Plant Physiol. (1999) 119: 1407-1414
Protective Function of Chloroplast 2-Cysteine Peroxiredoxin in
Photosynthesis. Evidence from Transgenic Arabidopsis1
Margarete Baier and
Karl-Josef Dietz*
Stoffwechselphysiologie und Biochemie der Pflanzen,
Universität Bielefeld, Universitätsstrasse 25, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany
 |
ABSTRACT |
2-Cysteine peroxiredoxins (2-CPs)
constitute a ubiquitous group of peroxidases that reduce cell-toxic
alkyl hydroperoxides to their corresponding alcohols. Recently, we
cloned 2-CP cDNAs from plants and characterized them as chloroplast
proteins. To elucidate the physiological function of the 2-CP in plant
metabolism, we generated antisense mutants in Arabidopsis. In the
mutant lines a 2-CP deficiency developed during early leaf and plant
development and eventually the protein accumulated to wild-type levels.
In young mutants with reduced amounts of 2-CP, photosynthesis was impaired and the levels of D1 protein, the light-harvesting protein complex associated with photosystem II, chloroplast ATP synthase, and
ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase were decreased. Photoinhibition was particularly pronounced after the application of
the protein synthesis inhibitor, lincomycin. We concluded that the
photosynthetic machinery needs high levels of 2-CP during leaf
development to protect it from oxidative damage and that the damage is
reduced by the accumulation of 2-CP protein, by the de novo synthesis
and replacement of damaged proteins, and by the induction of other
antioxidant defenses in 2-CP mutants.
 |
INTRODUCTION |
ROS are produced either from light-dependent energy conversion or
by chemical electron transfer to molecular oxygen in the metabolism of
aerobic organisms (Elstner, 1990
). ROS in turn oxidize susceptible
biomolecules, and, subsequently alkyl hydroperoxides are formed. In
plants the chloroplast is particularly prone to oxidative damage by
photosynthetic oxygen production and activation. Despite the
presence of elaborate enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidative defense
mechanisms, ROS escape from detoxification and oxidize organic
compounds such as proteins, nucleic acids, terpenoids, and fatty acids
to the respective peroxides (Baier and Dietz, 1998
). In addition, alkyl
hydroperoxides are formed by enzymatic reactions in chloroplasts, e.g.
lipoxygenase catalyzes peroxidation of fatty acids and other
desaturated organic biomolecules, such as carotenoids (Grosch and
Laskawy, 1979
; Canfield et al., 1992
).
Detoxification of alkyl hydroperoxides is important because they can
act as long-distance mediators of oxidative damage by oxidizing other
biomolecules and initiating radical chain reactions (Elstner,
1990
). For example, proteins and membrane lipids are oxidized,
which results in degradation, loss of membrane function, and finally
death of the organism (Jacobson et al., 1989
; Poole and Ellis, 1996
).
Apparently detoxification of alkyl hydroperoxides is indispensable but
yet not understood in plants.
Recently, we identified the first plant homologs of 2-CPs (Baier and
Dietz, 1996a
, 1996b
) that are homodimeric enzymes reducing H2O2 and alkyl
hydroperoxides (Chae et al., 1993
; Poole and Ellis, 1996
). Members of
the 2-CP family of peroxidases have been identified in organisms from
all systematic groups (Baier and Dietz, 1996c
). It is interesting that
the plant homolog is posttranslationally imported into the chloroplast
stroma (Baier and Dietz, 1997
). Inside the chloroplast it is assumed to
detoxify alkyl hydroperoxide in the vicinity of the thylakoid membrane,
the site of the most active oxygen metabolism in living plant cells.
To test the hypothesis that 2-CP in chloroplast metabolism has a
protective function, Arabidopsis mutants were generated whose 2-CP
amounts were reduced by antisense suppression of the transcript level. To establish the significance of 2-CPs in plants, we
analyzed such physiological indicators as PSII and peroxidase activity and the stability of chloroplast proteins and related them to 2-CP
expression.
 |
MATERIALS AND METHODS |
Plant Material
Arabidopsis plants were grown in a soil culture or on MSAR plates
(Koncz et al., 1990
), using a 25°C/20°C day/night cycle (10-h day
at a PAR of 200-300 µmol m
2
s
1). We induced flowering by increasing the
light phase to 14 h d
1 for 7 d.
