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First published online May 15, 2003; 10.1104/pp.103.023937

Plant Physiology 132:1097-1106 (2003)
© 2003 American Society of Plant Biologists

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BIOCHEMICAL PROCESSES AND MACROMOLECULAR STRUCTURES

A Conserved 19-Amino Acid Synthetic Peptide from the Carboxy Terminus of Phosphoenolpyruvate Carboxylase Inhibits the in Vitro Phosphorylation of the Enzyme by the Calcium-Independent Phosphoenolpyruvate Carboxylase Kinase1

Rosario Alvarez, Sofía García-Mauriño, Ana-Belén Feria, Jean Vidal and Cristina Echevarría*

Departamento de Biología Vegetal, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Sevilla, Avenida Reina Mercedes Number 6, 41012 Seville, Spain (R.A., S.G.M.-M., A.-B.F., C.E.); and Institut de Biotechnologie des Plantes, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique-Unité Mixte de Recherche 8618, Bâhtiment 630, Université de Paris-Sud, Centre d'Orsay cedex, France (J.V.)


    ABSTRACT
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 LITERATURE CITED
 
Higher plant phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) is subject to in vivo phosphorylation of a regulatory serine located in the N-terminal domain of the protein. Studies using synthetic peptide substrates and mutated phosphorylation domain photosynthetic PEPC (C4 PEPC) suggested that the interaction of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase kinase (PEPCk) with its target was not restricted to this domain. However, no further information was available as to where PEPCk-C4 PEPC interactions take place. In this work, we have studied the possible interaction of the conserved 19-amino acid C-terminal sequence of sorghum (Sorghum vulgare Pers cv Tamaran) C4 PEPC with PEPCk. In reconstituted assays, a C-terminal synthetic peptide containing this sequence (peptide C19) was found to inhibit the phosphorylation reaction by the partially purified Ca2+-independent PEPCk (50% inhibition of initial activity = 230 µM). This effect was highly specific because peptide C19 did not alter C4 PEPC phosphorylation by either a partially purified sorghum leaf Ca2+-dependent protein kinase or the catalytic subunit of mammalian protein kinase A. In addition, the Ca2+-independent PEPCk was partially but significantly retained in affinity chromatography using a peptide C19 agarose column. Because peptide C15 (peptide C19 lacking the last four amino acids, QNTG) also inhibited C4 PEPC phosphorylation, it was concluded that the amino acid sequence downstream from the QNTG motif was responsible for the inhibitory effect. Specific antibodies raised against peptide C19 revealed that native C4 PEPC could be in two different conformational states. The results are discussed in relation with the reported crystal structure of the bacterial (Escherichia coli) and plant (maize [Zea mays]) enzymes.


In C4 plants, the photosynthetic phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC; EC 4.1.1.31) is subject to a diel posttranslational regulation that alters its functional and regulatory properties (Echevarría et al., 1990Go; Chollet et al., 1996Go; Vidal et al., 1996Go). This is performed by a small molecular mass (32 kD) phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase kinase (PEPCk) which phosphorylates the Ser of the enzyme's N-terminal domain (E/DR/KxxSIDAQL/MR; Jiao et al., 1991bGo). This Ser/Thr protein kinase is unique in that its regulation is via a fast protein synthesis event (Jiao et al., 1991aGo; Hartwell et al., 1999Go) after activation of a complex light transduction cascade (Vidal and Chollet, 1997Go; Coursol et al., 2000Go). It has been shown that this kinase belongs to the Ca2+/calmoduline kinase group of protein kinases, albeit that it does not possess any calcium-binding domain, lacks the autoinhibitory region, and does not require calcium for activity (Hartwell et al., 1999Go). On the other hand, its activity has been shown to be controlled both in vitro and in vivo by metabolites that also affect C4 PEPC activity, e.g. it is inhibited by L-malate, and this effect is counteracted by sugar-P-like glucose-6-phosphate (Echevarría et al., 1994Go; Chollet et al., 1996Go). Recently, a protein inhibitor of PEPCk has been characterized in plant extracts, yet its physiological role is still unclear (Nimmo et al., 2001Go). Furthermore, it has been proposed that the activity of maize (Zea mays) PEPCk could be subject to redox control via a thioredoxin system (Saze et al., 2001Go).

The molecular mechanism by which phosphorylation modifies C4 PEPC properties has been approached by site-directed mutagenesis. This showed that the introduction of a negative charge at the N-terminal Ser position was required for the changes to be observed (Wang et al., 1992Go). Furthermore, it was suggested that interaction of PEPCk with its target was not restricted to this domain (Li et al., 1997Go). However, to date, no further information is available concerning where PEPCk-C4 PEPC interaction occurs.

The PEPC protein kinase is believed to be dedicated to PEPC because it does not phosphorylate a variety of heterologous kinase substrates, whereas all plant PEPC isoforms examined to date serve as substrates in vitro (Chollet et al., 1996Go). Multiple alignments of amino acids sequences deduced from various PEPC cDNAs and Ppc genes have revealed the presence of strictly conserved motifs, including a C-terminal domain that is also present in prokaryotic PEPCs (Lepiniec et al., 1994Go; Chollet at al., 1996Go; Gehrig et al., 1998Go). Limited 3' deletion in the Ppc gene from Escherichia coli resulted in decreasing the enzyme amount and suppression of its catalytic activity (Sabe et al., 1984Go). From studies involving recombinant, C-terminal truncated C4 PEPC, it was concluded that the conserved C-terminal QNTG tetrapeptide of sorghum (Sorghum vulgare Pers cv Tamaran) C4 PEPC is indispensable for maximal catalytic activity but not for homotetramer formation (Dong et al., 1999Go). Finally, crystallographic studies have deciphered the three-dimensional structure of the E. coli and maize (C4) PEPC, thus making clear the contribution of the enzyme C terminus to the active and inhibitor sites (Kai et al., 1999Go; Matsumura et al., 2002Go).

