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Splicing of an intervening sequence from hybrid cauliflower mosaic viral RNA.

A DNA sequence encompassing intervening sequence 2 of the soybean leghemoglobin gene was inserted into the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) genome. Upon passage through host plants progeny virus slowly accumulated that had lost the intron, apparently by exact splicing of the RNA form of the genome at the exon/intron borders. These findings suggest that reverse transcription from (spliced) RNA to DNA is a normal step in CaMV replication. S1 nuclease mapping revealed a mixed population of unspliced and spliced viral RNAs. The inefficiency of the splicing process is discussed.

Journal Article↗

Roles of plant homologs of Rab1p and Rab7p in the biogenesis of the peribacteroid membrane, a subcellular compartment formed de novo during root nodule symbiosis.

The peribacteroid membrane (PBM) in legume root nodules is derived from plasma membrane following endocytosis of Rhizobium by fusion of newly synthesized vesicles. We studied the roles of plant Rab1p and Rab7p homologs, the small GTP-binding proteins involved in vesicular transport, in the biogenesis of the PBM. Three cDNAs encoding legume homologs of mammalian Rab1p and Rab7p were isolated from soybean (sRab1p, sRab7p) and Vigna aconitifolia (vRab7p). sRab1p was confirmed to be a functional counterpart of yeast Ypt1p (Rab1p) by complementation of a yeast ypt1-1 mutant. Both srab1 and vrab7 genes are induced during nodulation with the level of vrab7 mRNA being 12 times higher than that in root meristem and leaves. This induction directly correlates with membrane proliferation in nodules. Antisense constructs of srab1 and vrab7, under a nodule-specific promoter (leghemoglobin, Lbc3), were made in a binary vector and transgenic nodules were developed on soybean hairy roots obtained through Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated transformation. Both antisense srab1 and vrab7 nodules were smaller in size and showed lower nitrogenase activity than controls. The antisense srab1 nodules showed lack of expansion of infected cells, fewer bacteroids per cell and their frequent release into vacuoles. In contrast, antisense vrab7 expressing nodules showed accumulation of late endosomal structure and multivesicular bodies in the perinuclear region. These data suggest that both Rab1p and Rab7p are essential for the development of the PBM compartment in effective symbiosis.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Analysis of the differences in the folding kinetics of structurally homologous proteins based on predictions of the gross features of residue contacts.

It is a general notion that proteins with very similar three-dimensional structures would show very similar folding kinetics. However, recent studies reveal that the folding kinetic properties of some proteins contradict this thought (i.e., the members in a same protein family fold through different pathways). For example, it has been reported that some beta-proteins in the intracellular lipid-binding protein family fold through quite different pathways (Burns et al., Proteins 1998;33:107-118). Similar differences in folding kinetics are also observed in the members of the globin family (Nishimura et al., Nat Struct Biol 2000;7:679-686). In our study, we examine the possibility of predicting qualitative differences in folding kinetics of the intracellular lipid-binding proteins and two globin proteins (i.e., myoglobin and leghemoglobin). The problem is tackled by means of a contact map based on the average distance statistics between residues, the Average Distance Map (ADM), as constructed from sequence. The ADMs for the three proteins show overall similarity, but some local differences among maps are also observed. Our results demonstrate that some properties of the protein folding kinetics are consistent with local differences in the ADMs. We also discuss the general possibility of predicting folding kinetics from sequence information.

Carrier Proteins↗

Solvent-induced organization: a physical model of folding myoglobin.

The essential features of the in vitro refolding of myoglobin are expressed in a solvable physical model. Alpha helices are taken as the fundamental collective coordinates of the system, while the refolding is assumed to be mainly driven by solvent-induced hydrophobic forces. A quantitative model of these forces is developed and compared with experimental and theoretical results. The model is then tested by being employed in a simulation scheme designed to mimic solvent effects. Realistic dynamic trajectories of myoglobin are shown as it folds from an extended conformation to a close approximation of the native state. Various suggestive features of the process are discussed. The tenets of the model are further tested by folding the single-chain plant protein leghemoglobin.

Models, Chemical↗

Effect of chlorimuron-ethyl on Bradyrhizobium japonicum and its symbiosis with soybean.

