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R Douce

Publications and source records attributed to R Douce.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

A nuclear-encoded potato (Solanum tuberosum) mitochondrial tRNA(Leu) and its cytosolic counterpart have identical nucleotide sequences.

Sequencing of potato mitochondrial (mt) tRNA(Leu)(NAA) and of its cytosolic (cyt) counterpart revealed that these tRNAs are identical, except for a post-transcriptional modification: a Gm is present at position 18 in mt tRNA(Leu), instead of a G in cyt tRNA(Leu). Hybridization studies have shown that potato mt tRNA(Leu)(NAA) has a nuclear origin and must therefore be imported from the cytosol.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1990

Intraorganelle localization and substrate specificities of the mitochondrial acyl-CoA: sn-glycerol-3-phosphate O-acyltransferase and acyl-CoA: 1-acyl-sn-glycerol-3-phosphate O-acyltransferase from potato tubers and pea leaves.

The mitochondrial sn-glycerol-3-phosphate and 1-acyl-sn-glycerol-3-phosphate O-acyltransferases from potato tubers and pea leaves were investigated with respect to their intraorganelle localization, their positional and substrate specificities, and their fatty acid selectivities. In mitochondria from potato tubers both enzymes were found to be located in the outer membrane. The 1-acyl-sn-glycerol-3-phosphate O-acyltransferase of pea mitochondria showed the same intraorganelle localization whereas the sn-glycerol-3-phosphate O-acyltransferase behaved like a soluble protein of the intermembrane space. The sn-glycerol-3-phosphate O-acyltransferase of both potato and pea mitochondria used sn-glycerol-3-phosphate but not dihydroxyacetone phosphate as acyl acceptor and exclusively catalyzed the formation of 1-acyl-sn-glycerol-3-phosphate which subsequently served as substrate for the second acylation reaction at its C-2 position. Both acyltransferases of potato as well as pea mitochondria showed higher activities with acyl-CoA than with the corresponding acyl-(acyl carrier protein) thioesters. When different acyl-CoA thioesters were offered separately, the sn-glycerol-3-phosphate O-acyltransferase of potato mitochondria displayed no fatty acid specificity whereas the enzyme of pea mitochondria revealed one for saturated acyl groups. On the other hand, the mitochondrial 1-acyl-sn-glycerol-3-phosphate O-acyltransferases from both potato tubers and pea leaves were more active on unsaturated than on saturated acyl-CoA thioesters. Furthermore, these enzymes preferentially used oleoyl- and linoleoyl-CoA when they were offered in a mixture with saturated ones, although the fatty acid selectivity of the pea enzyme was less pronounced than that of the potato enzyme. The sn-glycerol-3-phosphate O-acyltransferase of potato mitochondria displayed a slight preference for saturated acyl groups.

1-Acylglycerol-3-Phosphate O-Acyltransferase↗
PubMed1990

31P NMR studies of spinach leaves and their chloroplasts.

An experimental arrangement is described which enables high quality 31P NMR spectra of compressed spinach leaf pieces to be continuously recorded in which all the resonances observed (cytoplasmic and vacuolar Pi, glycerate-3-P, nucleotides) were sharp and well resolved. 31P NMR spectra obtained from intact chloroplasts showed a distinct peak of stromal Pi. An upfield shift of the stromal Pi resonance was associated with a decrease in the external Pi and vice versa. Nucleotides were largely invisible to NMR in intact chloroplasts, whereas the same nucleotides reappeared in a typical 31P NMR spectrum of an acid extract of intact chloroplasts. Perfusion of compressed spinach leaf pieces with a medium containing Pi triggered a dramatic increase in the vacuolar Pi over 12 h. Addition of choline to the Pi-free perfusate of compressed leaf pieces resulted in a steady accumulation of phosphorylcholine in the cytoplasmic compartment at the expense of cytoplasmic Pi. When a threshold of cytoplasmic Pi concentration was attained, Pi was drawn from the vacuole to sustain choline phosphorylation. In spinach leaves, the vacuole represents a potentially large Pi reservoir, and cycling of Pi through vacuolar influx (energy dependent) and efflux pathways is an efficient system that may provide for control over the cytosolic-free Pi and phosphorylated intermediate concentrations. 31P NMR spectra of neutralized perchloric acid extracts of spinach leaves showed well defined multipeak resonances (quadruplet) of intracellular phytate. The question of cytosolic Pi concentration in green cells is discussed.

Adenine Nucleotides↗
PubMed1990

Do thylakoids really contain phosphatidylcholine?