Transformation of Arabidopsis
The transformation was done by vacuum infiltration according to
the protocol of Bechtold and Bouchez (1995)
, using the pPCV702 vector
system (Koncz et al., 1990
) and the Agrobacterium
tumefaciens strain GV3101. The barley 2-CP cDNA fragment
(accession no. Z34917) was cloned in antisense orientation into the
BamHI site of pPCV702, after the ligation of
BamHI linkers, so that its expression was under the control
of the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter. Transformed plants were
initially selected on MSAR plates (Koncz et al., 1990
) and supplemented
with 50 µg mL
1 kanamycin. Consecutive
generations were selected by spraying 2-week-old seedlings grown in
soil culture daily for at least 5 d with a solution containing 0.5 to 1 mg mL
1 kanamycin and 0.05% (v/v) Triton
X-100.
Extraction of Genomic DNA, PCR, Southern-Blot
Hybridization, and Other Molecular Cloning Techniques
For extraction of genomic DNA, 1 g of destarched leaf
material was ground in liquid nitrogen. Buffer (8.76 g of NaCl,
8.00 g of dodecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide, 1.21 g of Tris
[pH 8.6], and 2.08 g of tetrasodium dihydrate EDTA, in a total
volume of 100 mL) was added to the frozen powder at a
volume-to-fresh-weight ratio of 2 mL g
1. After
the material was incubated at 68°C for 5 min, the homogenate was
extracted with 3 mL of chloroform: isoamyl alcohol (24:1, v/v). Nucleic
acids were precipitated from the aqueous phase by adding 3 mL of cold
isopropanol and resuspending them in TE buffer (10 mM Tris
and 1 mM EDTA, pH 8.0). To precipitate the RNA, one-third volume of 8 M LiCl was added. After at least 2 h on
ice, the RNA was removed by centrifugation at 10,000g for 10 min. From the supernatant, DNA was precipitated by the addition of 2.5 volumes of ethanol. Ten micrograms of DNA was digested with 10 units EcoRI overnight, separated on a 0.9% (w/v)
agarose gel, and blotted according to standard methods (Sambrook et
al., 1988
).
The genomic integration of the antisense construct was verified for the
selected transformants by PCR, using barley 2-CP-specific primers
(BAS-O1: CACCTTCGTCTGCCC; BAS-O4: CACACCCTCCTTGTC; 25 pmol each). The
50-µL reaction contained 1 pg of genomic DNA as a template, 0.2 mM dNTP (dATP, dGTP, dCTP, dTTP), primers, and 1.6 units of
Taq-DNA polymerase (Promega) in 1× PCR buffer containing 1.5 mM MgCl2 (Promega). PCR
was performed in 35 cycles at a 42°C annealing temperature.
For Southern blotting, nucleic acids were separated in 1% agarose
gel and blotted onto nylon membranes (Hybond-N, Amersham) by capillary
transfer. The membranes were hybridized with 100 pg of
digoxygenin-labeled probes at high stringency (42°C, 50% [v/v]
formamide, 5× SSC, 3× Denhardt
s solution, 0.5% [w/v] SDS, and 200 µg of salmon-sperm DNA). The nonspecifically bound probe was removed
in three washing steps at 42°C, once in 2× SSC and 0.5% SDS for 15 min, and twice in 0.5× SSC and 0.5% SDS for 25 min. Hybridization
signals were developed using the DIG luminescence detection kit
(Boehringer Mannheim) according the protocol of Leroy (1997).
The probe was synthesized by PCR, using barley 2-CP cDNA (accession no.
Z34917) or a genomic 2-CP fragment from Arabidopsis (accession no.
X97910) as a template. The template was amplified with BAS-O1 and
BAS-O4 at 45°C or 42°C, respectively, using the PCR DIG labeling
mixture (Boehringer Mannheim). Extraction of RNA from plant tissues and
northern-blot hybridization with radiolabeled Arabidopsis 2-CP
cDNA (accession no. Y10478) and pea psbA were performed as described
recently (Baier et al., 1996
). Relative amounts of 2-CP mRNA were
calculated from the signal intensities in northern blots using GELSCAN
3D software (BioSCITEC, Marburg, Germany).
PAGE, Western Blotting, and Antibody Preparation
PAGE, western blotting, and generation of the antiserum against
heterologously expressed 2-CP were performed as described recently
(Baier and Dietz, 1997
). Dr. A. Radunz and Dr. G.H. Schmid (Universität Bielefeld, Germany) provided antibodies against other chloroplast proteins. They were raised in rabbits with purified proteins from tobacco as antigens. The generation and
specificity of the antibody against SUE, purified from barley, was
described by Betz and Dietz (1991)
. The relative protein amounts were
calculated from the signal intensities in western blots using the
GELSCAN 3D software.
