown in a high osmolarity medium (nutrient broth with 20% sucrose) were about the same as those grown in L-broth, whereas they were 1.7-fold higher than those in a low osmolarity medium (nutrient broth). With His10-OmpR, we also determined that the K(d) value for the EnvZc-OmpR complex formation is 1.20 +/- 0.17 microm. On the basis of these results, the molecular mechanism of osmoregulation of ompF and ompC is discussed.

Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Rapid action of testosterone and diethylstilbestrol on enzymes of osmoregulation in a freshwater fish Oreochromis mossambicus.

The rapid action of sex steroids on enzymes of osmoregulation has not been studied in teleosts. In vivo administration of 0.1 microg/g body wt. of testosterone and diethylstilbestrol (DES) significantly enhanced branchial Na+-K+ ATPase, Ca2+ ATPase, and Na+, K+, and Ca2+ ions as early as 30 minutes in a freshwater teleost Oreochromis mossambicus. Treatment with 10(-6) M testosterone significantly stimulated Na+-K+ ATPase as early as 5 minutes in vitro. The same dose of DES also stimulated Na+-K+ ATPase activity within 10 minutes of incubation in a gill culture study. Administration of the transcriptional inhibitor, actinomycin D (0.1 microg/g body wt. in vivo and 10(-6) M in vitro), prior to hormone treatment, did not prevent the steroid-induced ATPase activity both in vivo and in vitro. It seems that stimulation of Ca2+ ion may be responsible for the hormonal effects to increase enzyme activity. A possible nongenomic mode of action for testosterone and DES is suggested in Oreochromis.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

The African lungfish (Protopterus dolloi): ionoregulation and osmoregulation in a fish out of water.

Although urea production and metabolism in lungfish have been thoroughly studied, we have little knowledge of how internal osmotic and electrolyte balance are controlled during estivation or in water. We tested the hypothesis that, compared with the body surface of teleosts, the slender African lungfish (Protopterus dolloi) body surface was relatively impermeable to water, Na(+), and Cl(-) due to its greatly reduced gills. Accordingly, we measured the tritiated water ((3)H-H(2)O) flux in P. dolloi in water and during air exposure. In water, (3)H-H(2)O efflux was comparable with the lowest measurements reported in freshwater teleosts, with a rate constant (K) of 17.6% body water h(-1). Unidirectional ion fluxes, measured using (22)Na(+) and (36)Cl(-), indicated that Na(+) and Cl(-) influx was more than 90% lower than values reported in most freshwater teleosts. During air exposure, a cocoon formed within 1 wk that completely covered the dorsolateral body surface. However, there were no disturbances to blood osmotic or ion (Na(+), Cl(-)) balance, despite seven- to eightfold increases in plasma urea after 20 wk. Up to 13-fold increases in muscle urea (on a dry-weight basis) were the likely explanation for the 56% increase in muscle water content observed after 20 wk of air exposure. The possibility that muscle acted as a "water reservoir" during air exposure was supported by the 20% decline in body mass observed during subsequent reimmersion in water. This decline in body mass was equivalent to 28 mL water in a 100-g animal and was very close to the calculated net water gain (approximately 32 mL) observed during the 20-wk period of air exposure. Tritiated water and unidirectional ion fluxes on air-exposed lungfish revealed that the majority of water and ion exchange was via the ventral body surface at rates that were initially similar to aquatic rates. The (3)H-H(2)O flux declined over time but increased upon reimmersion. We conclude that the slender lungfish body surface, including the gills, has relatively low permeability to water and ions but that the ventral surface is an important site of osmoregulation and ionoregulation. We further propose that an amphibian-like combination of ventral skin water and ion permeability, plus internal urea accumulation during air exposure, allows P. dolloi to extract water from its surroundings and to store water in the muscle when the water supply becomes limited.

Air↗
PubMed1995

Methohexital impairs osmoregulation. Studies in conscious and anesthetized volume-expanded dogs.