The main objective of the present work was to address the question of the molecular basis for the interaction between the sorghum C4 PEPC and its dedicated PEPCk, focusing on the target's C-terminal domain. It is shown that C-terminal synthetic peptides, C19 and C15 (a truncated peptide lacking the terminal QNTG), specifically inhibit the in vitro phosphorylation of the enzyme in reconstituted assays, and the active domain is located downstream from the QNTG motif.


    RESULTS
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 LITERATURE CITED
 

Partial Purification of Ca2+-Independent PEPCk

We first purified the Ca2+-independent PEPCk from protein extracts of illuminated sorghum leaves by using the blue dextran agarose (BDA) procedure described by Jiao and Chollet (1989Go). As expected from former works (Li and Chollet 1993Go; Vidal et al., 1996Go), the partially purified enzyme decreased the malate sensitivity of the non-phosphorylated C4 PEPC (immunopurified from dark-adapted leaves) in a reconstituted assay (Table I), it catalyzed the incorporated 32P on the target from [gamma-32P]ATP in a calcium-free phosphorylation assay (Fig. 1a, lanes 2 and 3), and it had a molecular mass of 32/39 kD, as judged from in-gel renaturation assays (Fig. 1b). The presence of the C- and N-terminal ends in the immunopurified C4 PEPC used in the phosphorylation assay was checked by western-blotting experiments and specific C-terminal specific antibodies (C19-IgGs) and anti-phosphorylation-site antibodies (APS-IgGs) (Fig. 1c). In parallel, Ca2+-dependent PEPCk (PEPC-CDPK) was partially purified by electroelution from a native PAGE (see "Materials and Methods"). This protein kinase was found to strongly bind C4 PEPC in protein extracts and during subsequent chromatography steps using various supports, and it was able to phosphorylate the enzyme on the regulatory Ser in vitro (Nhiri et al., 1998Go; Ogawa et al., 1998Go). However, the extent of phosphorylation was low because this PEPC-CDPK did not significantly decrease the malate sensitivity of C4 PEPC in reconstituted phosphorylation assay (Nhiri et al., 1998Go; Ogawa et al., 1998Go). So far, there is a general agreement that considers this PEPC-CDPK to have no relevance to in planta C4 PEPC phosphorylation (Chollet et al., 1996Go; Vidal et al., 1996Go). However, it may represent a control protein in our PEPCk/C4 PEPC interaction study.


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Table I. Time course of the changes in the apparent phosphorylation state of immunopurified, dark-form C4 PEPC (non-phosphorylated) as measured by the malate sensitivity test (Echevarría et al., 1994)

 


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Figure 1. Characterization of BDA-PEPCk. a, Aliquots of the partially purified BDA-PEPCk containing 30 µg of protein were mixed with the components of the phosphorylation reaction (see "Materials and Methods") and 0.1 units of immunopurified dark-form (non-phosphorylated) C4 PEPC. The phosphorylation reactions were conducted for 45 min at 30°C. Denatured samples were analyzed by SDS-PAGE (10% [w/v] acrylamide) and autoradiographed. Lane 1, C4 PEPC (immunopurified dark form; 0.1 units); lane 2, C4 PEPC (0.1 units) + 30 µg of partially purified BDA-PEPCk; lane 3, lane 2 + 0.5 mM EGTA. A, Autoradiography. B, Coomassie Blue-stained gel. b, In-gel protein renaturation and assay of PEPCk activity. BDA-PEPCk (50 µg) was analyzed after SDS-PAGE (15% [w/v] acrylamide) in a gel polymerized with 0.3 units of immunopurified, dark-form C4 PEPC. The phosphorylation assay was performed in presence of the 1 mM EGTA. The arrows show the PEPCk polypeptides. c, Westernblot analysis of immunopurified dark-form C4 PEPC from sorghum leaves. An aliquot of partially purified C4 PEPC (0.05 units) was resolved by SDS-PAGE (10% [w/v] acrylamide), transferred onto nitrocellulose, and probed with: lane 1, C19-IgGs (40 µg); and lane 2, antiphosphorylation site antibodies (APS-IgGs; 40 µg).

 


The Use of the C19-IgGs to Study the Interaction between C4 PEPC and PEPCk

The well-conserved C terminus domain has been implicated in the maintenance of PEPC stability and catalytic activity of the enzyme (Dong et al., 1999Go). However, to date, its possible implication in the phosphorylation of the enzyme by plant PEPCk has not been investigated. We have tested the hypothesis that this domain may be involved, in addition to the BDA-PEPCk active site/C4 PEPC N-terminal domain, in the interaction between C4 PEPC and the dedicated protein kinase by use of C19-IgGs. The addition of C19-IgGs to a [gamma-32P]ATP-phosphorylation assay did not lead to any significant alteration of C4 PEPC phosphorylation by the Ca2+-independent BDA-PEPCk or the PEPC-CDPK (Fig. 2a). Based on the three-dimensional structure of E. coli PEPC (inactive form with L-Asp; Kai et al., 1999Go) and maize C4 PEPC (active form without L-Asp; Matsumura et al., 2002Go), it has been shown that the C-terminal domain is embedded in a hydrophobic region of the protein subunit. Modeling the three-dimensional structure of sorghum and wheat (Triticum aestivum) seed (J. Vidal, unpublished data; González et al., 2002Go) PEPC has suggested a similar conformation to that of E. coli and maize enzyme. To test the degree of accessibility of the C-terminal end under our experimental condition, we have used both C19-IgGs and APS-IgGs. The APS-IgGs recognizes the N-terminal end of PEPC that contains the phosphorylation motif (Pacquit et al., 1995Go). This sequence is normally exposed in native PEPC (Dong et al., 1999Go); therefore, it has been used as a control. The C19-IgGs and APS-IgGs were incubated separately with denatured (Fig. 2b, D) or native (Fig. 2b, N) C4 PEPC. After incubation, protein A was added to the assay to precipitate the immunocomplexes. Both C19-IgGs and APS-IgGs led to the precipitation of the denatured C4 PEPC to a similar extent (Fig. 2b, D). However, when performed with native C4 PEPC, the C19-IgGs failed to precipitate the protein, whereas the APS-IgGs still precipitated the native form (Fig. 2b, N). These results are in good agreement with the three-dimensional PEPC structures of Kai et al. (1999Go) and Matsumura et al. (2002Go) and show that most of the C19 terminal end of C4 PEPC is embedded in the subunit. This would explain why there was no detectable effect of the antibody on the in vitro phosphorylation of C4 PEPC. However, our results also show that a certain number of C4 PEPC subunits have their C-terminal end accessible to the antibodies. These results suggest that sorghum C4 PEPC could be in two different conformational states in vitro that differ by the accessibility of their C-terminal tail. Investigation is required to determine if these two conformational states operate in vivo.