Isolated intact spinach chloroplasts were incubated with phospholipase C (phosphatidylcholine cholinephosphohydrolase, EC 3.1.4.3) under mild experimental conditions in which only the phosphatidylcholine localized in the cytosolic leaflet of the outer envelope membrane can be hydrolyzed. Thylakoids, which were protected from phospholipase C degradation, were subsequently prepared from the phospholipase C-treated chloroplasts and found to be devoid of phosphatidylcholine. Previously reported occurrences of phosphatidylcholine in thylakoid preparations probably reflect contamination of the thylakoids by envelope membranes. In the present work, contamination of thylakoids by envelope membranes was determined by measuring the 1,2-diacylglycerol 3-beta-galactosyltransferase [monogalactosyldiacylglycerol (MGDG) synthase; UDPgalactose: 1,2-diacylglycerol 3-beta-D-galactosyltransferase, EC 2.4.1.46] in the different chloroplast subfractions. We conclude that phosphatidylcholine is not present in highly purified thylakoids. Phosphatidylcholine is also absent from prokaryotic cyanobacterial membranes, and our results are in agreement with the endosymbiotic origin of higher plant chloroplasts.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1990

Transport of phosphocholine in higher plant cells: 31P nuclear magnetic resonance studies.

Phosphocholine (PC) is an abundant primary form of organic phosphate that is transported in plant xylem sap. Addition of PC to the perfusate of compressed Pi-starved sycamore cells monitored by 31P NMR spectroscopy resulted in an accumulation of PC and all the other phosphate esters in the cytoplasmic compartment. Addition of hemicholinium-3, an inhibitor of choline uptake, to the perfusate inhibited PC accumulation but not inorganic phosphate (Pi). When the Pi-starved cells were perfused with a medium containing either Pi or PC, the resulting Pi distribution in the cell was the same. Addition of choline instead of PC to the perfusate of compressed cells resulted in an accumulation of PC in the cytoplasmic compartment from choline kinase activity. In addition, PC phosphatase activity has been discovered associated with the cell wall. These results indicate that PC was rapidly hydrolyzed outside the cell and that choline and Pi entered the cytosolic compartment where choline kinase re-forms PC.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1990

Comparison of the Kinetic Behavior toward Pyridine Nucleotides of NAD-Linked Dehydrogenases from Plant Mitochondria.

In this article we compare the kinetic behavior toward pyridine nucleotides (NAD(+), NADH) of NAD(+)-malic enzyme, pyruvate dehydrogenase, isocitrate dehydrogenase, alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase, and glycine decarboxylase extracted from pea (Pisum sativum) leaf and potato (Solanum tuberosum) tuber mitochondria. NADH competitively inhibited all the studied dehydrogenases when NAD(+) was the varied substrate. However, the NAD(+)-linked malic enzyme exhibited the weakest affinity for NAD(+) and the lowest sensitivity for NADH. It is suggested that NAD(+)-linked malic enzyme, when fully activated, is able to raise the matricial NADH level up to the required concentration to fully engage the rotenone-resistant internal NADH-dehydrogenase, whose affinity for NADH is weaker than complex I.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1990

Transient accumulation of asparagine in sycamore cells after a long period of sucrose starvation.

The mobilization of stored carbohydrates (sucrose and starch) and proteins during sucrose starvation was studied with sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus L.) cells. When almost all the intracellular carbohydrate pools had disappeared, the cell protein content declined progressively whereas asparagine determined by either (13)C nuclear magnetic resonance or reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography increased steadily. After a long period of sucrose starvation, the most intense resonances in the (13)C nuclear magnetic resonance spectra were from citrate and asparagine. The total amounts of asparagine (expressed as nitrogen) and free amino acids that appeared after a long period of sucrose deprivation corresponded roughly to the total amount of protein (expressed as nitrogen), that disappeared within the same period of time. Addition of sucrose in the culture medium after a long period of sucrose starvation led to a disappearance of asparagine. These results suggest therefore that the presence of asparagine in plant cells in large excess should be considered as a good marker of protein utilization after a long period of sucrose starvation and is very likely related to stress.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1990

Interaction between the Component Enzymes of the Glycine Decarboxylase Multienzyme Complex.

The glycine decarboxylase multienzyme complex comprises about one-third of the soluble protein of the matrix of pea (Pisum sativum) leaf mitochondria where it exists at a concentration of approximately 130 milligrams protein/milliliter. Under these conditions the complex is stable with an approximate subunit ratio of 2 P-protein dimers:27 H-protein monomers:9 T-protein monomers:1 L-protein dimer. When the complex is diluted it tends to dissociate into its component enzymes. This prevents the purification of the intact complex by gel filtration or ultracentrifugation. In the dissociated state the H-protein acts as a mobile cosubstrate that commutes between the other three enzymes and shows typical substrate kinetics. When the complex is reformed, the H-protein no longer acts as a substrate but as an integrated part of the enzyme complex.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1990

Localization of ATP Sulfurylase and O-Acetylserine(thiol)lyase in Spinach Leaves.

