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At least 217 records · Page 12Linked to original sources

Heme compounds as iron sources for nonpathogenic Rhizobium bacteria.

Many animal-pathogenic bacteria can use heme compounds as iron sources. Like these microorganisms, rhizobium strains interact with host organisms where heme compounds are available. Results presented in this paper indicate that the use of hemoglobin as an iron source is not restricted to animal-pathogenic microorganisms. We also demonstrate that heme, hemoglobin, and leghemoglobin can act as iron sources under iron-depleted conditions for Rhizobium meliloti 242. Analysis of iron acquisition mutant strains indicates that siderophore-, heme-, hemoglobin-, and leghemoglobin-mediated iron transport systems expressed by R. meliloti 242 share at least one component.

Animals↗

Nuclear pre-mRNA processing in plants: distinct modes of 3'-splice-site selection in plants and animals.

The report that human growth hormone pre-mRNA is not processed in transgenic plant tissues (A. Barta, K. Sommergruber, D. Thompson, K. Hartmuth, M.A. Matzke, and A.J.M. Matzke, Plant Mol. Biol. 6:347-357, 1986) has suggested that differences in mRNA splicing processes exist between plants and animals. To gain more information about the specificity of plant pre-mRNA processing, we have compared the splicing of the soybean leghemoglobin pre-mRNA with that of the human beta-globin pre-mRNA in transfected plant (Orychophragmus violaceus and Nicotiana tabacum) protoplasts and mammalian (HeLa) cells. Of the three introns of leghemoglobin pre-mRNA, only intron 2 was correctly and efficiently processed in HeLa cells. The 5' splice sites of the remaining two introns were faithfully recognized, but correct processing of the 3' sites took place only rarely (intron 1) or not at all (intron 3); cryptic 3' splice sites were used instead. While the first intron in human beta-globin pre-mRNA was not spliced in transfected plant protoplasts, intron 2 processing occurred at a low level, indicating that some mammalian introns can be recognized by the plant intron-splicing machinery. However, excision of intron 2 proved to be incorrect, involving the authentic 5' splice site and a cryptic 3' splice site. Our results indicate that the mechanism of 3'-splice-site selection during intron excision differs between plants and animals. This conclusion is supported by analysis of the 3'-splice-site consensus sequences in animal and plant introns which revealed that polypyrimidine tracts, characteristic of animal introns, are not present in plant pre-mRNAs. It is proposed that an elevated AU content of plant introns is important for their processing.

Base Sequence↗

[Acid-base equilibrium of yellow lupine ferrileghemoglobin. potentiometric studies].

Dissociation of ionizing groups in leghemoglobin from Lupinus Luteus in the wide pH range was studied by potentiometric titration. 16 + 8 groups were shown to the titrated at acid pH. One part of them are normally titrating groups and the other one is associated with some details of protein structure. At neutral pH 4 groups are titrated, the titration of 3 of the show histeresis. Five lysins are normally titrated at the alkaline pH. among them one is possibly responsible for an alkaline dissociation. 13 charged groups take part in the dissociation, 3-4 are titrated inreversibly. The experimental results are analyzed in terms of Linderstrom-Lang-Tanford representation and are discussed on the basis of primary and three-dimentional leghemoglobin structure.

Chemical Phenomena↗

Variation of folded polypeptide surface area with probe size.

Three types of polypeptide surface area (contact, accessible, and molecular) have been studied as a function of the radius of a probe sphere used to map the surface. The surfaces are: (1) three alpha-helices, the H-helix of myoglobin, the E-helix of leghemoglobin, and an artificial polyalanine helix, each with 26 residues; (2) two globins, myoglobin and leghemoglobin, each with 153 residues; and (3) a two-center model system for which the three types of surface area have been calculated analytically. The two globin helices have almost identical surface areas as a function of probe size as do the two globins. The polyalanine helix surface area is smaller but similar in shape to the globin helix areas. All three helix contact areas tend to the same limit as the probe size increases, and the globin contact areas behave similarly. Fractal dimensions were calculated for the helix and globin contact and molecular surfaces. All fractal dimensions showed strong dependence on probe size. The contact fractal dimension peaks at larger values for both the helices and globins. Most residues do not make contact with large probes (15 A).