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Figure 2. a, Effect of C19-IgGs on the in vitro phosphorylation of the C4 PEPC by BDA-PEPCk or PEPC-CDPK. Partially purified BDA-PEPCk (30 µg) and 0.1 units of immunopurified dark-form C4 PEPC or PEPC-CDPK (aliquot that corresponds to 0.1 units of co-eluted C4 PEPC) were pre-incubated for 10 min at 4°C either in the absence (lane 1) or the presence (lane 2) of 40 µg of C19-IgGs. After the pre-incubation period, in vitro phosphorylation was performed in reconstituted assays as described above. Proteins were analyzed by SDS-PAGE (10% [w/v] acrylamide). A, Autoradiography. B, Coomassie Blue staining gel. b, Immunoprecipitation of denatured or native forms of C4 PEPC by the C19-IgGs or APS-IgGs. Aliquots of desalted protein extracts from darkened leaves (0.05 units of C4 PEPC) were heated at 50°C during 2 min (denatured PEPC) or kept on ice (native PEPC) and incubated with C19-IgGs (28 µg) or APS-IgG (30 µg) for 30 min at 4°C. Protein A-Sepharose (4% [w/v]) was added to the incubated samples, and the immunoprecipitates were washed, solubilized in denaturing medium, and analyzed by SDS-PAGE (10% [w/v] acrylamide). Proteins were electrotransferred to a nitrocellulose membrane and probed with polyclonal C4 PEPC antibodies (28 µg of protein). Immunolabeled proteins were detected by a peroxidase assay. Lane 1, Desalted protein extract (control); lane 2, immunoprecipitated C4 PEPC by the C19-IgGs; lane 3, immunoprecipitated C4 PEPC by the APS-IgGs. D, Denatured C4 PEPC; N, native C4 PEPC.

 


The Inhibitory Effect of the C-Terminal Synthetic Peptide (Peptide C19)

Our results demonstrate that two populations of C4 PEPC coexist in vitro, the less abundant one having an accessible C terminus. As a next step to this study, the hypothesis that the PEPCk may interact with this PEPC domain by using the C-terminal synthetic peptide C19 was assessed.

When added to a reconstituted assay containing partially purified BDA-PEPCk, immunopurified nonphosphorylated C4 PEPC, and the components of the phosphorylation reaction, the peptide C19 was able to markedly block PEPC phosphorylation by BDA-PEPCk (Fig. 3A, lane 3). The inhibitory effect of this peptide was also observed when in vitro phosphorylation was performed with a desalted protein extract from illuminated sorghum leaves (Fig. 3A, lanes 5 and 6). In contrast, neither the activity of the partially purified PEPC-CDPK (Fig. 3A, lanes 8 and 9) nor that of the catalytic subunit of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA; shown to be an efficient PEPC kinase, although so far, not found in plants; Terada et al., 1990Go) was affected by similar peptide concentrations (Fig. 3A, lane 12). These findings indicate that the inhibitory effect of the peptide was specific to the BDA-PEPCk.



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Figure 3. Effect of peptide C19 on the in vitro phosphorylation of C4 PEPC. Peptide C19 was pre-incubated at 4°C for 15 min with the different preparations of PEPCk and C4 PEPC. Lanes 2 and 3, Partially purified BDA-PEPCk (12.5 µg) and 0.1 units of immunopurified, dark-form C4 PEPC (non-phosphorylated) from sorghum leaves; lanes 4 to 6, desalted protein extracts (total extract) from illuminated (2 h, at 750 µmol m-2 s-1) sorghum leaves (an amount that corresponds to 0.1 units of endogenous PEPC); lanes 7 to 9, partially purified PEPC-CDPK (an amount that correspond to 0.1 units of co-electroeluted PEPC); lanes 10 to 12, 5 units of PKA (omitted in lane 11) and 0.1 units of immunopurified dark-form C4 PEPC (non-phosphorylated) from sorghum leaves. In vitro phosphorylation was performed as described in "Materials and Methods" for 45 min at 30°C, either in the absence (lanes 2, 4, 7, 10, and 11) or the presence of 20 nmol (lanes 5 and 8) or 40 nmol (lanes 3, 6, 9, and 12) of peptide C19. The denatured samples were analyzed by SDS-PAGE (10% [w/v] acrylamide). Lane 1, Molecular mass markers. A, Autoradiography. B, Coomassie Blue-stained gel.

 

Because peptide C19 is rather hydrophobic, the specificity of its inhibitory action was investigated by the use of a set of synthetic peptides, designed from the reported three-dimensional structure of E. coli PEPC. Computerized modeling of the sorghum C4 PEPC using the bacterial enzyme structure indicated the presence of several exposed additional loops (these were used to define peptides L1, L2, and L3). Peptides L2 and L3 were as hydrophobic as peptide C19. When assayed in the reconstituted assay, they showed no effect on the phosphorylation reaction (Fig. 4a, lanes 2–4).