The intracellular compartmentation of ATP sulfurylase and O-acetylserine(thiol)lyase in spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) leaves has been investigated by isolation of organelles and fractionation of protoplasts. ATP sulfurylase is located predominantly in the chloroplasts, but is also present in the cytosol. No evidence was found for ATP sulfurylase activity in the mitochondria. Two forms of ATP sulfurylase were separated by anion-exchange chromatography. The more abundant form is present in the chloroplasts, the second is cytosolic. O-Acetylserine(thiol)lyase activity is located primarily in the chloroplasts and cytosol, but is also present in the mitochondria. Three forms of O-acetylserine(thiol)lyase were separated by anion-exchange chromatography, and each was found to be specific to one intracellular compartment. The cytosolic ATP sulfurylase may not be active in vivo due to the unfavorable equilibrium constant of the reaction, and the presence of micromolar concentrations of inorganic pyrophosphate in the cytosol, therefore its role remains unknown. It is suggested that the plant cell may be unable to transport cysteine between the different compartments, so that the cysteine required for protein synthesis must be synthesized in situ, hence the presence of O-acetylserine(thiol)lyase in the three compartments where proteins are synthesized.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1989

Purification and characterization of acetohydroxyacid reductoisomerase from spinach chloroplasts.

Acetohydroxyacid reductoisomerase was purified over 400-fold to a specific activity of 62 nkat.mg-1, with 2-aceto-2-hydroxybutyrate as substrate, from the stroma of spinach leaf chloroplasts. The enzyme was not intrinsically membrane bound. The native enzyme was a tetramer with a subunit Mr of 59,000. The activity was optimum between pH 7.5 and 8.5. The apparent Km for 2-acetolactate was 25 microM and for 2-aceto-2-hydroxybutyrate was 37 microM. The enzyme required Mg2+ and the Vmax. was attained at physiological Mg2+ concentrations. NADP+ competitively inhibited the reaction when NADPH was the varied substrate. The native enzyme eluted from Mono-Q ion-exchange resins as three distinct peaks of activity. This elution pattern was preserved when the peaks were combined, dialysed and re-chromatographed. Each form exhibited identical Mr of 59,000 after SDS/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE), whereas they were easily distinguishable from each other after PAGE under non-denaturing conditions. These results provide evidence for the existence of multiple forms of acetohydroxyacid reductoisomerase in chloroplasts isolated from spinach leaves.

2-Acetolactate Mutase↗
PubMed1989

Effect of sulphate on glutamate synthesis by intact spinach (Spinacia oleracea) chloroplasts.

During the course of NH4+ (or NO2-)-plus-alpha-oxoglutarate-dependent O2 evolution in spinach (Spinacia oleracea) chloroplasts, glutamate was continuously excreted out of the chloroplasts. Under these conditions, for each molecule of NO2- or NH4+ which disappeared, one molecule of glutamate accumulated in the medium and the concentration of glutamate in the stroma space was maintained constant. SO4(2-) (or SO3(2-) behave as inhibitors of NH4+ incorporation into glutamate by intact chloroplasts. This considerable inhibition of glutamate synthesis by SO4(2-) was correlated with a rapid decline in the stromal Pi concentration. The reloading of stromal Pi with either external Pi or PPi4- relieved SO4(2-)-induced inhibition of glutamate synthesis by intact chloroplasts. It was concluded that SO4(2-) induced a rapid efflux of stromal Pi out of the chloroplast, leading to a limitation of ATP synthesis and therefore to an arrest of ATP-dependent glutamine synthetase functioning.

Brassica↗
PubMed1989

Comparison of glycerolipid biosynthesis in non-green plastids from sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) cells and cauliflower (Brassica oleracea) buds.

