Satomi Takeda

Novel Osmotically Induced Antifungal Chitinases and Bacterial Expression of an Active Recombinant Isoform

NaCl (428 mM)-adapted tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L. var Wisconsin 38) cells accumulate and secrete several antifungal chitinases. The predominant protein secreted to the culture medium was a 29-kD peptide that, based on internal amino acid sequence, was determined to be a class II acidic chitinase with similarity to PR-Q. The four predominant chitinases (T1, T2, T3, and T4) that accumulated intracellularly in 428 mM NaCl-adapted cells were purified. Based on N-terminal sequence analyses, two of these were identified as class I chitinase isoforms, one similar to the N. tomentosiformis (H. Shinshi, J.M. Neuhaus, J. Ryals, F. Meins [1990] Plant Mol Biol 14: 357–368) protein (T1) and the other homologous to the N. sylvestris (Y. Fukuda, M. Ohme, H. Shinshi [1991] Plant Mol Biol 16: 1–10) protein (T2). The other two proteins (T3 and T4) were determined to be novel chitinases that have sequence similarity with class I chitinases, but each lacks a chitin-binding domain. All four chitinases inhibited Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici and Trichoderma longibrachiatum hyphal growth in vitro, although the isoforms containing a chitin-binding domain were somewhat more active. Conditions were established for the successful expression of soluble and active bacterial recombinant T2. Expression of soluble recombinant T2 was achieved when isopropyl [beta]-D-thiogalactopyranoside induction occurred at 18[deg]C but not at 25 or 37[deg]C. The purified recombinant protein exhibited antifungal activity comparable to a class I chitinase purified from NaCl-adapted tobacco cells.

The leaves of the common box, Buxus sempervirens (Buxaceae), become red as the level of a red carotenoid, anhydroeschscholtzxanthin, increases

Carotenoids from the leaves of the common box,Buxus sempervirens (Buxaceae), which turn red in late autumn to winter, were analyzed by reversed-phase HPLC. A novel carotenoid, monoanhydroeschscholtzxanthin (3), was isolated from the red-colored leaves. UV-VIS, MS,1H-NMR and CD spectral data showed that the structure of 3 was (3S)-2′, 3′, 4′, 5′-tetradehydro-4, 5′-retro-β, β-caroten-3-ol. As well as anhydroeschscholtzxanthin (2), the major red carotenoid in the leaves, eschscholtzxanthin (4) was identified. Very small amounts of yellow carotenoids (neoxanthin, violaxanthin, lutein and β-carotene), which are major components of green leaves, were present in the red-colored leaves. The amounts of chlorophylla andb in the leaves decreased markedly during coloration, even at the early stages, whereas those of the yellow carotenoids decreased gradually. In contrast, the content of 2, a red carotenoid, increased steadily during coloration. The biosynthetic pathway of 2 inB. sempervirens was deduced tentatively on the basis of the individual carotenoid contents during autumnal coloration.

Allocation of Absorbed Light Energy in PSII to Thermal Dissipations in the Presence or Absence of PsbS Subunits of Rice

The thermal dissipation (TD) of absorbed light energy in PSII is considered to be an important photoprotection process in photosynthesis. A major portion of TD has been visualized through the analysis of Chl fluorescence as energy quenching (qE) which depends on the presence of the PsbS subunit. Although the physiological importance of qE-associated TD (qE-TD) has been widely accepted, it is not yet clear how much of the absorbed light energy is dissipated through a qE-associated mechanism. In this study, the fates of absorbed light energy in PSII with regard to different TD processes, including qE-TD, were quantitatively estimated by the typical energy allocation models using transgenic rice in which psbS genes were silenced by RNA interference (RNAi). The silencing of psbS genes resulted in a decrease in the light-inducible portion of TD, whereas the allocation of energy to electron transport did not change over a wide range of light intensities. The allocation models indicate that the energy allocated to qE-TD under saturating light is 30-50%. We also showed that a large portion of absorbed light energy is thermally dissipated in manners that are independent of qE. The nature of such dissipations is discussed.