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Figure 4. a, Effect of peptides L1, L2, and L3 on the in vitro phosphorylation of C4 PEPC. Peptides were pre-incubated at 4°C for 15 min with an aliquot of desalted protein extract (0.1 units of endogenous PEPC) from illuminated (2 h at 750 µmol m-2 s-1) sorghum leaves. In vitro phosphorylation was performed as described in "Materials and Methods" for 45 min at 30°C either in the absence (lane 1) or the presence of 40 nmol of peptide L1 (lane 2), L2 (lane 3), or L3 (lane 4). The denatured samples were analyzed by SDS-PAGE (10% [w/v] acrylamide). A, Autoradiography. B, Coomassie Blue-stained gel. b, Affinity chromatography of BDA-PEPCk on immobilized peptide C19. An aliquot of the partially purified BDA-PEPCk (600 µg of protein) was subjected to affinity chromatography on the peptide C19 (lanes 2 and 3) immobilized on agarose (column HiTrap, Amersham-Pharmacia Biotech, Uppsala). HiTrap filtration without peptide C19 (lanes 4 and 5) was performed as a control. The bound proteins were eluted with distilled water and concentrated by centrifugation (Millipore filter, Millipore, Bedford, MA). Aliquots of eluted fractions (30 µL) were used in reconstituted phosphorylation assays to estimate PEPCk activity in the presence of 0.1 units of immunopurified, dark-form C4 PEPC, and either in the absence (lanes 2 and 4) or the presence (lanes 3 and 5) of 0.5 mM EGTA. Lane 1, C4 PEPC phosphorylation (0.1 units) by partially purified BDA-PEPCk (10 µg) in the presence of 0.5 mM EGTA before loading onto the columns. Proteins were resolved by SDS-PAGE (10% [w/v] acrylamide). A, Autoradiography. B, Coomassie Blue-stained gel.

 

In addition, the BDA-PEPCk fraction was affinity purified using peptide C19 immobilized on agarose (HiTrap, Amersham-Pharmacia Biotech). This column partially, but significantly, retained the enzyme that was subsequently eluted by water (Fig. 4b, lanes 2 and 3). Elution by water (low ionic strength) suggested that the interaction mainly involved hydrophobic bonding. No unspecific binding to the gel matrix was observed because chromatography on the HiTrap resin lacking peptide C19 did not retain BDA-PEPCk (Fig. 4b, lanes 4 and 5). These experiments show that BDA-PEPCk was specifically retained by the presence of peptide C19.

Finally, the 50% inhibition of initial activity (IC50) for peptide C19 was estimated in a phosphorylation assay containing a desalted protein extract from illuminated leaves, supplemented or not with 0.2 units of immunopurified, non-phosphorylated C4 PEPC and the components of the phosphorylation reaction. It was found to be close to 230 µM (Fig. 5).



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Figure 5. IC50 for peptide C19. Desalted protein extracts from illuminated leaves (0.1 units of endogenous PEPC) were supplemented or not with 0.1 units of immunopurified, non-phosphorylated C4 PEPC (exogenous PEPC) and increasing amounts of peptide C19. The phosphorylation reaction was performed for 45 min at 30°C. The denatured samples were analyzed by SDS-PAGE (10% [w/v] acrylamide). A, Autoradiography (quantification by phosphor imager, Fujix BAS 1000, Fuji, Tokyo). B, Coomassie Blue-stained gel. The inhibition of C4 PEPC phosphorylation was expressed as percentage of phosphorylated C4 PEPC in the absence of peptide C19. White circle, Endogenous PEPC phophorylation; dark circle, endogenous and exogenous PEPC phosphorylation.

 


The Inhibitory Domain Is Located Downstream from the QNTG Tetrapeptide

The highly conserved C-terminal domain (highly hydrophobic alpha-helix) of E. coli PEPC and maize PEPC is buried within the core hydrophobic region of the subunit. At its extremity is the non-helical tetrapeptide RNTG (QNTG in the plant enzyme) where the N residue is involved in the binding of the allosteric inhibitor Asp (Dong et al., 1999Go; Kai et al., 1999Go; Matsumura et al., 2002Go). The possibility that this terminal domain was the interaction motif in peptide C19 was investigated. The addition of a truncated peptide, peptide C15 (peptide C19 lacking QNTG residues), to a reconstituted phosphorylation assay essentially had the same inhibitory effect (Fig. 6A, lane 5) as the complete C19 peptide (Fig. 6A, lane 3). This result was confirmed by the use of specific QNTG-IgGs prepared by a two-step chromatography on peptide C19 and peptide C15 columns (HiTrap, Amersham-Pharmacia Biotech). QNTG-IgGs were recovered in the pass through of the peptide C15 column (see "Materials and Methods"). The specificity of these antibodies was checked in a blotting experiment with purified PEPC and the corresponding peptides. The C19-IgGs immunodecorated the C4 PEPC polypeptide, peptide C19, and peptide C15, whereas the QNTG-IgGs detected C4 PEPC and peptide C19 but not peptide C15 (Fig. 7a). When added to a reconstituted assay, these highly specific QNTG-IgGs did not affect the phosphorylation of PEPC in desalted extracts (Fig. 7b). These results show that the QNTG motif is not essential to promote the inhibitory effect; therefore, the interaction region is downstream of the terminal tetrapeptide.



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Figure 6. Effect of peptide C15 on the in vitro phosphorylation of C4 PEPC. Desalted protein extracts were prepared from illuminated sorghum leaves (2 h at 750 µmol m-2 s-1) and aliquots (0.1 units of endogenous PEPC) were pre-incubated for 15 min at 4°C either in the absence (lanes 2 and 4) or the presence of 20 nmol peptide C19 (lane 3) or peptide C15 (lane 5). After the pre-incubation period, the components of the phosphorylation assay were added and the phosphorylation reaction carried out for 45 min at 30°C. Proteins were analyzed by SDS-PAGE (10% [w/v] acrylamide). The gel was analyzed with a phosphor imager (Fujix BAS 1000, Fuji). Lane 1, Molecular mass markers. A, Autoradiography. B, Coomassie Blue-stained gel.

 


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Figure 7. a, Specificity of the QNTG-IgGs. Immunopurified C4 PEPC (0,15 units), peptide C19 (40 nmol), or peptide C15 (40 nmol) were blotted onto a nitrocellulose membrane. The membrane was incubated with the C19 or QNTG-IgGs (20 µg). Immunolabeled protein and peptides were detected by a peroxidase assay. b, Effect of QNTG-IgGs on the in vitro phosphorylation of C4 PEPC. Desalted protein extracts were prepared from illuminated sorghum leaves (2 h at 750 µmol m-2 s-1) and aliquots containing 0.1 units of C4 PEPC were pre-incubated for 15 min at 4°C either in the absence (-) or the presence (+) of 28 µg of QNTG-IgGs. After the pre-incubation period, the proteins were mixed with the components of the phosphorylation assay. The phosphorylation reaction was performed at 30°C for 45 min, then proteins were resolved by SDS-PAGE (10% [w/v] acrylamide). The gel was analyzed with a phosphor imager (Fujix BAS 1000, Fuji). A, Autoradiography. B, Coomassie Blue-stained gel.

