Changes in cellular calcium levels are one of the earliest signalling events in plants exposed to pathogens or other exogenous factors. In a genetic screen, we identified an Arabidopsis thaliana ‘changed calcium elevation 1 ’ (cce1 ) mutant with attenuated calcium response to the bacterial flagellin flg22 peptide and several other elicitors. Whole genome re‐sequencing revealed a mutation in ALG12 (Asparagine‐Linked Glycosylation 12 ) that encodes the mannosyltransferase responsible for adding the eighth mannose residue in an α‐1,6 linkage to the dolichol‐PP‐oligosaccharide N ‐glycosylation glycan tree precursors. While properly targeted to the plasma membrane, misglycosylation of several receptors in the cce1 background suggests that N ‐glycosylation is required for proper functioning of client proteins.

Caffeoyl‐coenzyme A O‐methyltransferase (CCoAOMT)‐like proteins from plants display a conserved position specificity towards the meta‐position of aromatic vicinal dihydroxy groups, consistent with the methylation pattern observed in vivo. A CCoAOMT‐like enzyme identified from Arabidopsis thaliana encoded by the gene At4g26220 shows a strong preference for methylating the para position of flavanones and dihydroflavonols, whereas flavones and flavonols are methylated in the meta‐position. Sequence alignments and homology modelling identified several unique amino acids compared to motifs of other CCoAOMT‐like enzymes. Mutation of a single glycine, G46 towards a tyrosine was sufficient for a reversal of the unusual para‐ back to meta‐O‐methylation of flavanones and dihydroflavonols.

Unfolding by chemical denaturants and the linear extrapolation method are widely used to determine the free energy of proteins. Ribonuclease 3 from bullfrog shows an extraordinary behavior in guanidinium hydrochloride in comparison to its homologues ribonuclease A and onconase with a high transition midpoint of denaturation but an apparently low cooperativity. The analysis of the interdependence of thermal, urea‐, and guanidine hydrochloride‐induced unfolding revealed that whereas addition of urea resulted in the expected destabilization of all three proteins, guanidine hydrochloride acted diversely: in contrast to ribonuclease A and onconase, both of which were destabilized as expected, low concentrations of guanidine hydrochloride significantly stabilize ribonuclease 3 from bullfrog. This stabilizing effect was endorsed by in silico docking studies.

0

Putrescine N ‐methyltransferase (PMT) catalyses S ‐adenosylmethionine (SAM)‐dependent methylation of putrescine in tropane alkaloid biosynthesis. PMT presumably evolved from the ubiquitous spermidine synthase (SPDS). SPDS protein structure suggested that only few amino acid exchanges in the active site were necessary to achieve PMT activity. Protein modelling, mutagenesis, and chimeric protein construction were applied to trace back evolution of PMT activity from SPDS. Ten amino acid exchanges in Datura stramonium SPDS dismissed the hypothesis of facile generation of PMT activity in existing SPDS proteins. Chimeric PMT and SPDS enzymes were active and indicated the necessity for a different putrescine binding site when PMT developed.

0

Jasmonate:amino acid synthetase (JAR1) is involved in the function of jasmonic acid (JA) as a plant hormone. It catalyzes the synthesis of several JA‐amido conjugates, the most important of which appears to be JA‐Ile. Structurally, JAR1 is a member of the firefly luciferase superfamily that comprises enzymes that adenylate various organic acids. This study analyzed the substrate specificity of recombinant JAR1 and determined whether it catalyzes the synthesis of mono‐ and dinucleoside polyphosphates, which are side‐reaction products of many enzymes forming acyl ∼ adenylates. Among different oxylipins tested as mixed stereoisomers for substrate activity with JAR1, the highest rate of conversion to Ile‐conjugates was observed for (±)‐JA and 9,10‐dihydro‐JA, while the rate of conjugation with 12‐hydroxy‐JA and OPC‐4 (3‐oxo‐2‐(2Z ‐pentenyl)cyclopentane‐1‐butyric acid) was only about 1–2% that for (±)‐JA. Of the two stereoisomers of JA, (−)‐JA and (+)‐JA, rate of synthesis of the former was about 100‐fold faster than for (+)‐JA. Finally, we have demonstrated that (1) in the presence of ATP, Mg2+, (−)‐JA and tripolyphosphate the ligase produces adenosine 5′‐tetraphosphate (p4A); (2) addition of isoleucine to that mixture halts the p4A synthesis; (3) the enzyme produces neither diadenosine triphosphate (Ap3A) nor diadenosine tetraphosphate (Ap4A) and (4) Ap4A cannot substitute ATP as a source of adenylate in the complete reaction that yields JA‐Ile.