Isomers of rhodoxanthin in reddish brown leaves of gymnosperms and effect of daylight intensity on the contents of pigments during autumnal coloration

The major red carotenoids in autumnal, colored leaves were analyzed in seven species and one variety that belong to two families of gymnosperms. The red carotenoids in leaves of all species and variety were rhodoxanthin, which was separated into three geometric isomers, (6Z, 6′Z)-rhodoxanthin, (6Z)-rhodoxanthin and (all E)-rhodoxanthin.The effects of daylight intensity on the content and composition of the leaf pigments of autumnal coloration were studied with leaves ofCryptomeria japonica (evergreen) andTaxodium distichum (deciduous) grown under different grades of shade. Histological observation showed that many reddish particles of rhodoxanthin were observed inside chromoplasts on the sunny side of a leaf at the early stage of coloration and that the content of the reddish particles was decreased toward the shady side from the sunny side of a leaf. The transition from chloroplasts to chromoplasts was observed and cells at different stage of coloration independently existed in the mesophyll tissue of a leaf.The content of rhodoxanthin became maximum when the daylight intensity was 4.1–7.4 MJ m−2 day−1 and the daily mean temp. was below 8.1 C inCryptomeria, and 3.1–8.3 MJ m−2 day−1 and 13.4 C inTaxodium.

Cultured green cells of tobacco as a useful material for the study of chloroplast replication

Chloroplast replication in cultured cells of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum cv. Samsun NN) was investigated by electron microscopy in comparison with that of green leaves. The structure of chloroplasts in cultured cells changed conspicuously during cell growth especially in photoautotrophic cells. The frequency of dumbbell-shaped chloroplasts (intermediate of chloroplast division) was the maximum (about 23% of total chloroplast) in photoautotrophic cells at 3 days after inoculation, before the cells had started to grow. By contrast, in photomixotrophically cultured cells, the highest frequency of dividing chloroplasts was observed at the early exponential phase (about 7 days after inoculation). The dividing chloroplast was hardly detected in green leaves even at a young stage. The advantages of cultured cells for the study of chloroplast replication and ultrastructural development are discussed.

Grana-Localized Proteins, RIQ1 and RIQ2, Affect the Organization of Light-Harvesting Complex II and Grana Stacking in Arabidopsis

The Arabidopsis riq1 and riq2 mutants have enhanced grana stacking and were defective in NPQ induction and state transitions, demonstrating a link between LHCII organization and thylakoid structure. Grana are stacked thylakoid membrane structures in land plants that contain PSII and light-harvesting complex II proteins (LHCIIs). We isolated two Arabidopsis thaliana mutants, reduced induction of non-photochemical quenching1 (riq1) and riq2, in which stacking of grana was enhanced. The curvature thylakoid 1a (curt1a) mutant was previously shown to lack grana structure. In riq1 curt1a, the grana were enlarged with more stacking, and in riq2 curt1a, the thylakoids were abnormally stacked and aggregated. Despite having different phenotypes in thylakoid structure, riq1, riq2, and curt1a showed a similar defect in the level of nonphotochemical quenching of chlorophyll fluorescence (NPQ). In riq curt1a double mutants, NPQ induction was more severely affected than in either single mutant. In riq mutants, state transitions were inhibited and the PSII antennae were smaller than in wild-type plants. The riq defects did not affect NPQ induction in the chlorophyll b-less mutant. RIQ1 and RIQ2 are paralogous and encode uncharacterized grana thylakoid proteins, but despite the high level of identity of the sequence, the functions of RIQ1 and RIQ2 were not redundant. RIQ1 is required for RIQ2 accumulation, and the wild-type level of RIQ2 did not complement the NPQ and thylakoid phenotypes in riq1. We propose that RIQ proteins link the grana structure and organization of LHCIIs.