Possible side-effects of the acetolactate synthase (ALS)-inhibiting herbicide chlorimuron-ethyl on Bradyrhizobium japonicum (Kirchner & Jordan) in pure culture and on inoculated soybean plants growing under controlled conditions were investigated. Growth of B japonicum strain E109 was not affected by this herbicide even when exposed to concentrations 150 times higher than recommended field doses. However, nodulation of soybean plants treated 5 days after emergence with chlorimuron-ethyl at standard application rates was impaired: a 38% decrease in the number of nodules per plant was observed four weeks after treatment. Despite nodule number decrease, no changes in shoot nitrogen content could be detected. Total fresh biomass was diminished by 25% in herbicide-treated plants. Leghemoglobin content in nodules did not vary; nevertheless total nodule protein was diminished by 40% in the herbicide-treated group. ALS activity in different soybean tissues and their relative sensitivity to chlorimuron-ethyl were also investigated. Roots and bacteroids had the greatest specific ALS activities. On a fresh weight basis, the bacteroid fraction displayed the highest ALS activity and was also the most tolerant to in vitro chlorimuron addition: 72% of its activity was retained after including 10 microM chlorimuron-ethyl in the reaction mixture. These results indicate that standard application rates of chlorimuron-ethyl will have limited incidence on B japonicum survival, and effects on nodulation may have little long-term consequences on soybean nitrogen fixation potential. The differences found among soybean tissues not only in intrinsic ALS activity but also in their relative sensitivity to this herbicide suggests that, in leguminous plants living in symbiosis with rhizobia, nodules may contribute to an enhanced tolerance to ALS inhibitors.

Bradyrhizobium↗

A simplified approach for modeling diffusion into cells.

Regulation of the intracellular concentration of substrates is essential for the maintenance of a stable cellular environment. Diffusion and reaction processes supply and consume substrates within cells and determine their steady-state concentrations. To realistically represent these processes by computer simulation they must be modeled in three dimensions. Yet three-dimensional models are inherently computing intensive. This study describes a method, which substantially simplifies the modeling of diffusion into a polyhedral body (a cube), that was used as a model representation of a cell. The method is applied to a case study of oxygen diffusion into nitrogen-fixing, rhizobia-infected cells in legume nodules. The method involved generating a one-dimensional representation of the three-dimensional problem to provide a "surface area profile" of three-dimensional diffusion. The one-dimensional models were significantly easier to program, several orders of magnitude faster to solve and in this study were validated by assessing their results against those of comparable three-dimensional models of diffusion into the same body. The results show the one-dimensional method to be a close approximation of a three-dimensional source-sink problem with systematic differences below 10% for fractional oxygenation of leghemoglobin, cell respiration and nitrogenase activity. Larger differences between models (up to 45%) in the predicted average and innermost O(2)concentrations had no effects on the physiological conclusions of the study, but were attributed to the poorer resolution of the three- than the one-dimensional model, and to an inherent simplification in the derivation of the one-dimensional surface area profiles. The one-dimensional modeling approach was found to be a simple, yet powerful tool for the study of diffusion and reaction in biological systems.

Cell Membrane Permeability↗

Oxygen regulation of uricase and sucrose synthase synthesis in soybean callus tissue is exerted at the mRNA level.

The effect of lowering oxygen concentration on the expression of nodulin genes in soybean callus tissue devoid of the microsymbiont has been examined. Poly(A)+ RNA was isolated from tissue cultivated in 4% oxygen and in normal atmosphere. Quantitative mRNA hybridization experiments using nodule-specific uricase (Nodulin-35) and sucrose synthase (Nodulin-100) cDNA probes confirmed that the synthesis of the uricase and sucrose synthase is controlled by oxygen at the mRNA level. The steady-state levels of uricase and sucrose synthase mRNA increased significantly (5-6- and 4-fold respectively) when the callus tissue was incubated at reduced oxygen concentration. Concomitant with the increase in mRNA level a 6-fold increase in specific activity of sucrose synthase was observed. Two messengers representing poly-ubiquitin precursors also responded to lowering the oxygen concentration. The increase was about 5-fold at 4% oxygen. No expression at atmospheric oxygen or in response to low oxygen was observed when using cDNA probes for other nodulin genes such as leghemoglobin c3, nodulin-22 and nodulin-44.

Blotting, Northern↗

A soybean coproporphyrinogen oxidase gene is highly expressed in root nodules.