 

Collectively, our results show for the first time, to our knowledge, that a synthetic peptide corresponding to the C-terminal end of C4 PEPC interacts specifically with the genuine Ca2+-independent PEPCk and inhibits in vitro C4 PEPC phosphorylation. Among the 19 amino acids, the presence of the QNTG tetrapeptide is not mandatory to promote this inhibitory effect.


    DISCUSSION
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 LITERATURE CITED
 
Studies on mutated C4 PEPCs in the phosphorylation domain have led to the proposition that the interaction of PEPCk with its target is not restricted to this domain. However, no information is available as to where this could occur on PEPC (Wang et al., 1992Go; Li et al., 1997Go). The C-terminal domain is highly conserved in all PEPCs sequenced so far. It has been implicated in the maintenance of the stability of the protein (Grisvard et al., 1998Go; Dong et al., 1999Go), the maintenance of the catalytic activity, and the oligomerization state of the enzyme (Dong et al., 1999Go). However, to date, the possible implication of the C-terminal tail in the phosphorylation of PEPC by plant PEPCk has not been studied. In the present work, this issue was investigated by using synthetic peptides (based on the C-terminal sequence of C4 PEPC from sorghum) and corresponding antibodies. In a first set of experiments, specific antibodies raised against peptide C19 were used. It was assumed that this antibody might react with the putative interaction domain and affect PEPC phosphorylation. However, when added to the reconstituted assay system, these antibodies barely affected the phosphorylation reaction (Fig. 2a). This result raised the question of whether the antibodies could bind to the corresponding C4 PEPC epitopes. In fact, blotting experiments showed that C19 IgGs cross-reacted with a heat-denatured C4 PEPC but much less with the native enzyme. This indicated that the C-terminal tail domain is embedded in the native enzyme, in good agreement with the recently reported three-dimensional structures of E. coli (Kai et al., 1999Go) and maize PEPCs (Matsumura et al., 2002Go). However, the antibody still could bind, and this may also be valid for the PEPCk.

On the other hand, if PEPCk binding to the C4 PEPC C-terminal is required for catalytic efficiency, the peptide should compete with the target, thus decreasing the catalytic rate in a phosphorylation assay. Peptide C19 (containing the last 19-amino acid sequence of the C-terminal tail of sorghum C4 PEPC) inhibited in a dose-dependent manner (IC50 = 230 µM) the in vitro phosphorylation of C4 PEPC by the BDA-PEPCk. Interestingly, the peptide did not have any effect on the other kinases capable of phosphorylating the C4 PEPC e.g. PEPC-CDPK and PKA. Because peptide C19 is highly hydrophobic, much like the BDA-PEPCk, a nonspecific interaction could occur. This was checked by using synthetic peptides (L1, L2, and L3) designed from computerized modeling of the C4 PEPC (by reference to the three-dimensional structure of E. coli PEPC and from loops that are not present in the bacterial PEPC). In addition, peptides L2 and L3 were as hydrophobic as peptide C19. It was observed that neither of them decreased the phosphorylation rate of PEPC in the reconstituted assay. Furthermore, when the BDA-PEPCk was subjected to affinity chromatography on the peptide C19-agarose column, the enzyme was partially but significantly retained and the bound fraction subsequently eluted by water. Altogether, these results show that peptide C19 interacts with the BDA-PEPCk in a very specific manner.

In the phosphorylation assay, peptide C15 (peptide C19 lacking the QNTG motif) had a similar inhibitory effect to that of peptide C19, thereby showing that the interaction domain is located downstream from the QNTG end. The addition of specific QNTG IgGs to a reconstituted assay did not affect the phosphorylation of C4 PEPC by the PEPCk. Along these lines, Dong et al. (1999Go) showed that the absence of the QNTG residues in a partially purified MutC-4 PEPC from sorghum leaf did not impair the correct phosphorylation of the mutated enzyme. However, in this experiment, the PKA was used to phosphorylated PEPC instead of the plant PEPCk.

To our knowledge, the results in this work show for the first time that a peptide containing the 19-amino acid sequence from the C-terminal tail of C4 PEPC interacts with the genuine Ca2+-independent PEPCk. In addition, we show by using the C19-IgGs that the C-terminal domain is partially offset in the native enzyme but that it could still bind the antibodies. This result suggests that C4 PEPC could be, in vitro, in two different conformational states. In one of them, the C-terminal end is accessible to IgGs and, therefore, to the PEPCk. However, this C-terminal-accessible form of PEPC seems to be in low abundance in our reconstituted assay, and no effect of the specific C19-IgGs was detected.

It has been shown that metabolites affect the in vitro phosphorylation of C4 PEPC by PEPCk, e.g. it is inhibited by L-malate, and this effect is counteracted by sugar-P-like glucose-6-phosphate (Echevarría et al., 1994Go). This effect is via an indirect substrate effect (Wang and Chollet 1993Go). In addition, the determination of the three-dimensional structure of E coli and maize PEPCs has shown that the antepenultimate (N) residue in the C-terminus of the enzyme (R/QNTG tetrapeptide) is part of the Asp/malate-binding site, and it is conserved in all PEPC proteins sequenced so far (Kai et al., 1999Go; Matsumura et al., 2002Go). This information is meaningful because the presence of the metabolites in the inhibitory site would cause a local conformational change in the PEPC/PEPCk interaction. In fact, it has been shown by the comparison of the structures of the R and T (in presence of Asp) states of PEPCs that there are dynamic movements in the C-terminal region (Matsumura et al., 2002Go). However, if this movement alters the accessibility of the C terminus to allow the C4 PEPC to interact with PEPCk still needs to be investigated.