Models, Molecular↗

Purification and characterization of an O2-utilizing cytochrome-c oxidase complex from Bradyrhizobium japonicum bacteroid membranes.

A cytochrome-c (cyt c) oxidase supercomplex consisting of 7-8 subunits and possessing a mass of 358-425 kDa was purified from Bradyrhizobium japonicum bacteroid membranes. At least two subunits possess c-type heme as a prosthetic group. One of the c-heme-containing components was detected in bacteroid membranes, but not in free-living cells. The complex also contains b-heme, and both b-type and c-type heme proteins were spectrophotometrically shown to form complexes with carbon monoxide. A CO difference spectrum showed an absorption minimum (trough) at 551.7 nm, possibly corresponding to a previously described cyt c-552 in bacteroid membranes. 1 mM quinacrine (Atebrin) had no effect on O2 uptake by the cytochrome-c oxidase complex, but 10 mM inhibited O2 uptake by 90%. Cytochromes b and c1 of the cytochrome bc1 respiratory complex were identified as two of the components of the bacteroid complex based upon immunoreaction with antibodies against these two proteins from B. japonicum. The oxidase complex oxidized exogenously added horse heart ferrocytochrome c concomitant with the uptake of oxygen. It could also oxidize the artificial electron donor N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine in the absence of added cytochrome c. Oxygen uptake activity was completely inhibited by 10 microM NaCN and 38% by 0.1 microM NaCN. The oxidase complex was not able to oxidize a ubiquinol homolog possessing a single isoprenoid unit side chain. Solubilization of bacteroid membranes in the presence of 1.0 mM EDTA resulted in complete loss of cytochrome-c oxidase activity. Leghemoglobin deoxygenation data indicated that the oxidase complex can efficiently function at free oxygen concentrations well below 1.0 microM, even though attempts to determine the oxidase's specific affinity oxygen were unsuccessful due to the formation of oxidized leghemoglobin derivatives.

Cytochrome b Group↗

Proton nuclear magnetic resonance investigation of the heme cavity structure of liver fluke (Dicrocoelium dendriticum) methemoglobin.

The 1H nuclear magnetic resonance characteristics of met-cyano and met-aquo hemoglobin from the sheep bile duct parasite Dicrocoelium dendriticum have been compared to those of other monomeric hemoglobins and myoglobins. By varying temperature and pH, it was found that the studied material is a mixture of several isozymes differing slightly in their structural features around the heme cavity. The heme in-plane rhombic asymmetry, as indicated by the spread of the heme methyl hyperfine shifts, is intermediate between that of sperm whale myoglobin and leghemoglobin. The proximal histidine is present and its dynamic properties, as probed by the exchange of the ring NH with bulk solvent protons, point towards a cavity more stable than those of sperm whale myoglobin and leghemoglobin. In the met-cyano form, an exchangeable proton was detected close to the iron center that was tentatively assigned to an arginine residue located three amino acid residues closer to the C terminus than the proximal histidine. The transition from the met-aquo form to the met-hydroxy form occurring at pH 8.1 and previously detected by optical methods was observed. Furthermore, consideration of the mean heme methyl hyperfine shift average indicates that the iron remains six-co-ordinate down to below pH 4.5 irrespective of an acid-transition (pK approximately 5) in the protein. However, the presence of a "pseudo" six-co-ordinate (i.e. high-spin, in-plane, five-co-ordinate) iron at pH values below the acid-transition pK cannot be excluded on the basis of the presently available data. The pH dependence of several resonances in both the met-cyano and met-aquo forms of the protein reflect a pK value compatible with the titration of a heme propionate.

Animals↗

Bis-histidyl hexacoordination in hemoglobins facilitates heme reduction kinetics.

Hexacoordinate hemoglobins are a class of proteins that exhibit reversible bis-histidyl coordination of the heme iron while retaining the ability to bind exogenous ligands. One hypothesis for their physiological function is that they scavenge nitric oxide, a reaction that oxidizes the protein and requires reduction of the heme iron to continue. Reduction kinetics of hexacoordinate hemoglobins, including human neuroglobin and cytoglobin, and those from Synechocystis and rice, are compared to myoglobin, soybean leghemoglobin, and several relevant mutant proteins. In all cases, bis-histidyl coordination greatly increases the rate of reduction by sodium dithionite when compared to pentacoordinate hemoglobins. In myoglobin and leghemoglobin, reduction is limited by the rate constant for electron transfer, whereas in the hexacoordinate hemoglobins reduction is limited only by bimolecular binding of the reductant. These results can be explained by differences in the reorganization energy for reduction between hexacoordinate and pentacoordinate hemoglobins.

