acid-phosphatase and malic-acid

Day and night forms of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (EC 4.1.1.31) (PEPC) were extracted from leaves of the CAM plants Kalanchoe daigremontiana, K. tubiflora and K. blossfeldiana previously fed with [32P] labelled phosphate solution. A one-step immunochemical purification followed by SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and autoradiography showed that, in all species, the night form of the enzyme was phosphorylated and not the day form. Limited acid hydrolysis of the night form and two-dimensional separation identified predominantly labelled phosphoserine and phosphothreonine. In vitro addition of exogenous acid phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.2) to desalted night form-containing extracts resulted within 30 min in a shift in PEPC enzymic properties similar to the in vivo changes from night to day form. It is suggested that phosphorylation-dephosphorylation of the enzyme could be the primary in vivo process which might explain the observed rhythmicity of enzymic properties.

Topics: Acid Phosphatase; Autoradiography; Carboxy-Lyases; Chemical Phenomena; Chemistry, Physical; Circadian Rhythm; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; Enzyme Activation; Glucose-6-Phosphate; Glucosephosphates; Malates; Phosphoenolpyruvate Carboxylase; Phosphorylation; Phosphoserine; Phosphothreonine; Plants

Plants performing crassulacean acid metabolism show a large nocturnal accumulation of malic acid in the vacuole of the photosynthetic cells. It has been postulated that an H+-translocating ATPase energizes the transport of malic acid across the tonoplast into the vacuole. In the present work we have characterized the ATPase activity associated with vacuoles of the crassulacean-acid-metabolism plant Kalanchoë daigremontiana and compare it with other phosphohydrolases. Vacuoles were isolated by polybase-induced lysis of mesophyll-cell protoplasts. The vacuoles had a high activity of unspecific acid phosphatase (pH optimum 5.3). The acid phosphatase was strongly inhibited by ammonium molybdate (with 50% inhibition at about 0.5 mmol m-3), but was not completely inhibited even at much higher ammonium-molybdate concentrations. In contrast, the vacuolar ATPase activity, assayed in the presence of 100 mmol m-3 ammonium molybdate, had a pH optimum of 8.0. ATP was the preferred substrate, but GTP, ITP and ADP were hydrolyzed at appreciable rates. The mean ATPase activity at pH 8.0 was 14.5 nmol h-1 (10(3) vacuoles)-1, an average 13% of which was attributable to residual acid-phosphatase activity. Inorganic-pyrophosphatase activity could not be demonstrated unambiguously. The vacuolar ATPase activity was Mg2+-dependent, had an apparent Km for MgATP2- of 0.31 mol m-3, and was 32% stimulated by 50 mol m-3 KCl. Of the inhibitors tested, oligomycin slightly inhibited the vacuolar ATPase activity and diethylstilbestrol and NO-3 were both markedly inhibitory. Dicyclohexylcarbodiimide and tributyltin were also strongly inhibitory. Tributyltin caused a 50% inhibition at about 0.3 mmol m-3. This is taken as evidence that the vacuolar ATPase might function as an H+-translocating ATPase. It is shown that the measured activity of the vacuolar ATPase would be of the right order to account for the observed rates of nocturnal malic-acid accumulation in K. daigremontiana.

Topics: Acid Phosphatase; Adenosine Triphosphatases; Catalysis; Chloroplasts; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Hydrolysis; Malates; Organoids; Photosynthesis; Plants; Substrate Specificity; Vacuoles