Peroxidase and SOD Activity
Peroxidase activity was quantified by measuring the rate of
guajacol tetramerization. The spectrophotometric assay contained 100 mM potassium phosphate buffer (pH 6.5), 2 mM
guajacol, 1 mM H2O2, and the sample.
Changes in absorption were monitored at 436 nm and rates were
calculated using a molar extinction coefficient of 2550 M
1 cm
1.
The determination of SOD activity was based on the inhibition of the
photochemical reduction of nitroblue tetrazolium (Dhindsa et al.,
1981
). One relative unit corresponds to 1% inhibition of nitroblue
tetrazolium reaction compared to a reaction mixture lacking the enzyme.
Chlorophyll a Fluorescence Measurements
We used chlorophyll a fluorescence as a nondestructive
measure of photosynthetic activity with a PAM 101 (Walz, Effeltrich, Germany). Calculations of photosynthetic parameters were performed as
described by Schreiber and Bilger (1993)
. For comparison of the mutants
with the control plants, dark-adapted Arabidopsis seedlings were
illuminated at a photon fluence rate of approximately 6000 µmol
m
2 s
1, which induced an
emission of Fm by transient reduction of
the primary quinone electron acceptor of PSII. During the following 1500 s of continuous actinic illumination at a photon fluence rate
of 1100 µmol m
2 s
1,
the induction phase of photosynthetic CO2
fixation was completed and a steady state of photosynthesis was
reached. Concomitantly, the fluorescence yield decreased from the
initial maximum to a lower value, Fs
. At
intervals of 100 s, additional light pulses of 5000 µmol
m
2 s
1 and 1-s duration
were applied to transiently reduce the primary quinone electron
acceptor of PSII and to determine the Fm
from which the effective quantum yield of PSII was calculated as
(Fm
Fs
)/Fm
.
Actinic light was turned off after 1500 s. The chlorophyll a fluorescence yield, excited by a weakly modulated and
metabolically insignificant measuring beam of less than 0.05 µmol
m
2 s
1,
was continuously monitored throughout the
experiment. Lincomycin, an inhibitor of organellar protein synthesis,
was applied by floating shoots of the seedlings on a 5 mM lincomycin solution in darkness for the time
indicated.
 |
RESULTS |
Construction, Selection, and Verification of 2-CP
Antisense Mutants
Transgenic mutants with reduced levels of 2-CP were generated in
the genetic background of Arabidopsis. The cDNA fragment encoding the
mature form of barley 2-CP (accession no. Z34917; Baier and Dietz,
1996a
), with a 79.9% sequence homology to Arabidopsis cDNA, was chosen
for antisense suppression of the endogenous 2-CP gene instead of the
homologous Arabidopsis cDNA (accession no. Y10478; Baier and Dietz,
1996b
). We expected the heterologous cDNA to be sufficient for mRNA
suppression. To produce high-suppression intensities, the barley cDNA
was fused to the constitutively expressed and highly active cauliflower
mosaic virus 35S promoter (Holtorf et al., 1995
). Transgenic plants
were generated containing the T-DNA without the cDNA insert to
serve as a control.
Transformed plants were selected on MSAR plates containing 50 µg
mL
1 kanamycin. The insertion of the barley 2-CP
cDNA fragment in the Arabidopsis genome was verified by PCR, using
barley 2-CP-specific primers with genomic DNA as the template. The
inserted heterologous barley cDNA can easily be distinguished from the
endogenous Arabidopsis gene, which contains two short, intervening
introns. It results in a PCR product of 585 bp, whereas the barley cDNA
yields a 273-bp DNA product. This 273-bp product was detected in all
antisense mutants and was absent in the control plants transformed with insertless pPCV702 (data not shown).
When we analyzed the transformed lines for phenotypic performance, the
most conspicuous phenotypic distinction between wild-type plants and
antisense lines appeared during the early rosette stage, when the
plants were grown on MSAR plates. After sterilization and spreading,
wild-type and antisense plants germinated with similar efficiency and
kinetics. Further development of some antisense lines was delayed but
became indistinguishable in the late rosette stage (data not shown).
Even the various mutant lines exhibited a wide range of phenotypic
variation; the mutant lines, bas-23 and bas-24, expressed the most
striking phenotype of retardation, which we then chose for further
analysis.
