ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase controls starch synthesis in plants and is an interesting case to study the evolution and differentiation of roles in heteromeric enzymes. It includes two homologous subunits, small (S) and large (L), that originated from a common photosynthetic eukaryotic ancestor. In present day organisms, these subunits became complementary after loss of certain roles in a process described as subfunctionalization. For instance, the potato tuber enzyme has a noncatalytic L subunit that complements an S subunit with suboptimal allosteric properties. To understand the evolution of catalysis and regulation in this family, we artificially synthesized both subunit genes from the unicellular alga Ostreococcus tauri. This is among the most ancient species in the green lineage that diverged from the ancestor of all green plants and algae. After heterologous gene expression, we purified and characterized the proteins. The O. tauri enzyme was not redox-regulated, suggesting that redox regulation of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylases appeared later in evolution. The S subunit had a typical low apparent affinity for the activator 3-phosphoglycerate, but it was atypically defective in the catalytic efficiency (V max /K m ) for the substrate Glc-1-P. The L subunit needed the S subunit for soluble expression. In the presence of a mutated S subunit (to avoid interference), the L subunit had a high apparent affinity for 3-phosphoglycerate and substrates suggesting a leading role in catalysis. Therefore, the subfunctionalization of the O. tauri enzyme was different from previously described cases. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first biochemical description of a system with alternative subfunctionalization paths.Starch synthesis in photosynthetic eukaryotes such as higher plants and unicellular algae is controlled by a heterotetrameric ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (ADP-Glc PPase, 4 EC 2.7.7.27). This enzyme catalyzes the reaction of ATP and Glc-1-P to form ADP-glucose (ADP-Glc) and PP i , and it is primarily activated by 3-phosphoglycerate (3-PGA) and inhibited by P i . In photosynthetic eukaryotes the enzyme includes two distinct S and L homologous subunits (S 2 L 2 or ␣ 2 ␤ 2 ), but in photosynthetic bacteria the enzyme is a homotetramer (␣ 4 ). There has been debate regarding the role of the different subunits of ADP-Glc PPase. The S subunit homotetramer from potato (Solanum tuberosum) tuber (StuS), Arabidopsis thaliana (APS1), and barley (Hordeum vulgare) endosperm have a catalytic function with defective regulatory properties (1-3). It is not clear if there is a set of universal roles for the L subunit in plants. The L subunit from potato tuber (StuL) is catalytically deficient and plays more of a regulatory role by modifying the apparent affinity of the S subunit toward allosteric regulators (1, 4). On the other hand, the Arabidopsis APL1 and APL2 isoforms have both catalytic and regulatory functions, whereas the APL3 and APL4 isoforms behave like StuL (2, 5). The maize (Zea mays) endosperm L subunit...

ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase regulates the synthesis of glycogen in bacteria and of starch in plants. The enzyme from plants is mainly activated by 3-phosphoglycerate and is a heterotetramer comprising two small and two large subunits. Here, we found that two highly conserved residues are critical for triggering the activation of the potato tuber ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase, as shown by site-directed mutagenesis. Mutations in the small subunit, which bears the catalytic function in this potato tuber form, had a more dramatic effect on disrupting the allosteric activation than those introduced in the large subunit, which is mainly modulatory. Our results strongly agree with a model where the modified residues are located in loops responsible for triggering the allosteric activation signal for this enzyme, and the sensitivity to this activation correlates with the dynamics of these loops. In addition, previous biochemical data indicates that the triggering mechanism is widespread in the enzyme family, even though the activator and the quaternary structure are not conserved.

The ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase from wheat endosperm controls starch synthesis in seeds and has unique regulatory properties compared to others from this family. It comprises two types of subunits, but despite its importance little is known about their roles. Here, we synthesized de novo the wheat endosperm ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase small (S) and large (L) subunit genes, heterologously expressed them in Escherichia coli, and kinetically characterized the recombinant proteins. To understand their distinct roles, we co-expressed them with well characterized subunits from the potato tuber enzyme to obtain hybrids with one S subunit from one source and an L subunit from the other. After kinetic analyses of these hybrids, we concluded that the unusual insensitivity to activation of the wheat endosperm enzyme is caused by a pre-activation of the L subunit. In addition, the heat stability and sensitivity to phosphate are given by the S subunit.

The multicatalytic ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) carries out proteolysis in a highly orchestrated way and regulates a large number of cellular processes. Deregulation of the UPS in many disorders has been documented. In some cases, e.g. carcinogenesis, elevated proteasome activity has been implicated in disease development, while the etiology of other diseases, e.g. neurodegeneration, includes decreased UPS activity. Therefore, agents that alter proteasome activity could suppress as well as enhance a multitude of diseases. Metal oxide nanoparticles, often developed as diagnostic tools, have not previously been tested as modulators of proteasome activity. Here, several types of metal oxide nanoparticles were found to adsorb to the proteasome and show variable preferential binding for particular proteasome subunits with several peptide binding “hotspots” possible. These interactions depend on the size, charge, and concentration of the nanoparticles and affect proteasome activity in a time-dependent manner. Should metal oxide nanoparticles increase proteasome activity in cells, as they do in vitro, unintended effects related to changes in proteasome function can be expected.

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The ADP‐glucose pyrophosphorylase small (S) and large (L) subunit genes from the unicellular algae Ostreococcus tauri were synthesized by PCR, subcloned, and the recombinant expression products characterized. This enzyme regulates the biosynthesis of starch in photosynthetic eukaryotes and has a reversible reaction in vitro. In higher plants, the L subunit makes the S subunit more sensitive to the activator. To understand the evolution of the subunit roles, we partially purified the S+L heterotetramer and S homotetramer from O. tauri, the simplest and smallest photosynthetic eukaryote. On the other hand, the L subunit could not be expressed alone with activity. We found that S+L is more sensitive to 3‐phosphoglycerate (activator) and phosphate (inhibitor) (A0.5 1.35 mM, I0.5 0.21 mM, forward direction, A0.5 0.80 mM, I0.5 0.51 mM reverse) than the homotetramer S (A0.5 2.20 mM, I0.5 1.40 mM forward, A0.5 2.80 mM, I0.5 1.20 mM reverse) with an activation of 33.5‐ and 7.6‐fold in the forward and 22.0‐ and 9.9‐fold in the reverse direction. The difference in regulation between the homotetramer (S) and heterotetramer (S+L) is not as pronounced as found in other plant ADP‐glucose pyrophosphorylases. These subunits in unicellular algae may not have evolved to play distinct roles as in higher plants. This research was supported by NSF grant no. MCB 0615982.