Animals↗

Contribution of protein conformation to heme stereochemistry and reactivity. Low-temperature magnetic circular dichroism data.

Visible and near infrared magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) spectra of heme proteins and enzymes as well as those of a protein-free heme bound to 2-methylimidazole were recorded and compared at 4.2 K in unrelaxed metastable and relaxed equilibrium heme stereochemistry. The relaxed and unrelaxed stereochemistries of a 5-coordinate ferrous heme were generated by chemical reduction of iron at room temperature before freezing the sample and by photolysis of CO or O2 complexes at 4.2 K, respectively. The results are discussed in terms of a protein contribution into energies of the Fe-N epsilon(His) and Fe-N(pyrrols) bonds and their change on a ligand binding. We observed and analyzed cases of weak (myoglobin, hemoglobin) and strong (leghemoglobin, peroxidases) constraints imposed by the protein conformation on the proximal heme stereochemistry by comparing the bond energies in proteins with those in the protoheme-(2-methylimidazole) model compound. The role of a protein moiety in modulating the ligand binding properties of leghemoglobin and the heme reactivity of horseradish peroxidase is discussed.

Circular Dichroism↗

Nodule development induced by mutants of Bradyrhizobium japonicum defective in cyclic B-glucan synthesis.

The soybean response to inoculation with B. japonicum mutants defective in cyclic beta-(1-->3), beta-(1-->6) glucan synthesis was examined by electron microscopy and by monitoring the expression of early and late nodulin genes. Two mutants were examined. Strain AB-14 is an ndvB mutant and is unable to synthesize beta-glucans. Strain AB-1 is an ndvC mutant and produces cyclic glucans containing 95 to 100% beta-(1-->3) glycosidic linkages. Nodules formed by either mutant were defective in nitrogen fixation activity. Soybean plants inoculated with strain AB-14 formed nodules roughly at the same rate as the wild-type strain USDA110, but nodulation by strain AB-1 was significantly delayed. Microscopy of nodules formed by strain AB-14 showed an overall ultrastructure similar to nodules formed by the wild type. However, in some nodules bacteroids were limited to only one part of the infected cells and in others the few bacteroids present showed signs of degradation. Nodulelike structures were formed by strain AB-1 that showed some signs of cellular differentiation. For example, clear parenchyma and sclerenchyma tissue could be seen. However, no infection threads or bacteria were evident in these structures. The expression of early (e.g., ENOD2 and ENOD55) and late (e.g., NOD26 and leghemoglobin) nodulins was examined. Nodules formed by strain AB-14 expressed all of the nodulins tested but at a reduced level. Expression of late nodulins was delayed in strain AB-14-induced nodules. Nodules formed by strain AB-1 were more strongly affected in nodulin expression. Although leghemoglobin synthesis was not detected, infection-specific nodulin transcripts of GmN93 and ENOD55 were detected. However, expression of the early nodulins ENOD2 and ENOD55 was considerably delayed and only apparent when assayed 21 days postinoculation. A low level of expression of intermediate nodulin GmN70 and late nodulin NOD26 could also be detected by 21 days postinoculation. The microscopy data show that tissue differentiation occurs in these nodules even in the absence of active bacterial invasion. These results demonstrate the importance of cyclic beta-(1-->3), beta-(1-->6) glucan synthesis to symbiotic development in soybean.

DNA Primers↗

Role of Oxygen in the Limitation and Inhibition of Nitrogenase Activity and Respiration Rate in Individual Soybean Nodules.