Bas-23 and bas-24 are independent mutants with T-DNA insertion at
different positions of the genome. Southern-blot hybridization of
genomic EcoRI digests with digoxygenin-labeled barley 2-CP cDNA revealed one signal in mutant bas-23 and two in mutant bas-24. EcoRI cut the T-DNA close to the 5
end of the cauliflower
mosaic virus 35S promoter. The barley 2-CP cDNA contained no
EcoRI restriction site. As a consequence, each
EcoRI fragment detected by hybridization represented one
cDNA insertion. In the genomic Southern blot depicted in Figure
1, one EcoRI fragment of 3400 bp was labeled in lane bas-23 and two fragments of 1000 and 1400 bp
were labeled in lane bas-24. We concluded that the mutant bas-23
contained one cDNA insertion, whereas two gene copies were inserted in
the genome of mutant bas-24. The difference in the size of the
cDNA-containing fragments demonstrated that the T-DNA was integrated at
different positions of the genome in bas-23 and bas-24.

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| Figure 1.
Detection of EcoRI fragments
containing the barley 2-CP cDNA in genomic DNA extracted from mutants
bas-23 and bas-24 and control (702-3) plants. Ten micrograms of genomic
DNA was digested with EcoRI and separated on a 0.9%
(w/v) agarose gel. The nucleic acids were blotted on a nylon membrane
and hybridized with the 273-bp barley 2-CP cDNA fragment under
high-stringency conditions.
|
|
Leaf Contents of 2-CP Transcript and Protein
During plant transformation, insertion of the T-DNA took place at
various positions of the genome and in different copy numbers. Such
positional and gene-dosage effects determined the expressional intensity that usually varied between mutant lines. To determine the
degree of 2-CP suppression in transgenic plants, the transcript level
was analyzed in mutant lines by northern-blot hybridization and
compared with that of the control plants, 702-3. The autoradiogram (Fig. 2A) shows significantly decreased
2-CP mRNA levels in the mutants bas-23 and bas-24. From the signal
intensities in the northern blot, a reduction of 2-CP in the amount of
64.4% was calculated for mutant bas-23 and 60.0% for mutant bas-24.
Insignificant or no reduction was seen in bas-22 (91% of control) and
bas-32 (108% of control), showing only weak (bas-22) or no
(bas-32) phenotype when grown on MSAR plates (data not shown).

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| Figure 2.
2-CP expression in transgenic and control plants.
A, Determination of 2-CP and psbA mRNA levels on northern blots with
nucleic acids (20 µg per lane) from rosettes of 6-week-old mutants
and control (702-3) plants grown on soil. The 2-CP mRNA was detected
with radiolabeled 2-CP cDNA. Duplicate filters were hybridized with pea
psbA. B, Detection of 2-CP protein in western blots. Protein extracts
of 6-week-old mutants, wild-type (wt), and control (702-3) plants
corresponding to 20 mg fresh weight were separated by PAGE and blotted
on nitrocellulose membranes. The 2-CP was detected using an antibody
against the mature form of barley 2-CP. Depending on the redox state,
the protein was detected as monomer or dimer, respectively.
|
|
The 2-CP protein content followed the mRNA pattern and was strongly
reduced in young, developing rosettes of mutants bas-23 and bas-24
(Fig. 2B). Quantification of western blots revealed a decrease in 2-CP
protein in the amount of 53% to 88% in mutant bas-23 and 42% to 82%
in mutant bas-24 (Fig. 2B). The protein content decreased only in young
leaves and reached control levels in mature leaves (Fig.
3). This indicated the accumulation of 2-CP during leaf aging, even in mutants with decreased 2-CP expression. The assumed accumulation during leaf organogenesis corresponded to data
published for barley (Baier and Dietz, 1996a
). During leaf development,
the 2-CP protein amount continued to increase, although the mRNA
decreased to very low levels after the termination of leaf elongation.

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| Figure 3.
Western-blot analysis of 2-CP in 14-week-old
plants (late rosette stage). 2-CP protein was detected in leaves of
different ages (A) using an antibody against heterologously expressed
2-CP (B). Quantification of the protein amounts (C) was
performed by evaluating band density.
|
|
Quantum Yield of PSII
The plant 2-CP is a nuclear-encoded chloroplast protein
(Baier and Dietz, 1997
). The sequence homology to yeast
thioredoxin-dependent peroxide reductase (Baier and Dietz,
1996b
, 1996c
) and the increased tolerance to peroxide treatment of
Escherichia coli expressing barley 2-CP (Baier and Dietz,
1997
) implied a physiological function in the detoxification of alkyl
hydroperoxides in photosynthetically active chloroplasts. Baier and
Dietz (1997)
then hypothesized that the 2-CP is part of the antioxidant
defense protecting the photosynthetic machinery from oxidative damage.
