Tyrosine metabolism: identification of a key residue in the acquisition of prephenate aminotransferase activity by 1β aspartate aminotransferase

International audienceAlternative routes for the post-chorismate branch of the biosynthetic pathway leading to tyrosine exist, the 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate or the arogenate route. The arogenate route involves the transamination of prephenate into arogenate. In a previous study, we found that, depending on the microorganisms possessing the arogenate route, three different aminotransferases evolved to perform prephenate transamination, that is, 1β aspartate aminotransferase (1β AAT), N-succinyl-l,l-diaminopimelate aminotransferase, and branched-chain aminotransferase. The present work aimed at identifying molecular determinant(s) of 1β AAT prephenate aminotransferase (PAT) activity. To that purpose, we conducted X-ray crystal structure analysis of two PAT competent 1β AAT from Arabidopsis thaliana and Rhizobium meliloti and one PAT incompetent 1β AAT from R. meliloti. This structural analysis supported by site-directed mutagenesis, modeling, and molecular dynamics simulations allowed us to identify a molecular determinant of PAT activity in the flexible N-terminal loop of 1β AAT. Our data reveal that a Lys/Arg/Gln residue in position 12 in the sequence (numbering according to Thermus thermophilus 1β AAT), present only in PAT competent enzymes, could interact with the 4-hydroxyl group of the prephenate substrate, and thus may have a central role in the acquisition of PAT activity by 1β AAT

Identification of the Arabidopsis calmodulin-dependent NAD+ kinase that sustains the elicitor-induced oxidative burst

International audience17 NADP(H) is an essential cofactor of multiple metabolic processes in all living organisms. In plants, 18 NADP(H) is required as the substrate of Ca 2+-dependent NADPH oxidases which catalyze a reactive 19 oxygen species burst in response to various stimuli. While NADP + production in plants has long been 20 known to involve a Calmodulin and Calcium (CaM)/Ca 2+-dependent NAD + kinase, the nature of the 21 enzyme catalyzing this activity has remained enigmatic, as well as its role in plant physiology. Here, 22 thanks to a combination of proteomics, biochemistry, molecular biology and in vivo studies, we have 23 identified an Arabidopsis protein that catalyzes NADP + production exclusively in the presence of 24 CaM/Ca 2+. This new enzyme (NADKc) has a CaM-binding peptide located in its N-terminal region and 25 displays peculiar biochemical properties as well as different domain organization compared to known 26 plant NAD + kinases. In response to a pathogen elicitor, activity of NADKc, which is associated with the 27 mitochondrial periphery, contributes to an increase in the cellular NADP + concentration and to the 28 amplification of the elicitor-induced oxidative burst. Based on a phylogenetic analysis and enzymatic 29 assays, we propose that the CaM/Ca 2+-dependent NAD + kinase activity found in photosynthetic 3

Trafficking of Siderophore Transporters in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Intracellular Fate of Ferrioxamine B Conjugates

We have studied the intracellular trafficking of Sit1 [ferrioxamine B (FOB) transporter] and Enb1 (enterobactin transporter) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae using green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusion proteins. Enb1 was constitutively targeted to the plasma membrane. Sit1 was essentially targeted to the vacuolar degradation pathway when synthesized in the absence of substrate. Massive plasma membrane sorting of Sit1 was induced by various siderophore substrates of Sit1, and by coprogen, which is not a substrate of Sit1. Thus, different siderophore transporters use different regulated trafficking processes. We also studied the fate of Sit1-mediated internalized siderophores. Ferrioxamine B was recovered in isolated vacuolar fractions, where it could be detected spectrophotometrically. Ferrioxamine B coupled to an inhibitor of mitochondrial protoporphyrinogen oxidase (acifluorfen) could not reach its target unless the cells were disrupted, confirming the tight compartmentalization of siderophores within cells. Ferrioxamine B coupled to a fluorescent moiety, FOB-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazole, used as a Sit1-dependent iron source, accumulated in the vacuolar lumen even in mutants displaying a steady-state accumulation of Sit1 at the plasma membrane or in endosomal compartments. Thus, the fates of siderophore transporters and siderophores diverge early in the trafficking process

Herbicide-Resistant Crops: Utilities and Limitations for Herbicide-Resistant Weed Management

Since 1996, genetically modified herbicide-resistant (HR) crops, particularly glyphosate-resistant (GR) crops, have transformed the tactics that corn, soybean, and cotton growers use to manage weeds. The use of GR crops continues to grow, but weeds are adapting to the common practice of using only glyphosate to control weeds. Growers using only a single mode of action to manage weeds need to change to a more diverse array of herbicidal, mechanical, and cultural practices to maintain the effectiveness of glyphosate. Unfortunately, the introduction of GR crops and the high initial efficacy of glyphosate often lead to a decline in the use of other herbicide options and less investment by industry to discover new herbicide active ingredients. With some exceptions, most growers can still manage their weed problems with currently available selective and HR crop-enabled herbicides. However, current crop management systems are in jeopardy given the pace at which weed populations are evolving glyphosate resistance. New HR crop technologies will expand the utility of currently available herbicides and enable new interim solutions for growers to manage HR weeds, but will not replace the long-term need to diversify weed management tactics and discover herbicides with new modes of action. This paper reviews the strengths and weaknesses of anticipated weed management options and the best management practices that growers need to implement in HR crops to maximize the long-term benefits of current technologies and reduce weed shifts to difficult-to-control and HR weeds

Contribution a l'etude du mode d'action des herbicides de type diphenylether

SIGLEAvailable from INIST (FR), Document Supply Service, under shelf-number : T 78463 / INIST-CNRS - Institut de l'Information Scientifique et TechniqueFRFranc

Photoreceptors and respiratory electron flow involvement in the activity of acifluorfen-methyl and LS 82-556 on nonchlorophyllous soybean cells

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Photoreceptors and respiratory electron flow involvement in the activity of acifluorfen-methyl and LS 82-556 on nonchlorophyllous soybean cells

International audienc

Studies on the mode of action of acifluorfen-methyl in nonchlorophyllous soybean cells

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