Nicotianamine is an important metal ligand in plants. Surprisingly, recent genome sequencing revealed that ascomycetes encode proteins with similarity to plant nicotianamine synthases (NAS). By expression in a Zn2+‐hypersensitive fission yeast mutant we show for a protein from Neurospora crassa that it indeed possesses NAS activity. Using electrospray‐ionization‐quadrupole‐time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry we prove the formation of nicotianamine in N. crassa . Transcript level is strongly upregulated under Zn deficiency as shown by real‐time PCR. These findings demonstrate that nicotianamine is more widespread in nature than anticipated and provide further evidence for a function of nicotianamine as a cytosolic chelator of Zn2+ ions.

Structures of the serine carboxypeptidase‐like enzymes 1‐O ‐sinapoyl‐β‐glucose:l ‐malate sinapoyltransferase (SMT) and 1‐O ‐sinapoyl‐β‐glucose:choline sinapoyltransferase (SCT) were modeled to gain insight into determinants of specificity and substrate recognition. The structures reveal the α/β‐hydrolase fold as scaffold for the catalytic triad Ser‐His‐Asp. The recombinant mutants of SMT Ser173Ala and His411Ala were inactive, whereas Asp358Ala displayed residual activity of 20%. 1‐O ‐sinapoyl‐β‐glucose recognition is mediated by a network of hydrogen bonds. The glucose moiety is recognized by a hydrogen bond network including Trp71, Asn73, Glu87 and Asp172. The conserved Asp172 at the sequence position preceding the catalytic serine meets sterical requirements for the glucose moiety. The mutant Asn73Ala with a residual activity of 13% underscores the importance of the intact hydrogen bond network. Arg322 is of key importance by hydrogen bonding of 1‐O ‐sinapoyl‐β‐glucose and l ‐malate. By conformational change, Arg322 transfers l ‐malate to a position favoring its activation by His411. Accordingly, the mutant Arg322Glu showed 1% residual activity. Glu215 and Arg219 establish hydrogen bonds with the sinapoyl moiety. The backbone amide hydrogens of Gly75 and Tyr174 were shown to form the oxyanion hole, stabilizing the transition state. SCT reveals also the catalytic triad and a hydrogen bond network for 1‐O ‐sinapoyl‐β‐glucose recognition, but Glu274, Glu447, Thr445 and Cys281 are crucial for positioning of choline.

Monochlorobimane was used as a model xenobiotic for Arabidopsis to directly monitor the compartmentation of glutathione‐bimane conjugates in situ and to quantify degradation intermediates in vitro. Vacuolar sequestration of the conjugate was very fast and outcompeted carboxypeptidation to the γ‐glutamylcysteine‐bimane intermediate (γ‐EC‐B) by phytochelatin synthase (PCS) in the cytosol. Following vacuolar sequestration, degradation proceeded to cysteine‐bimane without intermediate. Only co‐infiltration of monochlorobimane with Cd2+ and Cu2+ increased γ‐EC‐B formation to 4% and 25%, respectively, within 60 min. The role of PCS under simultaneous heavy metal stress was confirmed by investigation of different pcs1 null‐mutants. In the absence of elevated heavy metal concentrations glutathione‐conjugates are therefore first sequestered to the vacuole and subsequently degraded with the initial breakdown step being rate‐limiting.