The availability of methods to fractionate non-green plastids and to prepare their limiting envelope membranes [Alban, Joyard & Douce (1988) Plant Physiol. 88, 709-717] allowed a detailed analysis of the biosynthesis of lysophosphatidic acid, phosphatidic acid, diacylglycerol and monogalactosyl-diacylglycerol (MGDG) in two different types of non-green starch-containing plastids: plastids isolated from cauliflower buds and amyloplasts isolated from sycamore cells. An enzyme [acyl-ACP (acyl carrier protein):sn-glycerol 3-phosphate acyltransferase) recovered in the soluble fraction of non-green plastids transfers oleic acid from oleoyl-ACP to the sn-1 position of sn-glycerol 3-phosphate to form lysophosphatidic acid. Then a membrane-bound enzyme (acyl-ACP:monoacyl-sn-glycerol 3-phosphate acyltransferase), localized in the envelope membrane, catalyses the acylation of the available sn-2 position of 1-oleoyl-sn-glycerol 3-phosphate by palmitic acid from palmitoyl-ACP. Therefore both the soluble phase and the envelope membranes are necessary for acylation of sn-glycerol 3-phosphate. The major difference between cauliflower (Brassica oleracea) and sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) membranes is the very low level of phosphatidate phosphatase activity in sycamore envelope membrane. Therefore, very little diacylglycerol is available for MGDG synthesis in sycamore, compared with cauliflower. These findings are consistent with the similarities and differences described in lipid metabolism of mature chloroplasts from 'C18:3' and 'C16:3' plants (those with MGDG containing C18:3 and C16:3 fatty acids). Sycamore contains only C18 fatty acids in MGDG, and the envelope membranes from sycamore amyloplasts have a low phosphatidate phosphatase activity and therefore the enzymes of the Kornberg-Pricer pathway have a low efficiency of incorporation of sn-glycerol 3-phosphate into MGDG. By contrast, cauliflower contains MGDG with C16:3 fatty acid, and the incorporation of sn-glycerol 3-phosphate into MGDG by the enzymes associated with envelope membranes is not limited by the phosphatidate phosphatase. These results demonstrate that: (1) non-green plastids employ the same biosynthetic pathway as that previously established for chloroplasts (the formation of glycerolipids is a general property of all plastids, chloroplasts as well as non-green plastids), (2) the envelope membranes are the major structure responsible for the biosynthesis of phosphatidic acid, diacylglycerol and MGDG, and (3) the enzymes of the envelope Kornberg-Pricer pathway have the same properties in non-green starch-containing plastids as in mature chloroplasts from C16:3 and C18:3 plants.

Acyltransferases↗
PubMed1989

Transport and phosphorylation of choline in higher plant cells. Phosphorus-31 nuclear magnetic resonance studies.

When sycamore cells were suspended in basal medium containing choline, the latter was taken up by the cells very rapidly. A facilitated diffusion system appertained at low concentrations of choline and exhibited Michaelis-Menten kinetics. At higher choline concentrations simple diffusion appeared to be the principal mode of uptake. Addition of choline to the perfusate of compressed sycamore cells monitored by 31P NMR spectroscopy resulted in a dramatic accumulation of P-choline in the cytoplasmic compartment containing choline kinase and not in the vacuole. The total accumulation of P-choline over a 10-h period exhibited Michaelis-Menten kinetics. During this period, in the absence of Pi in the perfusion medium there was a marked depletion of glucose-6-P, and the cytoplasmic Pi resonance disappeared almost completely. When a threshold of cytoplasmic Pi was attained, the phosphorylation of choline was sustained by the continuous release of Pi from the vacuole although at a much lower rate. However, when 100 microM inorganic phosphate was present in the perfusion medium, externally added Pi was preferentially used to sustain P-choline synthesis. It is clear, therefore, that cytosolic choline kinase associated with a carrier-mediated transport system for choline uptake appeared as effective systems for continuously trapping cytoplasmic Pi including vacuolar Pi entering the cytoplasm.

Biological Transport↗
PubMed1988

Resolution and characterization of the glycine-cleavage reaction in pea leaf mitochondria. Properties of the forward reaction catalysed by glycine decarboxylase and serine hydroxymethyltransferase.

High-molecular-mass proteins from pea (Pisum sativum) mitochondrial matrix retained on an XM-300 Diaflo membrane ('matrix extract') exhibited high rates of glycine oxidation in the presence of NAD+ and tetrahydropteroyl-L-glutamic acid (H4 folate) as long as the medium exhibited a low ionic strength. Serine hydroxymethyltransferase (SHMT) (4 x 53 kDa) and the four proteins of the glycine-cleavage system, including a pyridoxal phosphate-containing enzyme ('P-protein'; 2 x 97 kDa), a carrier protein containing covalently bound lipoic acid ('H-protein'; 15.5 kDa), a protein exhibiting lipoamide dehydrogenase activity ('L-protein'; 2 x 61 kDa) and an H4 folate-dependent enzyme ('T-protein'; 45 kDa) have been purified to apparent homogeneity from the matrix extract by using gel filtration, ion-exchange and phenyl-Superose fast protein liquid chromatography. Gel filtration on Sephacryl S-300 in the presence of 50 mM-KCl proved to be the key step in disrupting this complex. During the course of glycine oxidation catalysed by the matrix extract a steady-state equilibrium in the production and utilization of 5,10-methylene-H4 folate was reached, suggesting that glycine cleavage and SHMT are linked together via a soluble pool of H4 folate. The rate of glycine oxidation catalysed by the matrix extract was sensitive to the NADH/NAD+ molar ratios, because NADH competitively inhibited the reaction catalysed by lipoamide dehydrogenase.

