Investigation of subunit function in ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase

ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGPase), a key regulatory enzyme in higher plant starch biosynthesis, is composed of a pair of large and small subunits (alpha(2)beta(2)). Current evidence suggests that the large subunit has primarily a regulatory function, while the small subunit has both regulatory and catalytic roles. To define the structure-function relationship of the large subunit (LS), the LS of potato AGPase was subjected to chemical mutagenesis and coexpressed with the wild-type (WT) small subunit (SS) cDNA in an AGPase defective Escherichia coli strain. An LS mutant (M143) was isolated, which accumulated very low levels of glycogen compared to the WT recombinant AGPase, but maintained normal catalytic activity when assayed under saturating conditions. Sequence analysis revealed that M143 has a single amino acid change, V463I, which lies adjacent to the C-terminus. This single mutation had no effect on the Km for ATP and Mg(2+), which were similar to the WT enzyme. The K(m) for glucose 1-P, however, was sixfold higher than the WT enzyme. These results suggest that the LS plays a role in binding glucose 1-P through its interaction with the SS.

Isolation and characterization of a higher plant ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase small subunit homotetramer

ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGPase) is the allosterically regulated gateway for carbon entry into transient and storage starch in plants as well as glycogen in bacteria. This enzyme plays a key role in the modulation of photosynthetic efficiency in source tissues and directly determines the level of storage starch in sink tissues, thus influencing overall crop yield potential. AGPase is a tetrameric enzyme; in higher plants it consists of two regulatory large subunits (LS) and two catalytic small subunits (SS), while in cyanobacteria and prokaryotes the enzyme is homotetrameric. The potato SS gene in pML10 was mutated by hydroxylamine and mutants were screened for elevated homotetrameric activity by iodine vapor staining. This search strategy led to the isolation of SS mutants (SUP-1, TG-15) that had pyrophosphorylase activity in the absence of the LS. TG-15 has a leucine to phenylalanine change at position 48 (L(48)F) that corresponds to a phenylalanine residue at the analogous position in the Escherichia coli homotetrameric AGPase as well as a valine to isoleucine change at position 59 (V(59)I). TG-15 was partially purified and kinetic analysis revealed substrate and effector affinities equal to wild type heterotetrameric enzyme with the exception of ATP binding.

Enhanced stability of maize endosperm ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase is gained through mutants that alter subunit interactions

Temperature lability of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGP; glucose-1-phosphate adenylyltransferase; ADP: alpha-D-glucose-1-phosphate adenylyltransferase, EC 2.7.7.27), a key starch biosynthetic enzyme, may play a significant role in the heat-induced loss in maize seed weight and yield. Here we report the isolation and characterization of heat-stable variants of maize endosperm AGP. Escherichia coli cells expressing wild type (WT) Shrunken2 (Sh2), and Brittle2 (Bt2) exhibit a reduced capacity to produce glycogen when grown at 42 degreesC. Mutagenesis of Sh2 and coexpression with WT Bt2 led to the isolation of multiple mutants capable of synthesizing copious amounts of glycogen at this temperature. An increase in AGP stability was found in each of four mutants examined. Initial characterization revealed that the BT2 protein was elevated in two of these mutants. Yeast two-hybrid studies were conducted to determine whether the mutant SH2 proteins more efficiently recruit the BT2 subunit into tetramer assembly. These experiments showed that replacement of WT SH2 with the heat-stable SH2HS33 enhanced interaction between the SH2 and BT2 subunits. In agreement, density gradient centrifugation of heated and nonheated extracts from WT and one of the mutants, Sh2hs33, identified a greater propensity for heterotetramer dissociation in WT AGP. Sequencing of Sh2hs33 and several other mutants identified a His-to-Tyr mutation at amino acid position 333. Hence, a single point mutation in Sh2 can increase the stability of maize endosperm AGP through enhanced subunit interactions.

Generation of up-regulated allosteric variants of potato ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase by reversion genetics

Mutagenesis of the large subunit (LS) of the potato ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase generated an enzyme, P52L, that was insensitive to 3-phosphoglycerate (3-PGA). To identify additional residues involved in 3-PGA interaction, we subjected P52L LS DNA to a second round of mutagenesis and identified second-site revertants by their ability to restore glycogen accumulation as assessed by iodine (I2) staining. Enzymes from class I revertants with normal I2-staining had an 11- to 49-fold greater affinity for the activator 3-PGA compared with the P52L mutant and a decreased sensitivity to the inhibitor orthophosphate. Sequence analysis of these class I revertants identified a P66L mutation in R4, an E38K mutation in R20, and a G101N mutation in R10 and R32. These mutations appear to restore 3-PGA binding by counteracting the effect of the P52L mutation because introducing E38K or G101N into the wild-type LS led to enzyme variants with higher affinity for the activator 3-PGA and increased resistance to the inhibitor orthophosphate. The generation of these revertant enzymes provides additional structure-function information on the allosteric regulation of higher plant ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylases and validates a strategy for developing novel variants of the enzyme that may be useful in manipulating starch biosynthesis in higher plants.