In plants the enzyme coproporphyrinogen oxidase catalyzes the oxidative decarboxylation of coproporphyrinogen III to protoporphyrinogen IX in the heme and chlorophyll biosynthesis pathway(s). We have isolated a soybean coproporphyrinogen oxidase cDNA from a cDNA library and determined the primary structure of the corresponding gene. The coproporphyrinogen oxidase gene encodes a polypeptide with a predicted molecular mass of 43 kDa. The derived amino acid sequence shows 50% similarity to the corresponding yeast amino acid sequence. The main difference is an extension of 67 amino acids at the N-terminus of the soybean polypeptide which may function as a transit peptide. A full-length coproporphyrinogen oxidase cDNA clone complements a yeast mutant deleted of the coproporphyrinogen oxidase gene, thus demonstrating the function of the soybean protein. The soybean coproporphyrinogen oxidase gene is highly expressed in nodules at the stage where several late nodulins including leghemoglobin appear. The coproporphyrinogen oxidase mRNA is also detectable in leaves but at a lower level than in nodules while no mRNA is detectable in roots. The high level of coproporphyrinogen oxidase mRNA in soybean nodules implies that the plant increases heme production in the nodules to meet the demand for additional heme required for hemoprotein formation.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Identification and cDNA cloning of a new nodule-specific gene, Nms-25 (nodulin-25) of Medicago sativa.

A new nodule-specific gene, Nms-25 (nodulin-25), was identified in cDNA clones isolated from a nodule-specific cDNA library of Medicago sativa. The first transcript of this gene appeared 9 days after inoculation of the roots with Rhizobium meliloti. The time of expression and the quantity of the transcripts of the Nms-25 gene was similar to that of leghemoglobin genes suggesting a similar regulation. A protein of 246 amino acids could be deduced from a full-length cDNA clone. The first 24 amino acids at the N-terminal end of this protein formed a signal sequence which might direct membrane transport into the peribacteroid space. Using different predictive methods the signal sequence cleaved protein was tentatively predicted to be a water-soluble enzyme, but not hydrolase.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

A survey of transcripts expressed specifically in root nodules of broadbean (Vicia faba L.).

More than 600 potentially nodule-specific clones have been detected by differential hybridization of a broadbean cDNA library constructed from root nodule poly(A)+ RNA. These isolated cDNAs belong to at least 28 different clone groups containing cross-hybridizing sequences. The number of clones within a clone group varies from about 200 to only one single clone. Northern hybridization experiments revealed nodule-specific transcripts for 14 clone groups and markedly nodule-enhanced transcripts for another 7 clone groups. Sequence homologies indicate that three transcript sequences code for different leghemoglobins. Two other transcripts encode a nodule-specific sucrose synthase and a nodule-enhanced asparagine synthetase, respectively. Four deduced gene products are proline-rich, two of them being the homologues of PsENOD2 and PsENOD12. The third proline-rich protein (PRP) is composed of similar amino acid repeats as the nodule-specific PsENOD12 but is expressed in nodules and roots in comparable amounts. The fourth PRP is a nodule-enhanced extensin-type protein built up by Ser-Pro4 repeats. Two further nodule-specific transcripts encode gene products showing some similarity to structural glycine-rich proteins. Additionally, transcripts could be identified for broadbean homologues of the nodulins MsNOD25, PsENOD3 and PsENOD5 and transcripts specifying a nodule-enhanced lipoxygenase and a translation elongation factor EF-1 alpha, which is expressed in all broadbean tissues tested.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

AT-rich promoter elements of soybean heat shock gene Gmhsp17.5E bind two distinct sets of nuclear proteins in vitro.

A 33 bp double-stranded oligonucleotide homologous to two AT-rich sequences located upstream (-907 to -889 and -843 to -826) to the start of transcription of heat shock gene Gmhsp17.5E of soybean stimulated transcription when placed 5' to a truncated (-140) maize Adh1 promoter. The chimeric promoter was assayed in vivo utilizing anaerobically stressed sunflower tumors transformed by a pTi-based vector of Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Nuclear proteins extracted from soybean plumules were shown to bind double-stranded oligonucleotides homologous to AT-rich sequences in the 5' flanking regions of soybean beta-conglycinin, lectin, leghemoglobin and heat shock genes. These proteins were also shown to bind AT-rich probes homologous to homeobox protein binding sites from the Antennapedia and engrailed/fushi tarazu genes of Drosophila. Binding activity specific for AT-rich sequences showed a wide distribution among various plant organs and species. Preliminary characterization indicated that two sets of nuclear proteins from soybean bind AT-rich DNA sequences: a diverse high-molecular-weight (ca. 46-69 kDa) group, and a low-molecular-weight (23 and 32 kDa) group of proteins. The latter meets the operational criteria for high-mobility group proteins (HMGs).