It could be that the hydrophobic C-terminal domain is only accessible in specific cellular environmental conditions depending on pH, substrate and effector concentrations, and/or phosphorylation, oligomerization, or redox state of the PEPC. The hypothesis is a possible and specific dialogue between the cell and the PEPC via the degree of accessibility of its C-terminal end. Further studies are necessary to determine the exact conditions that could make the C-terminal tail accessible and if these different conformational states operate in vivo.

Alternatively, it can be hypothesized that the inhibitory effect exerted by the peptide C19 on C4 PEPC phosphorylation is related to the active site of PEPCk. This can be viewed as an auto-inhibitory-like effect (when the C-terminal domain of PEPC is made available for interaction with the active site of the PEPCk). In this case, the hypothesis that the allosteric interaction of the protein kinase with PEPC governs PEPC phosphorylation is no longer valid. The active site inhibition hypothesis would confer what has been called a " unique protein kinase" (because no classical regulatory mechanism applies to this kinase), a variation of a regulatory mechanism that is commonly found for protein kinases.

Finally, it also could be that in vivo PEPC proteolysis generates a C-terminal peptide, thereby resulting in a negative feedback on PEPC phosphorylation. This could also be performed by a polypeptide carrying a similar sequence. For instance, the occurrence in plant extracts of a protein inhibiting the PEPCk activity in vitro has been described (Nimmo et al., 2001Go); whether this inhibitory effect involves a C-terminal-based mechanism remains to be determined. Current work is attempting to check some of these hypotheses.


    MATERIALS AND METHODS
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 LITERATURE CITED
 

Materials

Peptide C19 contains the entire C-terminal sequence {amino acids 942–960 [(Y)942EDTLILTMKGIAAGMQNTG960]} of sorghum (Sorghum vulgare Pers cv Tamaran) C4 PEPC. Peptide C15 is peptide C19 lacking the terminal QNTG [(Y)942EDTLILTMKGIAAGM956]. Both polypeptides and the anti-peptide C19 antiserum were from NEOSYSTEM S.A. (Strasbourg, France). The APS-IgGs were raised against the N-terminal [4ERHHSIDAQLRALAPGKVSEE24] of sorghum C4 PEPC containing the phosphorylation motif (Pacquit et al., 1995Go). Peptides LI (108LAHRRRNSKLKHGDFSDEGS127), L2 (333AEEVQSTPASKKVTKYYIEFWKQIPPNE 360), and L3 (907SFKVTPQPPLSKEFADENKPAGLVKLN933) correspond to additional loops present in the computerized model of the sorghum C4 PEPC compared with the three-dimensional structure of Escherichia coli PEPC. Peptides L2 and L3 were as hydrophobic as peptide C19. One-milliliter HiTrap/NHS affinity columns were from Amersham-Pharmacia Biotech.


Plant Growth Conditions

Sorghum plants were grown under controlled environmental conditions in a greenhouse under a 12-h photoperiod (350 µmoL m-2 s-1, photosynthetically active radiation) and a temperature of 28°C/20°C (light/dark). The plants were irrigated with a nutrient solution (Hewitt, 1966Go) every 3 d.


Preparation of Desalted Protein Extracts

Fully expanded youngest leaves were excised and dark adapted or illuminated (750 µmoL m-2 s-1) for 2 h. Leaf tissue (8 cm2) was immediately ground in a chilled mortar with 1 mL of buffer A (100 mM Tris-HCl [pH 7.5], 20% [v/v] glycerol, 1 mM EDTA, 10 mM MgCl2, 14 mM {beta}-mercaptoethanol, 1 mM phenylmethysulfonylfluoride [PMSF], 10 µg mL-1 chymostatin, 10 µg mL-1 leupeptin, 2 µg mL-1 pepstatin, and 10 mM potassium fluoride). The homogenate was centrifuged at 15,000g for 2 min, and the supernatant was filtered through Sephadex G-25 equilibrated with buffer A without {beta}-mercaptoethanol. The desalted extract was used rapidly to determine the activity and sensitivity of PEPC to L-malate under suboptimal assay conditions, as described below, and in the in vitro phosphorylation assay.


Immunopurification of Dark-Form PEPC (Non-Phosphorylated) from Sorghum Leaves

The PEPC from darkened sorghum leaves was purified by affinity chromatography on an immuno-adsorbent column (Vidal et al., 1981Go). The C4 PEPC was purified as described by Bakrim et al. (1992Go), except that leaves were extracted (15 g fresh mass) in 75 mL of buffer B (100 mM Tris-HCl [pH 7.5], 5% [v/v] glycerol, 1 mM EDTA, 10 mM MgCl2, 14 mM {beta}-mercaptoethanol, 1 mM PMSF, 10 µg mL-1 chymostatin, 10 µg mL-1 leupeptin, 2 µg mL-1 pepstatin, and 2% [w/v] polyvinylpyrrolidone [PVP]). Purified PEPC was stored in water with 20% (v/v) glycerol at -20°C and was used as exogenous PEPC in the in vitro phosphorylation assay and in the "in-gel" phosphorylation assay.


Partial Purification of the Ca2+-Independent PEPCk Using BDA-Affinity Chromatography (BDA-PEPCk)