The maximum quantum yield of PSII photochemistry
(Fv/Fm) was
similar in antisense and control plants and, therefore, independent of
the expression of the antisense construct (Fig.
4). Conversely, the quantum yield of PSII
electron transport was reduced during the steady-state photosynthesis
of the young mutants with reduced 2-CP amounts. Figure 4 shows the
quantum yield of PSII electron transport of the mutant line bas-23, as
compared with the control plants transformed with "empty"
pPCV702-T-DNA. Each point represents the average of five to seven
determinations from at least 4 to 10 seedlings each.

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| Figure 4.
Quantum yield of PSII electron transport of the
mutant bas-23 ( ) and control 702-3 ( ). Chlorophyll
a fluorescence was measured in 4-, 9-, 14-, and
42-d-old, dark-adapted plants during a 30-min illumination period
(white bars) followed by a subsequent 30-min dark period (black
bars).
|
|
In the light phase, differences in fluorescence parameters were small
in 4-d-old seedlings and insignificant during dark relaxation (Fig. 4;
first data point). In 9-d-old seedlings the quantum yield of PSII
electron transport was reduced to 0.292 ± 0.073 in bas-23 during
steady-state photosynthesis, compared with 0.325 ± 0.067 in the
control plants. The difference in the fluorescence performance of the
leaves was also evident in the phase of dark relaxation. In the mutants
the quantum yield of PSII electron transport was 0.653 ± 0.010 after 1000 s in darkness, compared with 0.664 ± 0.037 in the
controls. The quantum yield of the transgenic line bas-23 was even less
efficient at an age of 2 weeks. When the rosettes reached their almost
mature size at an age of approximately 6 weeks, the antisense line
revealed improved photosynthetic performance (Fig. 4). Whereas the
quantum yield of the control transformant was 0.265 ± 0.040 in
the light and 0.643 ± 0.029 after 1500 s in the dark, the
mutant line revealed values of 0.357 ± 0.058 in the light and
0.689 ± 0.021 in the dark.
Importance of Chloroplast Protein Biosynthesis
After the inhibition of chloroplast protein synthesis by
lincomycin administration, the phenotypic effect of young mutants was
enhanced (Fig. 5). The quantum yield of
PSII electron transport was slightly reduced in control leaves upon
treatment with lincomycin for 4 and 8 h in the light and in the
consecutive dark periods, respectively, as depicted in Figures 4 and 5.
Compared with the controls, antisense mutants showed increased
fluorescence quenching in the light, indicating a decreased quantum
yield of PSII electron transport. The large difference in chlorophyll
a fluorescence was maintained upon transfer to dark. The
decreased Fv/Fm
at steady state in the dark, after a light treatment, suggests that
photodamage may have occurred. This result demonstrates that in
2-CP antisense mutants the recovery from photoinhibition depended on
chloroplast-protein synthesis to a much greater extent than in the
controls. The lincomycin treatment accentuated the metabolic regulation
and/or the damage in the plants with a suppressed 2-CP level.

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| Figure 5.
Quantum yield of PSII electron transport of the
mutant bas-23 ( ) and control line 702-3 ( ) after feeding
lincomycin for 4 and 8 h. Chlorophyll a
fluorescence was measured in dark-adapted 8-d-old plants grown on soil.
A 30-min illumination period (white bars) was followed by a 30-min dark
period (black bars).
|
|
Protein Degradation in Chloroplasts
Well-known targets of oxidative stress are the D1
protein in the reaction center of PSII (Mattoo et al., 1984
),
Rubisco (Mehta et al., 1992
), and LHCII (Rintamäki et al.,
1997
). We used western-blot analysis to determine the abundance of
these proteins in the antisense mutants bas-23 and bas-24, and in the
control plants. The D1 protein amount was strongly decreased in the
mutants bas-23 and bas-24, as was the CFI, Rubisco, and the LHCII (Fig.
6). As indicated by the constant amount
SUE, the damage to proteins was more likely to be restricted to
chloroplasts. In comparison with the data on the psbA message level
shown in Figure 2A, we concluded that the reduction of D1 protein
abundance was not a consequence of decreased gene expression but of D1
degradation.