Alcohol Dehydrogenase↗

Nodules elicited by Rhizobium meliloti heme mutants are arrested at an early stage of development.

Heme-deficient mutants of Rhizobium and Bradyrhizobium have been found to exhibit diverse phenotypes with respect to symbiotic interactions with plant hosts. We observed that R. meliloti hemA mutants elicit nodules that do not contain intracellular bacteria; the nodules contain either no infection threads ("empty" nodule phenotype) or aberrant infection threads that failed to release bacteria (Bar- phenotype). These mutant nodules expressed nodulin genes associated with nodules arrested at an early stage of development, including ENOD2, Nms-30, and four previously undescribed nodulin genes. These nodules also failed to express any of six late nodulin genes tested by hybridization, including leghemoglobin, and twelve tested by in vitro translation product analysis which are not yet correlated with specific cloned genes. We observed that R. meliloti leucine and adenosine auxotrophs induced invaded Fix- nodules that expressed late nodulin genes, suggesting that it is not auxotrophy per se that causes the hemA mutants to elicit Bar- or empty nodules. Because R. meliloti hemA mutants elicit nodules that do not contain intracellular bacteria, it is not possible to decide whether or not the Fix- phenotype of these nodules is a direct consequence of the failure of R. meliloti to supply the heme moiety of hololeghemoglobin. Our results demonstrate the importance of establishing the stage in development at which a mutant nodule is arrested before conclusions are drawn about the role of small metabolite exchange in the symbiosis.

Blotting, Northern↗

Nuclear genes encoding chloroplast hemoglobins in the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas eugametos.

When the green unicellular alga Chlamydomonas eugametos is grown under light/dark regimes, nuclear genes are periodically activated in response to the changes in light conditions. These genetic responses are dependent upon the activation of genes associated with photosynthesis (LI616 and LI637), nonphotosynthetic photoreceptors (LI410 and LI818) and the biological clock (LI818). We report here that the LI410 and LI637 genes are part of a small gene family encoding hemoglobins (Hbs) related to those from two unicellular eukaryotes, the ciliated protozoa Paramecium caudatum and Tetrahymena pyriformis, and from the cyanobacterium Nostoc commune. Investigations of the intracellular localization of C. eugametos Hbs by means of immunogold electron microscopy indicate that these proteins are predominantly located in the chloroplast, particularly in the pyrenoid and the thylakoid region. To our knowledge, this constitutes the first evidence for the presence of Hbs in chloroplasts. Alignment of the LI637 cDNA nucleotide sequence with its corresponding genomic sequence indicates that the LI637 gene contains three introns, the positions of which are compared with those in the Hb genes of plants, animals and the ciliate P. caudatum. Although the LI637 gene possesses a three-intron/four-exon pattern similar to that of plant leghemoglobin genes, introns are inserted at different positions. Similarly the position of the single intron in the P. caudatum gene differs from the intron sites in the LI637 gene. The latter observations argue against the current view that all eukaryotic Hbs have evolved from a common ancestor having a gene structure identical to that of plant or animal Hbs.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

The Vitreoscilla hemoglobin gene: molecular cloning, nucleotide sequence and genetic expression in Escherichia coli.

Vitreoscilla hemoglobin is involved in oxygen metabolism of this bacterium, possibly in an unusual role for a microbe. We have isolated the Vitreoscilla hemoglobin structural gene from a pUC19 genomic library using mixed oligodeoxy-nucleotide probes based on the reported amino acid sequence of the protein. The gene is expressed in Escherichia coli from its natural promoter as a major cellular protein. The nucleotide sequence, which is in complete agreement with the known amino acid sequence of the protein, suggests the existence of promoter and ribosome binding sites with a high degree of homology to consensus E. coli upstream sequences. In the case of at least some amino acids, a codon usage bias can be detected which is different from the biased codon usage pattern in E. coli. The downstream sequence exhibits homology with the 3' end sequences of several plant leghemoglobin genes. E. coli cells expressing the gene contain greater than fivefold more heme than controls.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

The modular nodulins Nvf-28/32 of broad bean (Vicia faba L.): alternative exon combinations account for different modular structures.