This was essentially done according to the procedure of Jiao and Chollet (1989Go). All procedures were carried out at 4°C. Illuminated (2 h, 750 µmol m-2 s-1) sorghum leaves (40 g) were homogenized in a blender with 200 mL of buffer C (100 mM Tris-HCl [pH 7.5], 10 mM MgCl2, 1 mM EDTA, 5% [v/v] glycerol, 14 mM {beta}-mercaptoethanol, 2% [w/v] PVP, 1 mM PMSF, and 10 mM potassium fluoride). The homogenate was filtered through two layers of an 80-µm nylon net and centrifuged at 48,000g for 20 min. The supernatant fraction was brought to 60% (w/v) saturation with ammonium sulfate. After incubation with gentle stirring for 10 min, the precipitated protein was centrifuged at 17,000g for 15 min. The pellet was dissolved in 7 mL of buffer D (50 mM Tris-HCl [pH 7.5], 5% [v/v] glycerol, 1 mM dithiotreitol [DTT], and 1 mM PMSF) and desalted on a Sephadex G-25 column equilibrated with buffer D. The desalted extract (50 mg of protein) was loaded at a flow rate of 0.2 mL min-1 on a BDA column (25 mL, Sigma, St. Louis) equilibrated with buffer D and connected to a Bio-Rad Econo-System (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Hercules, CA). The column was washed with 250 mL of buffer D, then bound proteins were eluted with 500 mM NaCl in buffer D. Fractions were collected and protein precipitated by ammonium sulfate to 60% (w/v) saturation for 12 h at 4°C and then centrifuged at 17,000g for 10 min. The protein pellet (300 µg) was dissolved in 300 µL of buffer E (50 mM Tris-HCl [pH 7.8], 5% [v/v] glycerol, and 1 mM DTT) and then desalted by dialysis against 250 mL of buffer E for 12 h. Desalted samples were stored at -20°C until use.


Partial Purification of PEPC-CDPK Co-Electro-Eluted with PEPC from Native PAGE

All steps were performed at 4°C. Illuminated (350 µmol m-2 s-1) sorghum leaves were chopped (2 g) and ground thoroughly in a chilled mortar with washed sand in 10 mL of buffer F (100 mM Tris-HCl [pH 8.0], 10 mM MgCl2, 1 mM EDTA, 5% [v/v] glycerol, 14 mM {beta}-mercaptoethanol, 1 mM PMSF, 10 µg mL-1 chymostatin, 10 µg mL-1 leupeptin, 2 µg mL-1 pepstatin, and 2% [w/v] PVP). The homogenate was filtered through two layers of an 80-µm nylon net, precipitated by ammonium sulfate to 30% (w/v) saturation, and then centrifuged at 48,000g for 30 min. The clear supernatant was precipitated by ammonium sulfate to 60% (w/v) and centrifuged at 17,000g for 10 min. The protein pellet was dissolved in 500 µL of buffer G (buffer F without {beta}-mercaptoethanol and PVP) and desalted on Sephadex G-25 column equilibrated with buffer G.

L-malate (5 mM) and 0.01% (w/v) bromphenol blue were added to desalted extract (450 µg) and loaded onto a native-PAGE (5% [w/v] acrylamide). After electrophoresis (100 V for 3 h), the PEPC band was located by incubation of the gel for 5 min in a medium containing the assay components of PEPC activity and 0.16 mM CaCl2. Pi released by the PEPC reaction precipitated as a white calcium phosphate band. The PEPC band was excised from the gel and proteins were electro-eluted for 12 h at 5 V (model 422 Electro-eluter, Bio-Rad). Proteins (1.3 mg) were recovered in Tris-Gly buffer (25 mM Tris-HCl and 192 mM Gly [pH 8.3]) and stored at -20°C. This highly purified fraction contained PEPC and a Ca2+-dependent C4 PEPCk that comigrate during PAGE with C4 PEPC. It was used in the in vitro phosphorylation assay as PEPC-CDPK fraction.


Purification of Ca2+-Independent PEPCk by Affinity Chromatography

One milligram of peptide C19 was dissolved in 900 µL of 100 mM HEPES-NaOH (pH 8.0) and covalently linked to a HiTrap/NHS affinity column (1 mL) according to the manufacturer's instructions. The calculated molecular mass for peptide C19 was 2,127.4 D. One mg of the lyophylized powder contained 0.85 mg/0.39 µmol of peptide. The coupling reaction was performed at room temperature for 5 h, blocked with 1 M Tris-HCl (pH 8), and the column (peptide C19 affinity column) was equilibrated in the appropriate buffer. In parallel, the same treatment was performed to another column (a control column) where the peptide C19 was omitted.

The partially purified BDA-PEPCk (600 µg of protein/100 µL) was loaded (0.05 mL min-1) onto the peptide C19 affinity column equilibrated with buffer H (50 mM Tris-HCl [pH 7.8], 1 mM DTT, and 20% [w/v] glycerol). The column was washed with 5 mL of buffer H supplemented with 0.5 M NaCl using a flow rate of 0.2 mL min-1. The bound proteins were eluted with 3 mL of distilled water. The eluted fractions were concentrated to a volume of 100 µL by centrifugation at 15,000g for 1 h at 4°C using a Millipore filter (10,000 D).


Purification of Highly Specific Antibody against the QNTG Epitope (QNTG-IgGs)

One milligram of peptide C19 was dissolved in 400 µL of 0.2 M NaHCO3 and 0.5 M NaCl (pH 8.3) and covalently linked to a HiTrap/NHS affinity column (1 mL) according to the procedure described above. After coupling, the column was equilibrated with 4 mL of phosphate-buffered saline (PBS; 0.25 M NaH2PO4 and 0.15 M NaCl [pH 7.5]), and 1 mL of C19-IgGs (5 mg) was loaded onto the column. Fixation was performed at room temperature for 2 h. Unfixed material was washed with 3 mL of PBS, and the bound IgGs were eluted with 0.2 M citric acid (pH 2.6). Peptide C19-specific IgGs were precipitated by ammonium sulfate at 60% (w/v) saturation, collected by centrifugation, and dissolved in 200 µL of PBS.

These highly purified C19-IgGs were loaded onto a peptide C15 column (peptide C15 covalently linked to a HiTrap/NHS affinity column as described above). The calculated molecular mass for peptide C15 was 1,727 D. One milligram of lyophylized powder contained 0.57 µmol peptide. The unbound IgGs containing specific antibody against the last four amino acids (QNTG) were precipitated with ammonium sulfate to 60% (w/v) saturation, dissolved in PBS, and stored at -20°C until use.