Although infected cell O2 concentration (Oi) is known to limit respiration and nitrogenase activity in legume nodules, techniques have not been available to measure both processes simultaneously in an individual legume nodule. Consequently, details of the relationship between nitrogenase activity and Oi are not fully appreciated. For the present study, a probe was designed that allowed open circuit measurements of H2 evolution (nitrogenase activity) and CO2 evolution (respiration rate) in a single attached soybean nodule while simultaneously monitoring fractional oxygenation of leghemoglobin (and thereby Oi) with a nodule oximeter. Compared to measurements of whole nodulated roots, use of the probe led to inhibition of nitrogenase activity in the single nodules. During oximetry measurements, total nitrogenase activity (TNA; peak H2 evolution in Ar/O2) in the single nodules was 16% of that in whole nodulated roots and 48% of nodulated root activity when Oi was not being measured simultaneously. This inhibition did not affect the nodules' ability to regulate Oi, because exposure to Ar/O2 (80:20, v/v) caused nitrogenase activity and respiration rate to decline, and this decline was linearly correlated with a concurrent decrease in Oi. When the nodules were subsequently exposed to a linear increase in external pO2 from 20 to 100% O2 at 2.7% O2/min, fractional leghemoglobin oxygenation first increased gradually and then more rapidly, reaching saturation at a pO2 between 76 and 100% O2. Plots of nitrogenase activity and respiration rate against Oi showed that rates increased with Oi up to a value of 57 nM, with half-maximal rates being attained at Oi values between 10 and 14 nM O2. The maximum nitrogenase activity achieved during the increase in pO2 (potential nitrogenase activity) was 30 to 57% of that measured in intact nodulated roots, showing that O2 limitation of nitrogenase activity could account for a significant proportion of the inhibition of TNA associated with the use of the probe. However, some factor(s) in addition to O2 must have limited the activity of single nodules at both subsaturating and saturating Oi. At Oi values greater than about 57 nM, nitrogenase activity and nodule respiration were inhibited, but, because this inhibition has been shown previously to be readily reversible when the Oi was lowered, it was not attributed to direct O2 inactivation of the nitrogenase protein. These results indicate that maximum nitrogenase activity in legume nodules is supported by a narrow range of Oi values. Possible biochemical mechanisms are discussed for both O2 limitation of nitrogenase activity at low Oi and inhibition of nitrogenase activity at high Oi.

Journal Article↗

A Re-Evaluation of the Role of the Infected Cell in the Control of O2 Diffusion in Legume Nodules.

Two different simulation models were constructed to describe O2 diffusion into the bacteria-infected cells of legume nodules: one based on a central zone of uniform spherical cells and the other on a central zone of packed, uniform cubical cells with air spaces along the edges. The cubical model more closely approximated the geometry and gas diffusion characteristics of infected cells than did the spherical model. The models relied on set values for the innermost O2 concentration in the infected cell (1-20 nM) and predicted values for the free O2 and oxygenated leghemoglobin gradients toward the cell:space interface. The cubical model but not the spherical model predicted saturation of leghemoglobin (Lb) oxygenation at or within a few micrometers of the gas-filled intercellular space and predicted that the space concentration could be as high as 1.3% O2 when the fractional oxygenation of Lb and respiration rate within the infected cell were typical of that which has been measured in vivo. In the model, the higher the space O2 concentration, the greater the saturation of Lb by O2 and the greater the collapse of Lb-facilitated diffusion near the cell:space interface. This was predicted to result in a greater resistance to O2 diffusion from the space to the bacteroids, thereby providing an intrinsic, homeostatic mechanism for controlling the rate of O2 influx into infected cells. Changes in the physiological features of the simulated cubical infected cell, such as the proportion of the cell as cytosol, the surface area of the cell exposed to a space, the maximum rate of cellular respiration, or the concentration of Lb in the cytoplasm, significantly altered the extent to which the infected cell would be able to regulate its diffusive resistance. These results demonstrate the possibility of a Lb-based mechanism for controlling the O2 concentration within the infected cells. If such a mechanism exists in legume nodules, it would give the infected cell an ability to exercise fine control over its internal environment, a process that could complement a physical diffusion barrier that may exist in the inner cortex or elsewhere in the nodule and provide coarse control over O2 diffusion.

Journal Article↗

Effects of Temperature on Infected Cell O2 Concentration and Adenylate Levels in Attached Soybean Nodules.