The broad bean late nodulins, Nvf-28/32, are composed of two types of repetitively occurring sequence modules flanked by unique N- and C-terminal modules. Six isoforms of these nodulins were characterized by a specific modular structure resulting from a different individual order of repetitive sequence modules. A detailed analysis of genomic PCR fragments revealed that the repetitive modules and the N-terminal unique module exactly corresponded to exons, whereas the C-terminal module was specified by two exons. Since those exons encoding the repetitive modules missing in specific Nvf-28/32 isoforms were consistently present within genomic sequences, a post-transcriptional generation of VfNOD28/32 transcripts specifying six Nvf-28/32 nodulins was concluded. Using tissue-print hybridizations, these transcripts were localized in the interzone II-III and the nitrogen-fixing zone III of root nodules. From this and from cDNA-cDNA hybridizations demonstrating a comparable timing of expression of VfNOD28/32 and of leghemoglobin transcripts in root nodules, a function of the modular nodulins Nvf-28/32 in late developmental stages of broad bean nodules was inferred.

Alternative Splicing↗

Purification and characterization of monodehydroascorbate reductase from soybean root nodules.

Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) root nodules contain the enzymes of the ascorbate-glutathione cycle as an important defense against activated forms of oxygen. A key enzyme in this cycle--monodehydroascorbate reductase (MR)--was purified 646-fold and appeared as a single band on SDS-PAGE with silver or Coomassie blue staining. Purified MR contained 0.7 mol FAD/mol enzyme and had a specific activity of 288 mumol NADH oxidized.min-1.mg protein-1. The enzyme was a single subunit occurring as two isozymes (MR I and MR II) with Mr values of 39,000 and 40,000. Isoelectric focusing revealed that each isozyme consisted of two forms with pl values of 4.6 to 4.7. Ferricyanide and 2,6-dichlorophenol-indophenol were effective as electron acceptors. The purified enzyme did not possess leghemoglobin reductase activity. Inhibition by p-chloromercuribenzoate indicated the involvement of a thiol group in MR activity. The Km values were 5.6, 150, and 7 microM for NADH, NADPH, and monodehydroascorbate, respectively. The pH optimum was 8 to 9. The N-terminal sequence of 10 amino acids of MR II had little homology to known protein sequences.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Dependence of magneto-optical rotatory dispersion and magnetic circular dichroism of deoxy- and methemoglobin on their quaternary structure.

Methods of magnetic optical activity, magneto-optical rotatory dispersion (MORD) and magnetic circular dichroism (MCD), were shown to be sensitivie to the quaternary structure of deoxyhemoglobin. The isolated alpha and beta chains, the monomeric hemoglobins (leghemoglobin, fraction III of Chironomus thummi thummi hemoglobin) and hemoglobin in the R state (hemoglobin digested with carboxypeptidases A and B) exhibit in the visible region two MORD minima of equal intensities. In native tetrameric hemoglobins studied (human, horse, porcine, feline, carp, tortoise, frog) the ratio of the intensities of these MORD minima is about 2. The MORD data for deoxy-des Arg-N-ethylsuccinimide-hemoglobin indicate that in solution there is a mixture of the T and R states, the equilibrium between the states being shifted toward the R structure. The identity of the MORD curves for deoxy-bis(N-maleimidoethyl)-ester-hemoglobin and for native deoxyhemoglobin indicates that deoxy-bis(N-maleimidoethyl)ester-hemoglobin has the T structure in solution. Comparison of the MORD curves exhibited by a native methemoglobin, a native metmyoglobin and the modified hemoglobins in the met form in the absence and presence of organic and inorganic phosphates reveals no direct correlation between the MORD changes and methemoglobin quaternary structure.

Binding Sites↗

The oxygen binding site of cytochrome oxidase. Structural predictions on subunit I from amino acid sequences.

Analyses of heme-attached amino acid sequences in known hemoprotein superfamilies provide a basis for prediction of such sequences in hemoproteins of unknown three-dimensional structure. Among 11 histidine residues conserved in subunit I of 3 mammalian and 2 fungal cytochrome oxidases the sequence around His-233 (human) is the most conserved and shows remarkable similarity to the sequence of the oxygen binding site in globins. Furthermore, the gene coding for subunit I in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the gene for leghemoglobin in soybean are both split by introns right after these similar histidine sequences. The predicted distal histidine sequence of subunit I provides for heme a3 and Cua3 binding and has an extraordinarily high content of aromatic residues. These aromatic groups may serve as a molecular electron capacitor. Transmembrane sequences and electron transfer sequences are proposed.

Amino Acid Sequence↗