BACKGROUND: Anesthetic agents influence central regulations. This study investigated the effects of methohexital anesthesia on renal and hormonal responses to acute sodium and water loading in dogs in the absence of surgical stress. METHODS: Fourteen experiments (two in each dog) were performed in seven well-trained, chronically tracheotomized beagle dogs kept in highly standardized environmental and dietary conditions (2.5 mmol sodium and 91 ml water/kg body weight daily). Experiments lasted 3 h, while the dogs were conscious (7 experiments) or, after 1 h control, while they were anesthetized (7 experiments) with methohexital (initial dose 6.6 mg/kg body weight and maintenance infusion 0.34 mg.min-1.kg-1 body weight) over a period of 2 h. In both experiments, extracellular volume expansion was performed by intravenous infusion of a balanced isoosmolar electrolyte solution (0.5 ml.min-1.kg-1 body weight). Normal arterial blood gases were maintained by controlled mechanical ventilation. In another five dogs the same protocol was used, and vasopressin (0.05 mU.min-1.kg-1 body weight) was infused intravenously during methohexital anesthesia. RESULTS: Values are given as means. During methohexital anesthesia, mean arterial pressure decreased from 108 to 101 mmHg, and heart rate increased from 95 to 146 beats/min. Renal sodium excretion decreased; urine volume increased; and urine osmolarity decreased from 233 to 155 mosm/l, whereas plasma osmolarity increased from 301 to 312 mosm/l because of an increase in plasma sodium concentration from 148 to 154 mmol/l. Plasma renin activity, plasma aldosterone concentration, plasma atrial natriuretic peptide, and plasma antidiuretic hormone concentrations (range 1.8-2.8 pg/ml) did not change in either protocol. In the presence of exogenous vasopressin (antidiuretic hormone 3.3 pg/ml), water diuresis did not occur, and neither plasma osmolarity nor the plasma concentration of sodium changed. CONCLUSIONS: Methohexital may impair osmoregulation by inhibiting adequate pituitary antidiuretic hormone release in response to an osmotic challenge.

Aldosterone↗
PubMed1986

Osmoregulation and baroregulation of plasma vasopressin in essential hypertension.

Vasopressin secretion is stimulated by hyperosmolality, hypovolemia, or hypotension and is inhibited by hypoosmolality, hypervolemia, or hypertension. These osmotic and hemodynamic influences are mediated by neuronal afferents that originate in separate osmoreceptors or baroreceptors but ultimately converge to act on the same neurosecretory neurons. Functionally, the two control systems are integrated in such a way that osmoregulation is altered but not disrupted by hemodynamic influences. In patients with uncomplicated essential hypertension, basal as well as osmotically stimulated vasopressin is completely normal. The vasopressin response to an acute reduction in blood pressure is also normal if the values are expressed relative to the change in pressure. However, if the plasma vasopressin response is plotted as a function of absolute blood pressure, the line describing the relationship lies well to the right of normal. Thus, although it is completely intact, the baroregulatory mechanism appears to be reset to a higher level in essential hypertension. These results suggest that increased secretion of vasopressin does not contribute to the genesis or maintenance of uncomplicated, untreated essential hypertension but may antagonize the therapeutic effect of some antihypertensive drugs. If so, antagonists of V1 receptors may be useful as second-line adjunctive therapy for this condition.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Characterization of genes for the biosynthesis of the compatible solute ectoine from Marinococcus halophilus and osmoregulated expression in Escherichia coli.

The genes of the biosynthetic pathway of ectoine (1,4,5,6-tetrahydro-2-methyl-4-pyrimidinecarboxylic acid) from the Gram-positive moderate halophile Marinococcus halophilus were cloned by functional expression in Escherichia coli. These genes were not only expressed, but also osmoregulated in E. coli, as demonstrated by increasing cytoplasmic ectoine concentration in response to medium salinity. Sequencing of a 4.4 kb fragment revealed four major ORFs, which were designated ectA, ectB, ectC and orfA. The significance of three of these genes for ectoine synthesis was proved by sequence comparison with known proteins and by physiological experiments. Several deletion derivatives of the sequenced fragment were introduced into E. coli and the resulting clones were investigated for their ability to synthesize ectoine or one of the intermediates in its biosynthetic pathway. It was demonstrated that ectA codes for L-2,4-diaminobutyric acid acetyltransferase, ectB for L-2,4-diaminobutyric acid transaminase and ectC for L-ectoine synthase. A DNA region upstream of ectA was shown to be necessary for the regulated expression of ectoine synthesis in response to the osmolarity of the medium.