Amino Acid Oxidoreductases↗
PubMed1988

Facilitated transport of Mn2+ in sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) cells and excised maize root tips. A comparative 31P n.m.r. study in vivo.

Movement of paramagnetic Mn2+ into sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) cells has been indirectly examined by observing the line broadening exhibited in its 31P n.m.r. spectra. Mn2+ was observed to pass into the vacuole, while exhibiting a very minor accumulation in the cytoplasm. With time, gradual leakage of phosphate from the vacuole to the cytoplasm was observed along with an increase in glucose-6-phosphate. Anoxia did not appear to affect the relative distribution of Mn2+ in the cytoplasm and vacuole. Under hypoxic conditions restriction of almost all movement of Mn2+ across the plasmalemma as well as the tonoplast was observed. In contrast, maize root tips showed entry and complete complexation of nucleotide triphosphate by Mn2+ during hypoxia. The rate of passage of Mn2+ across the tonoplast in both sycamore and maize root cells is approximately the same. However, the rates of facilitated movement across the respective plasma membranes appear to differ. More rapid movement of Mn2+ across the plasmalemma in maize root tip cells allows a gradual build-up of metal ion in the cytoplasm prior to its diffusion across the tonoplast. Sycamore cells undergo a slower uptake of Mn2+ into their cytoplasms (comparable with the rate of diffusion through the tonoplast), so little or no observable accumulation of Mn2+ is observed in this compartment.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1988

Lipid requirement and kinetic studies of solubilized UDP-galactose:diacylglycerol galactosyltransferase activity from spinach chloroplast envelope membranes.

We have demonstrated a lipid requirement for the UDPgalactose:1,2-diacylglycerol 3-beta-D-galactosyl-transferase (or monogalactosyldiacylglycerol synthase; EC 2.4.1.46), an enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of monogalactosyldiacylglycerol, solubilized from chloroplast envelope membranes and partially purified by hydroxyapatite chromatography. The enzyme fraction was highly delipidated (<0.1 mg of lipid per mg of protein), and addition of lipids extracted from chloroplast membranes was necessary to reveal the activity. Acidic glycerolipids, and especially phosphatidylglycerol, were the best activators of the enzyme. The preparation of a delipidated enzyme fraction and the development of optimal assay conditions were prerequisites for the determination of the kinetic parameters for the hydrophobic substrate of the enzyme, diacylglycerol. In addition, we have demonstrated the existence of two substrate-binding sites: a hydrophobic one for diacylglycerol and a hydrophilic one for UDP-galactose.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1988

Preparation and characterization of envelope membranes from nongreen plastids.

We have developed a reliable procedure for the purification of envelope membranes from cauliflower (Brassica oleracea L.) bud plastids and sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus L.) cell amyloplasts. After disruption of purified intact plastids, separation of envelope membranes was achieved by centrifugation on a linear sucrose gradient. A membrane fraction, having a density of 1.122 grams per cubic centimeter and containing carotenoids, was identified as the plastid envelope by the presence of monogalactosyldiacylglycerol synthase. Using antibodies raised against spinach chloroplast envelope polypeptides E24 and E30, we have demonstrated that both the outer and the inner envelope membranes were present in this envelope fraction. The major polypeptide in the envelope fractions from sycamore and cauliflower plastids was identified immunologically as the phosphate translocator. In the envelope membranes from cauliflower and sycamore plastids, the major glycerolipids were monogalactosyldiacylglycerol, digalactosyldiacylglycerol, and phosphatidylcholine. Purified envelope membranes from cauliflower bud plastids and sycamore amyloplasts also contained a galactolipid:galactolipid galactosyltransferase, enzymes for phosphatidic acid and diacylglycerol biosynthesis, acyl-coenzyme A thioesterase, and acyl-coenzyme A synthetase. These results demonstrate that envelope membranes from nongreen plastids present a high level of homology with chloroplasts envelope membranes.

Journal Article↗