Immunoprecipitation of Native or Heat-Denatured C4 PEPC Forms

Aliquots of crude extracts from darkened leaves (0.045 units of C4 PEPC) were heated at 50°C for 2 min (denatured PEPC) or kept on ice (native PEPC). C19-IgGs (28 µg/20 µL) or APS-IgGs (30 µg/20 µL) were added and incubated for 30 min at 4°C. After the incubation, 4% (w/v) protein A-Sepharose was added to the incubated sample and vortexed briefly (5-min interval) for 15 min. The beaded immunocomplexes were sedimented by centrifugation at 12,000g for 5 min, washed once with buffer (0.5 M Tris-HCl [pH 8.0], 1.5 M NaCl, and 1% [v/v] Triton X-100), and twice with 0.1 M HEPES-NaOH (pH 7.1). The pellets were dissolved in SDS sample buffer (50 mM Tris-HCl [pH 8.8], 20% [v/v] glycerol, 1% [w/v] SDS, 14 mM {beta}-mercaptoethanol, and 0.05% [v/v] bromphenol blue), heated for 10 min at 90°C, and centrifuged for 5 min at 12,000g at room temperature.


Electrophoresis and Western Blotting

The samples were subjected to SDS-PAGE (10% [w/v] acrylamide) according to the method of Laemmli (1970Go) for 2 h at 100 V and room temperature in a Mini-PROTEAN II cell (Bio-Rad Laboratories). After electrophoresis, proteins on the gels were stained with Coomassie Blue R-250 or electroblotted onto a nitrocellulose membrane (N-8017, Sigma) at 10 V (5.5 mA cm-2) for 30 min in a semidry transfer blot apparatus (Bio-Rad Laboratories). Membranes were blocked in Tris-buffered saline (20 mM Tris-HCl and 0.15 mM NaCl [pH 7.5]) containing 5% (w/v) powdered milk, and PEPC bands were immunochemically labeled by overnight incubation of the membranes at room temperature in 20 mL of Tris-buffered saline containing 40 µg of C19-IgGs or 40 µg of APS-IgGs. Subsequent detection was with a peroxidase assay using affinity-purified goat anti-rabbit IgG horseradish peroxidase conjugate (Bio-Rad Laboratories).


Assay of PEPC Activity and Its Inhibition by L-Malate

PEPC activity was measured spectrophotometrically at optimal pH (8.0) using the NAD-malate dehydrogenase-coupled assay at 2.5 mM phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP; Echevarría et al., 1994Go). Assays were initiated by addition of an aliquot of the protein samples. An enzyme unit is defined as the amount of PEPC that catalyzes the carboxylation of 1 µmol PEP min-1 at pH 8.0, 30°C. Malate sensitivity was determined at suboptimal pH (7.3) in the presence or absence of 1 mM L-malate (Echevarría et al., 1994Go).


In Vitro Phosphorylation and In-Gel Phosphorylation Assay

An aliquot of the BDA-PEPCk (30 µg of protein), PEPC-CDPK (an aliquot that contained 0.1 units of PEPC), or 5 units of the catalytic subunit of PKA from bovine heart was pre-incubated at 4°C for 15 min in the presence of similar amounts of peptide C19 or C15. After pre-incubation was completed, reconstituted assays were performed in 70 µL of 100 mM Tris-HCl (pH 7.8), 20% (v/v) glycerol, and 5 mM MgCl2. In vitro phosphorylation using desalted protein extracts from illuminated leaves (aliquots containing 0.1 units of PEPC) was performed as described above in presence of 0.25 mM P1P5-di(adenosine-5')-pentaphosphate (adenylate kinase inhibitor), 4 mM phosphocreatine, and 10 mM creatine phosphokinase (components of the ADP scavenging system; Echevarría et al., 1990Go). The reaction was initiated by the addition of 1 µCi [gamma-32P]ATP (10 Ci mmol-1) and incubated at 30°C for 45 min. In assays where BDA-PEPCk or PKA was tested, 0.1 units of immunopurified dark-form C4 PEPC (non-phosphorylated) from sorghum leaves was added at reconstituted assay as substrate. The phosphorylation reaction was stopped by the addition of 25 µL of SDS sample buffer (described above) and heated for 2 min at 90°C. The denatured samples were analyzed by SDS-PAGE (10% [w/v] acrylamide). Proteins in the gels were stained with Coomassie Blue R-250. The gel was analyzed with a phosphor imager (Fujix BAS 1000, Fuji).

The effect of C19-IgGs on C4 PEPC phosphorylation was checked after a 10 min-pre-incubation (4°C) of affinity-purified C19-IgGs (40 µg) with the BDA-PEPCk (30 µg) or PEPC-CDPK (aliquot containing 0.1 units of PEPC) and the component of the phosphorylation reaction before the addition of 1 µCi [gamma-32P]ATP. The effects of QNTG-IgGs (40 µg) on the in vitro phosphorylation assay were performed using desalted extracts (aliquots containing 0.1 units of PEPC) in the presence of 0.25 mM P1P5-di(adenosine-5')-pentaphosphate (adenylate kinase inhibitor), 4 mM phosphocreatine, and 10 mM creatine phosphokinase (components of the ADP scavenging system).

The procedure for the "in-gel" assay of protein kinase activity after SDS-PAGE and subsequent renaturation of protein in the gel was essentially the same as described previously by Wang and Chollet (1993Go), except that the 15% (w/v) acrylamide gels were polymerized in the presence of immunopurified dark-form C4 PEPC (0.3 mg mL-1).

Protein determinations were performed by the method of Bradford (1976Go) using bovine serum albumin as a standard.


    ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
 
The authors thank Dr Michael Hodges for valuable comments, the selection of peptides L1, L2, and L3, and critical reading and correction of the manuscript.

Received March 21, 2003; returned for revision March 25, 2003; accepted March 25, 2003.


    FOOTNOTES
 
Article, publication date, and citation information can be found at www.plantphysiol.org/cgi/doi/10.1104/pp.103.023937.

1 This work was supported by the Dirección General de Investigación Cientifica y Técnica (grant nos. PB97–0745–CO2–02 and BCM2001–2366–CO3–02), by the "Acción Integrada HispanoFrancesa HF2000–0009," and by the "Grupo de Investigación de Fisiología Vegetal CVI134" from La Junta de Andalucía. Back

* Corresponding author; e-mail echeva{at}us.es; fax 34–954615780.


    LITERATURE CITED
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
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