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| Figure 6.
Western-blot analysis of D1, Rubisco, LHCII, CF1,
and SUE protein amounts in extracts of 6-week-old mutants and control
plants grown on soil. Protein extracts corresponding to 20 mg (fresh
weight) were separated by PAGE, blotted on nitrocellulose membranes,
and analyzed with the respective antibody.
|
|
Peroxidase and SOD Activity
The age-dependent relief of the inhibition of photosynthesis shows
the capacity of the antisense plants to compensate for the loss of
2-CP. In the mutants the 2-CP amount was up-regulated to control levels
during leaf organogenesis (Fig. 3). However, the overcompensation in
the 6-week-old seedlings, as indicated by the increase in the quantum
yield of PSII electron transport (Fig. 4), cannot be explained by the
accumulation of 2-CP protein alone. As depicted in Figure 2,
the overall 2-CP content was still reduced in the rosettes of
the 6-week-old seedlings. Therefore, we postulate that the imbalance in
alkyl hydroperoxide metabolism in young leaves caused increased
oxidative stress, which then induced other antioxidant defenses. We
measured guajacol peroxidase activity as a first indicator. It
constitutes a general stress response; Van Assche et al. (1988)
has
shown that in some cases it allows for quantitation of the stress dose.
In the 2-CP mutants bas-23 and bas-24, a slight and insignificant
increase in peroxidase activity was observed in the early rosette stage
(2-week-old seedlings). Four weeks later (6-week-old seedlings), the
peroxidase activity had more than doubled in the line bas-23 (226% of
control) and in mutant bas-24 (189% of control) plants (Fig.
7), indicating an induction of
antioxidant defenses.

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| Figure 7.
Total peroxidase activity in 2- and 6-week-old
Arabidopsis mutant seedlings grown on soil. fw, Fresh weight.
|
|
Total leaf SOD activity was measured in the 2, 4, and 6-week-old
control (line 702) and in the mutant plants (bas-23 and -24). SOD
activity increased in all developmental stages; for instance, in
2-week-old seedlings it rose from 26.5 ± 5.7 relative units in
the controls to 37.7 ± 8.5 and 33.0 ± 5.7 in the
antisense mutants (six determinations with three replicates each;
significance in the paired t test >95%).
 |
DISCUSSION |
A series of in vitro and in vivo studies has established that
2-CPs reduce alkyl hydroperoxides to the corresponding alcohols and
hydrogen peroxide to water (Chae et al., 1994
; Poole and Ellis, 1996
).
After their first identification in plants (Baier and Dietz, 1996a
), they were shown to be nuclear-encoded proteins that were posttranslationally imported into chloroplasts, and a physiological role in the antioxidative defense of chloroplasts was hypothesized (Baier and Dietz, 1997
). The experiments described in this paper can be
used to evaluate this hypothesis.
The 2-CP Is Part of the Antioxidant Network Protecting the
Photosynthetic Apparatus
Among a number of Arabidopsis lines transformed with barley 2-CP
cDNA, two independent antisense mutants were identified that expressed
the 2-CP on a significantly reduced level, compared with appropriate
control or wild-type plants. Reduced 2-CP expression resulted in
decreased photosynthetic activity and increased degradation of soluble
as well as membrane-bound chloroplast proteins (Figs. 4-6).
Light-stimulated degradation of chloroplast proteins is known to be
tightly related to photooxidative processes (Mehta et al., 1992
;
Steiger and Feller, 1997). Conversely, the light-dependent increase in
stromal ATP does not significantly affect the proteolytic degradation
of chloroplast proteins, although the proteolytic reaction consumes ATP
(Steiger and Feller, 1997). Damage followed by degradation can be
caused directly by ROS derived from electron leakage of the
photosynthetic light reaction or indirectly by oxidation, e.g. by
organic hydroperoxides formed through uncontrolled oxidation in
chloroplasts. An alkyl hydroperoxide reductase such as 2-CP may protect
chloroplast proteins from indirect oxidation cascades. Their
increased degradation in 2-CP mutants demonstrates that plant 2-CP is
indeed involved in the protection of chloroplast structures.