Acetyltransferases↗
PubMed1997

Molecular characterization of the Serratia marcescens OmpF porin, and analysis of S. marcescens OmpF and OmpC osmoregulation.

Serratia marcescens is a nosocomial pathogen with a high incidence of beta-lactam resistance. Reduced amounts of outer-membrane porins have been correlated with increased resistance to beta-lactams but only one porin, OmpC, has been characterized at the molecular level. In this study we present the molecular characterization of a second porin, OmpF, and an analysis of the expression of S. marcescens porins in response to various environmental changes. Two porins were isolated from the outer membrane using urea-SDS-PAGE and the relative amounts were shown to be influenced by the osmolarity of the medium and the presence of salicylate. From a S. marcescens genomic DNA library an 8 kb EcoRI fragment was isolated that hybridized with an oligonucleotide encoding the published N-terminal amino acid sequence of the S. marcescens 41 kDa porin. A 41 kDa protein was detected in the outer membrane of Escherichia coli NM522 carrying the cloned S. marcescens DNA. The cloned gene was sequenced and shown to code for a protein that shared 60-70% identity with other known OmpF and OmpC sequences. The upstream DNA sequence of the S. marcescens gene was similar to the corresponding E. coli ompF sequence; however, a regulatory element important in repression of E. coli ompF at high osmolarity was absent. The cloned S. marcescens OmpF in E. coli increased in expression in conditions of high osmolarity. The potential involvement of micF in the observed osmoregulation of S. marcescens porins is discussed.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Molecular cloning and evidence for osmoregulation of the delta 1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase (proC) gene in pea (Pisum sativum L.).

Several cDNA clones encoding delta 1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase (P5CR, L-proline:NAD[P]+ 5-oxidoreductase, EC 1.5.1.2), which catalyzes the terminal step in proline biosynthesis, were isolated from a pea leaf library screened with a 32P-labeled Aval fragment of a soybean nodule P5CR cDNA (A.J. Delauney, D.P.S. Verma [1990] Mol Gen Genet 221: 299-305). DNA sequence analysis of one full-length 1.3-kb clone (pPPS3) indicated that the pea P5CR gene contains a single major open reading frame encoding a polypeptide of 28,242 Da. Genomic analysis suggested that two to three copies of the P5CR gene are present per haploid genome in pea. The primary structure of pea P5CR is 85% identical with that of soybean and exhibits significant homology to human, yeast, and Escherichia coli P5CR. The sequence of one of four highly conserved domains found in all prokaryotic and eukaryotic P5CRs is similar to the consensus sequence for the NAD(P)H-binding site of other enzymes. The pea P5CR cDNA hybridized to two transcripts, 1.3 and 1.1 kb in size, in polyadenylated RNA purified from leaf tissues of mature, light-grown plants (4 weeks old). Only the 1.3-kb transcript was detected in younger (1 week old) greened seedlings or in etiolated seedlings. In greened seedlings, steady-state levels of this 1.3-kb mRNA increased approximately 5-fold in root tissues within 6 h after plants were irrigated with 0.4 M NaCl, suggesting that expression of the P5CR gene is osmoregulated.

Cloning, Molecular↗
PubMed1993

Osmoregulation of a pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase gene in Arabidopsis thaliana.

In Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. proline can account for up to 20% of the free amino acid pool after salt stress. Proline accumulation occurs in plants mainly by de novo synthesis from glutamate. The last step of the proline biosynthetic pathway is catalyzed by pyrroline-5-carboxylate (P5C) reductase. A gene (AT-P5C1) encoding this enzyme in A. thaliana has been cloned and sequenced. Expression of AT-P5C1 in Escherichia coli resulted in the complementation of a proC mutant to prototrophy. A comparison of the AT-P5C1 primary and secondary structures with those of six P5C reductase of other organisms is presented. With the exception of several functionally important amino acid residues, little conservation in the primary structure is seen; much greater similarity exists in the putative secondary structure. The AT-P5C1 protein is probably cytosolic. Under normal growth conditions, the P5C reductase mRNA level was significantly higher in roots and ripening seeds than in green tissue. A salt treatment of A. thaliana plants resulted in a 5-fold induction of the AT-P5C1 transcript, suggesting osmoregulation of the AT-P5C1 promoter region. Moreover, a time-course experiment indicated that this induction precedes proline accumulation.

Amino Acid Sequence↗