PopA is released by type III secretion from the bacterial plant pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum and triggers the hypersensitive response (HR) in tobacco. The function of PopA remains obscure, mainly because mutants lacking this protein are not altered in their ability to interact with plants. In an attempt to identify the site of PopA activity in plant cells, we generated transgenic tobacco plants expressing the popA gene under the control of an inducible promoter. Immunocytologic analysis revealed that the HR phenotype of these plants correlated with the presence of PopA at the plant plasma membrane. Membrane localization was observed irrespective of whether the protein was designed to accumulate in the cytoplasm or to be secreted by the plant cell, suggesting a general lipid‐binding ability. We found that the protein had a high affinity for sterols and sphingolipids in vitro and that it required Ca2+ for both lipid binding and oligomerization. In addition, the protein was integrated into liposomes and membranes from Xenopus laevis oocytes where it formed ion‐conducting pores. These characteristics suggest that PopA is part of a system that aims to attach the host cell plasma membrane and to allow molecules cross this barrier.

Selective protein degradation by the ubiquitin‐proteasome pathway has emerged as a key regulatory mechanism in a wide variety of cellular processes. The selective components of this pathway are the E3 ubiquitin‐ligases which act downstream of the ubiquitin‐activating and ‐conjugating enzymes to identify specific substrates for ubiquitinylation. SCF‐type ubiquitin‐ligases are the most abundant class of E3 enzymes in Arabidopsis. In a genetic screen for enhancers of the tir1‐1 auxin response defect, we identified eta1 /axr6‐3 , a recessive and temperature‐sensitive mutation in the CUL1 core component of the SCFTIR1 complex. The axr6‐3 mutation interferes with Skp1 binding, thus preventing SCF complex assembly. axr6‐3 displays a pleiotropic phenotype with defects in numerous SCF‐regulated pathways including auxin signaling, jasmonate signaling, flower development, and photomorphogenesis. We used axr6‐3 as a tool for identifying pathways likely to be regulated by SCF‐mediated proteolysis and propose new roles for SCF regulation of the far‐red light/phyA and sugar signaling pathways. The recessive inheritance and the temperature‐sensitive nature of the pleiotropically acting axr6‐3 mutation opens promising possibilities for the identification and investigation of SCF‐regulated pathways in Arabidopsis.

Plant oxylipins are a large family of metabolites derived from polyunsaturated fatty acids. The characterization of mutants or transgenic plants affected in the biosynthesis or perception of oxylipins has recently emphasized the role of the so-called oxylipin pathway in plant defense against pests and pathogens. In this context, presumed functions of oxylipins include direct antimicrobial effect, stimulation of plant defense gene expression, and regulation of plant cell death. However, the precise contribution of individual oxylipins to plant defense remains essentially unknown. To get a better insight into the biological activities of oxylipins, in vitro growth inhibition assays were used to investigate the direct antimicrobial activities of 43 natural oxylipins against a set of 13 plant pathogenic microorganisms including bacteria, oomycetes, and fungi. This study showed unequivocally that most oxylipins are able to impair growth of some plant microbial pathogens, with only two out of 43 oxylipins being completely inactive against all the tested organisms, and 26 oxylipins showing inhibitory activity toward at least three different microbes. Six oxylipins strongly inhibited mycelial growth and spore germination of eukaryotic microbes, including compounds that had not previously been ascribed an antimicrobial activity, such as 13-keto-9(Z),11(E),15(Z)-octadecatrienoic acid and 12-oxo-10,15(Z)-phytodienoic acid. Interestingly, this first large-scale comparative assessment of the antimicrobial effects of oxylipins reveals that regulators of plant defense responses are also the most active oxylipins against eukaryotic microorganisms, suggesting that such oxylipins might contribute to plant defense through their effects both on the plant and on pathogens, possibly through related mechanisms.

Short, high-concentration peaks of the atmospheric pollutant ozone (O3) cause the formation of cell death lesions on the leaves of sensitive plants. Numerous similarities between the plant responses to O3 and pathogens suggest that O3 triggers hypersensitive response-like programmed cell death (PCD). We examined O3 and superoxide-induced cell death in the O3-sensitive radical-induced cell death1 (rcd1) mutant. Dying cells in O3-exposed rcd1 exhibited several of the typical morphological characteristics of the hypersensitive response and PCD. Double-mutant analyses indicated a requirement for salicylic acid and the function of the cyclic nucleotide-gated ion channel AtCNGC2 in cell death. Furthermore, a requirement for ATPases, kinases, transcription, Ca2+ flux, caspase-like proteolytic activity, and also one or more phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride-sensitive protease activities was shown for the development of cell death lesions in rcd1. Furthermore, mitogen-activated protein kinases showed differential activation patterns in rcd1 and Columbia. Taken together, these results directly demonstrate the induction of PCD by O3.

Acyloins (α-hydroxy ketones) are important building blocks in organic synthesis, e.g., for the total synthesis of epothilones. Optically pure acyloins can be obtained by lipase-catalyzed kinetic resolution (KR) of the racemate with, for example, Burkholderia cepacia lipase, but this process suffers from a yield limitation of 50%. To devise a dynamic kinetic resolution (DKR), we studied the racemization of two different acyloins and corresponding esters with various amine bases and ion exchangers. No combination of base and solvent was found that could selectively racemize the acyloin or corresponding ester under the conditions needed for a DKR. In contrast to bases, acidic resins (ARs) were found to racemize the acyloins selectively in n-hexane and in water. Unfortunately, the AR deactivated the lipase, preventing a one-pot DKR. Minor side reactions involving the AR, the substrate acyloin, and the vinyl ester acyl donor were also observed. However, an efficient DKR was made possible by the spatial separation of lipase and ion exchanger, with enzymatic transesterification and AR-catalyzed racemization taking place simultaneously in two compartments connected by a pump loop. The conversion of substrate alcohol was 91%, the selectivity toward the product butyrate ester 90%, and the enantiomeric excess of the (S)-product 93% ee.

The process of catalytic dephosphorylation of geranylgeranyl diphosphate (GGPP) to give geranylgeraniol (GGOH) in Croton stellatopilosus leaves was examined by in vivo chloroplast feedings with [1-3H]GGPP and [1-3H]GGMP and in vitro enzyme-catalyzed reactions. The results strongly suggest that the formation of GGOH from GGPP proceeds in the chloroplasts via two successive monodephosphorylation reactions. Hence, we name the enzyme geranylgeranyl diphosphate phosphatase rather than geranylgeranyl diphosphatase based on its catalytic mechanism.

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