To assess the role of O2 in the regulation of nodule metabolism following a decrease or an increase in temperature, the fractional oxygenation of leghemoglobin (FOL) was measured in soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) nodules during rapid and gradual changes in temperature from 20[deg]C to either 15 or 25[deg]C. The affinity of leghemoglobin for O2 was also measured at each temperature and the values were used to calculate the infected cell O2 concentration (Oi). After nodules were transferred to 15[deg]C, FOL and Oi increased and adenylate energy charge (AEC = [ATP + 0.5ADP]/[ATP + ADP + AMP]) increased from 0.70 to 0.78. The temperature increase was associated with a decrease in FOL and Oi. We concluded that changes in nodule temperature alter the respiratory demand of the nodules for O2, resulting in a change in Oi and a shift in the balance between ATP consumption and ATP production within the nodule tissue.

Journal Article↗

Cell-specific expression of the promoters of two nonlegume hemoglobin genes in a transgenic legume, Lotus corniculatus.

The promoters of the hemoglobin genes from the nitrogen-fixing tree Parasponia andersonii and the related nonnitrogen-fixing Trema tomentosa both confer beta-glucuronidase reporter gene expression to the central zone of the nodules of a transgenic legume, Lotus corniculatus. beta-Glucuronidase expression was high in the uninfected interstitial cells and parenchyma of the surrounding boundary layer and was low in the Rhizobium-infected cells. This contrasts with the expression of both the P. andersonii hemoglobin protein in P. andersonii nodules and the endogenous Lotus leghemoglobins that are expressed in the infected cells at very high levels. The expression pattern of the P. andersonii and T. tomentosa hemoglobin promoters in L. corniculatus resembles that of a nonsymbiotic hemoglobin gene from Casuarina glauca, which was introduced into this legume, and suggests that only the nonsymbiotic functions of the P. andersonii promoter are being recognized. Deletion of the distal segments of both the P. andersonii and T. tomentosa promoters identified regions important for the control of their tissue-specific and temporal activity in Lotus. Potential regulatory elements, which enhance nodule expression and suppress nonnodule expression, were also identified and localized to a distal promoter segment. A proximal AAGAG motif is present in the P. andersonii, T. tomentosa, and nonsymbiotic Casuarina hemoglobin genes. Mutation of this motif in the P. andersonii promoter resulted in a significant reduction in both the nodule and root expression levels in L. corniculatus. Some of the regulatory motifs characterized are similar to, but different from, the nodulin motifs of the leghemoglobins.

Base Sequence↗

Sucrose synthase in legume nodules is essential for nitrogen fixation

The role of sucrose synthase (SS) in the fixation of N was examined in the rug4 mutant of pea (Pisum sativum L.) plants in which SS activity was severely reduced. When dependent on nodules for their N supply, the mutant plants were not viable and appeared to be incapable of effective N fixation, although nodule formation was essentially normal. In fact, N and C resources invested in nodules were much greater in mutant plants than in the wild-type (WT) plants. Low SS activity in nodules (present at only 10% of WT levels) resulted in lower amounts of total soluble protein and leghemoglobin and lower activities of several enzymes compared with WT nodules. Alkaline invertase activity was not increased to compensate for reduced SS activity. Leghemoglobin was present at less than 20% of WT values, so O2 flux may have been compromised. The two components of nitrogenase were present at normal levels in mutant nodules. However, only a trace of nitrogenase activity was detected in intact plants and none was found in isolated bacteroids. The results are discussed in relation to the role of SS in the provision of C substrates for N fixation and in the development of functional nodules.

Journal Article↗

Induction of Root Nodule Senescence by Combined Nitrogen in Pisum sativum L.

Root nodule senescence induced by nitrate and ammonium in Pisum sativum L. was defined by determining nitrogenase activity and leghemoglobin content with the acetylene reduction and pyridine hemochrome assays. Root systems supplied with 100 mm KNO(3) or 100 mm NH(4)Cl exhibited a decrease in nitrogenase activity followed by a decline in leghemoglobin content. Increasing the CO(2) concentration from 0.000320 atm to 0.00120 atm had no effect on the time course of root nodule senescence when 20 mm KNO(3) was supplied to the roots; in vitro nitrate reductase activity was detected in leaves and roots, but not bacteroids. Nitrate appeared in leaves, roots, and the nodule cytosol fraction but not bacteroids when 20 mm KNO(3) was supplied to roots. When nitrate entered through the shoots, however, no root nodule senescence was observed, and no nitrate was detected in root or nodule cytosol fractions although nitrate and nitrate reductase were found in leaves. The results suggest that nitrate does not induce root nodule senescence through competition between nitrate reductase and nitrogenase for products of photosynthesis.