The decrease in chloroplast protein levels (Fig. 6) revealed the
polysymptomatic effect of the 2-CP suppression. A loss of D1 protein,
LHCII, CF1, and Rubisco may reduce the quantum yield of photosynthesis
by destruction of the D1 protein, by increased antenna quenching, by
increased high-energy-state quenching (as a result of decreased
activity of the gradient-relaxing ATP synthase), or by decreased energy
consumption in the Calvin cycle (Schreiber and Bilger, 1993
). The
number of proteins affected may indicate that 2-CP is involved in an
indirect protection mechanism of chloroplast metabolism. Inhibited
detoxification of alkyl hydroperoxides that mediate oxidation of
biomolecules over long distances may provide a sufficient physiological
basis for the phenotype.
In this context it is interesting to note that Russell et al. (1995)
reported a remarkably high stability of D1 protein in Arabidopsis. Loss
of D1 protein occurred only when illumination at the high rate of 1350 µmol m
2 s
1 continued
for more than 5 h (Russell et al., 1995
). In contrast to the
reported stability of D1 protein, the amount of D1 protein was markedly
reduced in the transgenic Arabidopsis bas-23 and bas-24 plants grown at
PAR of 200 to 300 µmol m
2
s
1 (Fig. 6). These data demonstrate the
requirement of leaves for 2-CP in the maintenance of efficient
photosynthesis. 2-CP knock-out mutants of the cyanobacterium
Synechocystis PCC 6803 (Klughammer et al., 1998
), which
serves as a prokaryotic model for investigating photosynthetic
metabolism, showed that 2-CPs are not essential for photooxidative
metabolism. In the mutants that survived, however, doubling times were
increased from approximately 8 to 14 h (Klughammer et
al., 1998
).
Compensation of the Antisense Suppression of 2-CPs
Chlorophyll a fluorescence analysis demonstrated that
the phenotype developed only transiently; indications of metabolic
adaptation were observed in 6-week-old mutants with reduced 2-CP mRNA
amounts. By deduction, three processes appear to be involved in the
adaptive response: (a) posttranslational accumulation of 2-CP, (b) de
novo synthesis of proteins, and (c) induction of expression of other components of the antioxidant network.
Accumulation of 2-CP Protein during Leaf Organogenesis
The 2-CP protein accumulated up to control levels even in the
leaves of mutants with the most suppressed transcript levels (Fig. 3).
2-CP amounts were reduced only in young developing leaves. It has to be
concluded that translational and especially posttranslational regulation facilitates 2-CP accumulation in the mutant plants.
Gene expression was highest in young dicot leaves (M. Baier and K.-J.
Dietz, unpublished data) and in developing parts of monocot leaves
(Baier and Dietz, 1996a
). Conversely, the amount of protein increased
with aging. In the mature blade of barley primary leaves, 2-CP protein
amounts continued to increase, although the endogenous mRNA had dropped
to a low level (Baier and Dietz, 1996a
). Such posttranslational
accumulation can compensate for the suppression of 2-CP
transcript in transgenic Arabidopsis.
The accumulation of 2-CP protein during leaf aging (Fig. 3) results in
an increased metabolic potential to reduce alkyl hydroperoxides. However, it appears insufficient to account for the overcompensation observed in the experiments depicted in Figure 4. The chlorophyll a fluorescence data indicated an improved photosynthetic
performance in high light in 6-week-old mutants (Fig. 4), although the
2-CP protein amount was still reduced (Fig. 2).
De Novo Protein Synthesis Compensates 2-CP Activity
Pretreatment of mutants with lincomycin enhanced the difference in
light-dependent chlorophyll fluorescence quenching between controls and
mutants, and it inhibited the recovery of the quantum yield of PSII
electron transport in 2-CP antisense plants upon darkening (Fig. 5).
Conversely, the lincomycin treatment had little effect on control
plants.
Lincomycin selectively inhibits protein synthesis at 70S ribosomes but
does not affect de novo synthesis of proteins at 80S ribosomes, which
are the sites of 2-CP synthesis and of other chloroplast antioxidant
enzymes, such as ascorbate peroxidase (Jespersen et al., 1997
) and
PHGPx (Mullineaux et al., 1998
). Therefore, we conclude that the
lincomycin experiments indicate the general effect of organellar
protein synthesis.
Damage of D1 protein (Mattoo et al., 1984
), Rubisco (Mehta et
al., 1992
), and LHCII (Rintamäki et al., 1997
) is stimulated by
photooxidative stress. Figure 6 shows that the levels of these proteins
as well as those of CF1 decreased in 2-CP antisense mutants. In the
case of the D1 protein, repair is well studied and known to depend on
de novo protein synthesis and replacement (Hideg, 1997
). Inhibition of
the repair mechanism by lincomycin accentuated the photoinhibiton in
2-CP antisense mutants (Fig. 5). Thus, it can be concluded that de novo
synthesis of chloroplast proteins greatly compensates for the damage in
untreated mutant plants.
