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Journal Article

Multiple functional proteins are produced by cleaving asn-gln bonds of a single precursor by vacuolar processing enzyme

TL;DR: The results suggested that VPE was responsible for cleaving Asn-Gln bonds of a single precursor, PV100, to produce multiple seed proteins, and it is likely that the Asn -Gln stretches not only provide cleavage sites for VPE but also produce aminopeptidase-resistant proteins.
Abstract: Precursor-accumulating vesicles mediate transport of the precursors of seed proteins to protein storage vacuoles in maturing pumpkin seeds. We isolated the precursor-accumulating vesicles and characterized a 100-kDa component (PV100) of the vesicles. Isolated cDNA for PV100 encoded a 97,310-Da protein that was composed of a hydrophobic signal peptide and the following three domains: an 11-kDa Cys-rich domain with four CXXXC motifs, a 34-kDa Arg/Glu-rich domain composed of six homologous repeats, and a 50-kDa vicilin-like domain. Both immunocytochemistry and immunoblots with anti-PV100 antibodies showed that <10-kDa proteins and the 50-kDa vicilin-like protein were accumulated in the vacuoles. To identify the mature proteins derived from PV100, soluble proteins of the vacuoles were separated, and their molecular structures were determined. Mass spectrometry and peptide sequencing showed that two Cys-rich peptides, three Arg/Glu-rich peptides, and the vicilin-like protein were produced by cleaving Asn-Gln bonds of PV100 and that all of these proteins had a pyroglutamate at their NH2 termini. To clarify the cleavage mechanism, in vitro processing of PV100 was performed with purified vacuolar processing enzyme (VPE). Taken together, these results suggested that VPE was responsible for cleaving Asn-Gln bonds of a single precursor, PV100, to produce multiple seed proteins. It is likely that the Asn-Gln stretches not only provide cleavage sites for VPE but also produce aminopeptidase-resistant proteins. We also found that the Cys-rich peptide functions as a trypsin inhibitor. Our findings suggested that PV100 is converted into different functional proteins, such as a proteinase inhibitor and a storage protein, in the vacuoles of seed cells.
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors highlight recent research on the Papain-like and asparaginyl-endopeptidase classes of cysteine proteases and re-examine them in light of the diversity uncovered within parasitic organisms.

767 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
06 Aug 2004-Science
TL;DR: VPE deficiency prevented virus-induced hypersensitive cell death in tobacco plants and showed that plants have evolved a regulated cellular suicide strategy that, unlike PCD of animals, is mediated by VPE and the cellular vacuole.
Abstract: Programmed cell death (PCD) in animals depends on caspase protease activity. Plants also exhibit PCD, for example as a response to pathogens, although a plant caspase remains elusive. Here we show that vacuolar processing enzyme (VPE) is a protease essential for a virus-induced hypersensitive response that involves PCD. VPE deficiency prevented virus-induced hypersensitive cell death in tobacco plants. VPE is structurally unrelated to caspases, although VPE has a caspase-1 activity. Thus, plants have evolved a regulated cellular suicide strategy that, unlike PCD of animals, is mediated by VPE and the cellular vacuole.

601 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
29 Oct 2004-Planta
TL;DR: Recent findings for the major catalytic classes, i.e. the serine, cysteine, aspartic, and metalloproteases, are reviewed, emphasizing the regulatory function of representative enzymes.
Abstract: Proteolytic enzymes are intricately involved in many aspects of plant physiology and development. On the one hand, they are necessary for protein turnover. Degradation of damaged, misfolded and potentially harmful proteins provides free amino acids required for the synthesis of new proteins. Furthermore, the selective breakdown of regulatory proteins by the ubiquitin/proteasome pathway controls key aspects of plant growth, development, and defense. Proteases are, on the other hand, also responsible for the post-translational modification of proteins by limited proteolysis at highly specific sites. Limited proteolysis results in the maturation of enzymes, is necessary for protein assembly and subcellular targeting, and controls the activity of enzymes, regulatory proteins and peptides. Proteases are thus involved in all aspects of the plant life cycle ranging from the mobilization of storage proteins during seed germination to the initiation of cell death and senescence programs. This article reviews recent findings for the major catalytic classes, i.e. the serine, cysteine, aspartic, and metalloproteases, emphasizing the regulatory function of representative enzymes.

367 citations


Cites background from "Multiple functional proteins are pr..."