Journal Article↗

Reversible dark-induced senescence of soybean root nodules.

Nodule senescence was induced in intact soybean [Glycine max. (L.) Merr., cv Woodworth] plants by an 8-day dark treatment. Dark-induced senescence resulted in the complete loss of acetylene reduction activity, a 67% loss of total soluble protein, and an almost complete loss in total leghemoglobin of nodule extracts. Isoelectric focusing gels demonstrated a preferential loss of certain proteins, which was correlated with an increase in endoprotease specific activity toward azocasein. Nodules were completely green after the 8-day dark treatment. If plants were returned to a normal photoperiod after 8 days in the dark, nodules recovered from the dark treatment in 12 to 16 days. Acetylene reduction activity returned to normal, and both total soluble protein and leghemoglobin were resynthesized while protease activity against azocasein decreased to the level of control nodules. The nodule population that had turned green after 8 days in the dark exhibited a progressive increase in red color starting nearest the exterior of the nodule, and after 16 days of recovery nodules were indistinguishable from control nodules maintained under a normal photoperiod.

Journal Article↗

Nodule-specific polypeptides from effective alfalfa root nodules and from ineffective nodules lacking nitrogenase.

In addition to leghemoglobin, at least nine nodule-specific polypeptides from the alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.)-Rhizobium meliloti symbiosis were identified by immune assay. Some of these polypeptides may be subunits of larger proteins but none appeared to be subunits of the same multimeric protein. All nine of the nodule-specific polypeptides were localized to within the plant cytosol; they were not found in extracts of bacteroids or in the peribacteroid space. At least one of these nodule-specific polypeptides was found to be antigenically related to nodule-specific polypeptides in pea and/or soybean. Ineffective nodules elicited by R. meliloti strains containing mutations in four different genes required for nitrogenase synthesis contained reduced concentrations of leghemoglobin and of several of the nodule-specific polypeptides. Other nodule-specific polypeptides were unaltered or actually enriched in the ineffective nodules. Many of the differences between the ineffective and effective nodules were apparent in nodules harvested shortly after the nodules became visible. These differences were greatly amplified in older nodules. When the four ineffective nodule types were compared to one another, there were clear quantitative differences in the concentrations of several of the nodule-specific polypeptides. These differences suggest that lack of a functional nitrogenase does not have a single direct effect on nodule development.

Journal Article↗

Mechanism of Nitrogenase Inhibition in Soybean Nodules : Pulse-Modulated Spectroscopy Indicates that Nitrogenase Activity Is Limited by O(2).

A novel, pulse-modulated spectroscopic system for measuring fractional leghemoglobin oxygenation and infected cell O(2) concentration (O(i)) in intact attached nodules of soybean (Glycine max) is described. The system is noninvasive and uses a pulsed (1000 Hertz) light-emitting diode coupled to an optical fiber to illuminate the nodule with light at 660 nanometer. A second optical fiber receives a portion of the light reflected from the nodule and directs this to a photodiode. A lock-in amplifier measures only the signal from the photodiode which is in phase with the pulsed light from the light-emitting diode, and the voltage output from the amplifier, proportional to reflectance, is used to calculate fractional leghemoglobin oxygenation and the nanomolar concentration of free O(2) in the infected cells of the nodule (O(i)). The system was used to show that inhibition of nitrogenase activity in soybean nodules by NO(3) (-) treatment, stem-girdling, continuous darkness, or nodule disturbance is caused by a reduction in O(i) and limitation of respiration in support of nitrogenase activity. A plot of nitrogenase activity (measured as peak H(2) evolution in Ar:O(2)) versus O(i) for the various treatments was consistent with the concept that O(i) limits in vivo nitrogenase activity in legume nodules under adverse conditions. The potential for using O(i) to estimate nitrogenase activity in laboratory and field-grown legumes is discussed.

Journal Article↗