Induction of the Antioxidant Network
The accumulation of 2-CP and the replacement of damaged
proteins are likely to increase the protective potential of the
mutants, but these responses do not explain the overcompensation
observed. A response of the antioxidant network must be assumed.
However, all important chloroplast antioxidant enzymes, e.g. the
stromal and thylakoid-bound ascorbate peroxidases (Jespersen et al.,
1997
) and enzymes involved in the biosynthesis and reduction of
low-Mr antioxidants, e.g.
-glutamylcysteine
synthetase (May and Leaver, 1994
) and glutathione reductase (Kubo et
al., 1993
), are nuclear-encoded enzymes. Signal transduction to the
nucleus is necessary for induction. The nonspecific activation of
antioxidant defense genes after pathogen attack, photooxidative stress,
or application of other stressors indicates a common regulatory element
linked to the cellular redox poise (Baier and Dietz, 1998
). Leaf cells
may sense the reduction of 2-CP activity as oxidative load.
Consequently, expression of antioxidant defenses may be induced in the
nucleus.
Peroxidase activity was measured as one well-characterized parameter in
the response to oxidative stress (Macek et al., 1996
). Its activity
slightly increased in 2-week-old mutants with reduced 2-CP amounts and
almost doubled in 6-week-old mutants. Its induction demonstrates a
nuclear response to 2-CP suppression. Consequently, the induction of
antioxidant defense genes could explain the overcompensation of 2-CP
suppression on PSII activity. In addition to peroxidase, SOD activity
also significantly increased in the 2-, 4-, and 6-week-old mutants. The
induction of both enzymes supports the hypothesis that suppression of
2-CP causes a significant disturbance in the cellular redox state of
photosynthesizing cells.
The chloroplast 2-CP is likely to detoxify alkyl hydroperoxides in the
chloroplast (Baier and Dietz, 1997
). In this context it is interesting
to note that recently a nuclear-encoded PHGPx was shown to be targeted
to the chloroplast stroma (Mullineaux et al., 1998
). PHGPx also reduces
alkyl hydroperoxides (Eshdat et al., 1997
). However, the strong effect
of 2-CP suppression on photosynthetic quantum yield, even under the low
light conditions used in this communication, indicates that neither
PHGPx nor the lipid hydroperoxide reductase associated with the
envelope membrane (Bleé and Joyard, 1996) can substitute
for the 2-CP. We suggest that, in addition to substrate specificity,
suborganellar localization may define specific physiological functions
of the enzymes. The lipid hydroperoxide reductase functions at the
envelope membrane. The PHGPx is reported to be located in the stroma
(Mullineaux et al., 1998
). Conversely, the 2-CP appears to be
preferentially attached to stroma-exposed thylakoids (M. Baier, U. Kahmann, H.-G. Ruppel, and K.-J. Dietz, unpublished data). Thus, 2-CP
may represent the important detoxification device in close vicinity of
the thylakoids needed for safe reduction of highly reactive alkyl
hydroperoxides.
 |
FOOTNOTES |
1
This work was supported by the Deutsche
Forschungsgemeinschaft (grant no. Di 346/6L).
*
Corresponding author; e-mail
karl-josef.dietz{at}biologie.uni-bielefeld.de; fax
49-0-521-106-6039.
Received October 19, 1998;
accepted January 5, 1999.
 |
ABBREVIATIONS |
Abbreviations:
2-CP, 2-Cys peroxiredoxin.
CF1, coupling factor
of thylakoid ATP synthase.
Fm, maximum
fluorescence.
Fm
, actual maximum fluorescence
yield.
LHCII, light-harvesting complex associated with PSII.
MSAR, Murashige and Skoog medium optimized for Arabidopsis regeneration.
PHGPx, phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase.
ROS, reactive
oxygen species.
SOD, superoxide dismutase.
SUE, subunit E of vacuolar
ATPase.
 |
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
We are grateful to Dr. A. Radunz and Prof. G.H. Schmid
(Zellphysiologie, Universität Bielefeld) for providing the
antibodies; to Prof. U. Heber (Julius-von-Sachs-Institut,
Würzburg) for discussions; and to Ms. U. Windmeier for technical
assistance.
 |
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