Maize endosperm ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase SHRUNKEN2 and BRITTLE2 subunit interactions

ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGP) represents a key regulatory step in polysaccharide synthesis in organisms ranging from bacteria to plants. Higher plant AGPs are complex in nature and are heterotetramers consisting of two similar but distinct subunits. How the subunits are assembled into enzymatically active polymers is not yet understood. Here, we address this issue by using naturally occurring null mutants of the Shrunken2 (Sh2) and Brittle2 (Bt2) loci of maize as well as the yeast two-hybrid expression system. In the absence of the maize endosperm large AGP subunit (SH2), the BT2 subunit remains as a monomer in the developing endosperm. In contrast, the SH2 protein, in the absence of BT2, is found in a complex of 100 kD. A direct interaction between SH2 and BT2 was proven when they were both expressed in yeast. Several motifs are essential for SH2:BT2 interaction because truncations removing the N or C terminus of either subunit eliminate SH2:BT2 interactions. Analysis of subunit interaction mutants (sim) also identified motifs essential for protein interactions.

Aspartic acid 413 is important for the normal allosteric functioning of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase

As part of a structure-function analysis of the higher-plant ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGP), we used a random mutagenesis approach in combination with a novel bacterial complementation system to isolate over 100 mutants that were defective in glycogen production (T.W. Greene, S.E. Chantler, M.L. Khan, G.F. Barry, J. Preiss, T.W. Okita [1996] Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 93: 1509-1513). One mutant of the large subunit M27 was identified by its capacity to only partially complement a mutation in the structural gene for the bacterial AGP (glg C), as determined by its light-staining phenotype when cells were exposed to l3 vapors. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and enzymatic pyrophosphorylysis assays of M27 cell extracts showed that the level of expression and AGP activity was comparable to those of cells that expressed the wild-type recombinant enzyme. Kinetic analysis indicated that the M27 AGP displays normal Michaelis constant values for the substrates glucose-1-phosphate and ATP but requires 6- to 10-fold greater levels of 3-phosphoglycerate (3-PGA) than the wild-type recombinant enzyme for maximum activation. DNA sequence analysis showed that M27 contains a single point mutation that resulted in the replacement of aspartic acid 413 to alanine. Substitution of a lysine residue at this site almost completely abolished activation by 3-PGA. Aspartic acid 413 is adjacent to a lysine residue that was previously identified by chemical modification studies to be important in the binding of 3-PGA (K. Ball, J. Preiss [1994] J Biol Chem 269: 24706-24711). The kinetic properties of M27 corroborate the importance of this region in the allosteric regulation of a higher-plant AGP.

Mutagenesis of the potato ADPglucose pyrophosphorylase and characterization of an allosteric mutant defective in 3-phosphoglycerate activation

ADPglucose pyrophosphorylase (glucose-1-phosphate adenylyltransferase; ADP:alpha-D-glucose-1-phosphate adenylyltransferase, EC 2.7.7.27) catalyzes a key regulatory step in alpha-glucan synthesis in bacteria and higher plants. We have previously shown that the expression of the cDNA sequences of the potato tuber large (LS) and small (SS) subunits yielded a functional heterotetrameric enzyme capable of complementing a mutation in the single AGP (glgC) structural gene of Escherichia coli. This heterologous complementation provides a powerful genetic approach to obtain biochemical information on the specific roles of LS and SS in enzyme function. By mutagenizing the LS cDNA with hydroxylamine and then coexpressing with wild-type SS in an E. coli glgC- strain, >350 mutant colonies were identified that were impaired in glycogen production. One mutant exhibited enzymatic and antigen levels comparable to the wild-type recombinant enzyme but required 45-fold greater levels of the activator 3-phosphoglycerate for maximum activity. Sequence analysis identified a single nucleotide change that resulted in the change of Pro-52 to Leu. This heterologous genetic system provides an efficient means to identify residues important for catalysis and allosteric functioning and should lead to novel approaches to increase plant productivity.