Yoshikiyo Sakakibara

Isolation and characterization of cDNAs encoding vacuolar H(+)-pyrophosphatase isoforms from rice (Oryza sativa L.).

The vacuolar H+-pyrophosphatase (V-PPase) is an electrogenic H+ pump, which was found in the plant vacuolar membrane. Two cDNA clones (OVP1 and OVP2) encoding the V-PPase were isolated from cultured rice (Oryza sativa L.) cells and subsequently sequenced. The sequence analysis has revealed thatOVP1 contains 2316 nucleotides of open reading frame (ORF) and 362 nucleotides of the 3′-untranslated region, whereasOVP2 comprises 2304 nucleotides of ORF and 312 nucleotides of the 3′-untranslated region. The nucleotide sequences of ORF ofOVP1 andOVP2 are 80.7% identical, and their 5′- and 3′-untranslated regions have 39.4% and 48.4% identity, respectively. The polypeptides encoded by the ORF ofOVP1 andOVP2 contain 771 and 767 amino acids, respectively, and the sequences of the OVP proteins are very similar to those of other V-PPases, which are shown to have 85–91% homology. Chromosomal mapping by RFLP techniques demonstrates that OVP1 and OVP2 are isoforms encoded by different genes. BothOVP1 andOVP2 are mapped on the same chromosome (chromosome 6) to a distance of ca. 90 cM. Northern analysis indicates that theOVP1 andOVP2 are also expressed in intact rice plants andOVP2 shows higher expression in the calli than the roots and shoots, compared toOVP1. These results show that at least two genes encoding the V-PPases are present in rice genome and their expressions are probably regulated in a different manner.

α-Galactosidase from cultured rice (Oryza sativa L. var. Nipponbare) cells

The alpha-galactosidase from rice cell suspension cultures was purified to homogeneity by different techniques including affinity chromatography using N-epsilon-aminocaproyl-alpha-D-galactopyranosylamine as the ligand. From 11 l of culture filtrate, 28.7 mg of purified enzyme was obtained with an overall yield of 51.9%. The cDNA coding for the alpha-galactosidase was cloned and sequenced. The enzyme was found to contain 417 amino acid residues composed of a 55 amino acid signal sequence and 362 amino acid mature alpha-galactosidase; the molecular weight of the mature enzyme was thus calculated to be 39,950. Seven cysteine residues were also found but no putative N-glycosylation sites were present. The observed homology between the deduced amino acid sequences of the mature enzyme and alpha-galactosidases from coffee (Coffea arabica), guar (Cyamopsis tetragonolooba), and Mortierella vinacea alpha-galactosidase II were over 73, 72, and 45%, respectively. The enzyme displayed maximum activity at 45 degrees C when p-nitrophenyl-alpha-D-galactopyranoside was used as substrate. The rice alpha-galactosidase and Mortierella vinacea alpha-galactosidase II acted on both the terminal alpha-galactosyl residue and the side-chain alpha-galactosyl residue of the galactomanno-oligosaccharides.

Purification and Characterization of the Recombinant Thermus sp. Strain T2 α-Galactosidase Expressed in Escherichia coli

ABSTRACT The nucleotide sequence of the Thermus sp. strain T2 DNA coding for a thermostable α-galactosidase was determined. The deduced amino acid sequence of the enzyme predicts a polypeptide of 474 amino acids (Mr, 53,514). The observed homology between the deduced amino acid sequences of the enzyme and α-galactosidase from Thermus brockianus was over 70%.Thermus sp. strain T2 α-galactosidase was expressed in its active form in Escherichia coli and purified. Native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and gel filtration chromatography data suggest that the enzyme is octameric. The enzyme was most active at 75°C forp-nitrophenyl-α-d-galactopyranoside hydrolysis, and it retained 50% of its initial activity after 1 h of incubation at 70°C. The enzyme was extremely stable over a broad range of pH (pH 6 to 13) after treatment at 40°C for 1 h. The enzyme acted on the terminal α-galactosyl residue, not on the side chain residue, of the galactomanno-oligosaccharides as well as those of yeasts and Mortierella vinacea α-galactosidase I. The enzyme has only one Cys residue in the molecule.para-Chloromercuribenzoic acid completely inhibited the enzyme but did not affect the mutant enzyme which contained Ala instead of Cys, indicating that this Cys residue is not responsible for its catalytic function.