  • ...Processing of storage proteins by VPEs in vitro has been demonstrated in several species (HaraNishimura et al. 1993; Yamada et al. 1999)....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A proteomic approach was utilized to investigate seed development in Medicago truncatula and revealed a differential accumulation of enzymes involved in methionine metabolism and proposed a role for these enzymes in the transition from a highly active to a quiescent state during seed development.
Abstract: We utilized a proteomic approach to investigate seed development in Medicago truncatula, cv Jemalong, line J5 at specific stages of seed filling corresponding to the acquisition of germination capacity and protein deposition. One hundred twenty proteins differing in kinetics of appearance were subjected to matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry. These analyses provided peptide mass fingerprint data that identified 84 of them. Some of these proteins had previously been shown to accumulate during seed development in legumes (e.g. legumins, vicilins, convicilins, and lipoxygenases), confirming the validity of M. truncatula as a model for analysis of legume seed filling. The study also revealed proteins presumably involved in cell division during embryogenesis (β-tubulin and annexin). Their abundance decreased before the accumulation of the major storage protein families, which itself occurs in a specific temporal order: vicilins (14 d after pollination [DAP]), legumins (16 DAP), and convicilins (18 DAP). Furthermore, the study showed an accumulation of enzymes of carbon metabolism (e.g. sucrose synthase, starch synthase) and of proteins involved in embryonic photosynthesis (e.g. chlorophyll a/b binding), which may play a role in providing cofactors for protein/lipid synthesis or for CO2 refixation during seed filling. Correlated with the reserve deposition phase was the accumulation of proteins associated with cell expansion (actin 7 and reversibly glycosylated polypeptide) and of components of the precursor accumulating vesicles, which give rise to a trypsin inhibitor on maturation. Finally, we revealed a differential accumulation of enzymes involved in methionine metabolism (S-adenosyl-methionine synthetase and S-adenosylhomo-cysteine hydrolase) and propose a role for these enzymes in the transition from a highly active to a quiescent state during seed development.

270 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Plants might have evolved a regulated cellular suicide strategy that, unlike animal apoptosis, is mediated by VPE and the vacuoles.

243 citations

References
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A computer program that progressively evaluates the hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity of a protein along its amino acid sequence has been devised and its simplicity and its graphic nature make it a very useful tool for the evaluation of protein structures.

21,921 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Three computer programs for comparisons of protein and DNA sequences can be used to search sequence data bases, evaluate similarity scores, and identify periodic structures based on local sequence similarity.
Abstract: We have developed three computer programs for comparisons of protein and DNA sequences. They can be used to search sequence data bases, evaluate similarity scores, and identify periodic structures based on local sequence similarity. The FASTA program is a more sensitive derivative of the FASTP program, which can be used to search protein or DNA sequence data bases and can compare a protein sequence to a DNA sequence data base by translating the DNA data base as it is searched. FASTA includes an additional step in the calculation of the initial pairwise similarity score that allows multiple regions of similarity to be joined to increase the score of related sequences. The RDF2 program can be used to evaluate the significance of similarity scores using a shuffling method that preserves local sequence composition. The LFASTA program can display all the regions of local similarity between two sequences with scores greater than a threshold, using the same scoring parameters and a similar alignment algorithm; these local similarities can be displayed as a "graphic matrix" plot or as individual alignments. In addition, these programs have been generalized to allow comparison of DNA or protein sequences based on a variety of alternative scoring matrices.

12,432 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A discontinuous sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) system for the separation of proteins in the range from 1 to 100 kDa is described, and the omission of glycine and urea prevents disturbances which might occur in the course of subsequent amino acid sequencing.

11,290 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A new method for identifying secretory signal sequences and for predicting the site of cleavage between a signal sequence and the mature exported protein is described.
Abstract: A new method for identifying secretory signal sequences and for predicting the site of cleavage between a signal sequence and the mature exported protein is described. The predictive accuracy is estimated to be around 75-80% for both prokaryotic and eukaryotic proteins.

4,517 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
06 Aug 2004-Science
TL;DR: VPE deficiency prevented virus-induced hypersensitive cell death in tobacco plants and showed that plants have evolved a regulated cellular suicide strategy that, unlike PCD of animals, is mediated by VPE and the cellular vacuole.
Abstract: Programmed cell death (PCD) in animals depends on caspase protease activity. Plants also exhibit PCD, for example as a response to pathogens, although a plant caspase remains elusive. Here we show that vacuolar processing enzyme (VPE) is a protease essential for a virus-induced hypersensitive response that involves PCD. VPE deficiency prevented virus-induced hypersensitive cell death in tobacco plants. VPE is structurally unrelated to caspases, although VPE has a caspase-1 activity. Thus, plants have evolved a regulated cellular suicide strategy that, unlike PCD of animals, is mediated by VPE and the cellular vacuole.

601 citations