Histidine and tyrosine phosphorylation in pea mitochondria: evidence for protein phosphorylation in respiratory redox signalling

Abstract

A 37 kDa protein in pea mitochondria was found to contain phosphorylated residues. Phosphorylation was acid-labile but stable in alkali solution, a unique property of phosphorylation on histidine, indicating that a signal transduction pathway with homology to bacterial two-component systems might exist in plant mitochondria. We also describe the first example of tyrosine phosphorylation in plant organelles and the first indication of protein phosphorylation as part of a redox signalling mechanism in mitochondria. Labelling of three proteins (28, 27 and 12 kDa) was found to be dependent on the redox state of the reaction medium. Their phospho-groups were resistant to alkali as well as acid treatment and labelling was inhibited by the tyrosine kinase inhibitor genistein.

Effects of inhibitors for signaling components on the expression of the genes for nitrate reductase and nitrite reductase in excised barley leaves

“…These natural compounds were structurally unrelated and widely used as inhibitors for tyrosine protein kinase that plays a key role in a variety of signal transduction systems in mammalian cells (Hagiwara et al 1988). Although no specific tyrosine protein kinase has been isolated and or cloned from higher plants, protein-tyrosine phosphorylation, and tyrosine protein kinase activity have been reported in a few plant species (Hakansson and Allen 1995;Suzuki and Shinshi 1995).…”

Two Distinct Sources of Elicited Reactive Oxygen Species in Tobacco Epidermal Cells.

“…Post-transcriptional and respiratory processes, such as mitochondrial phosphorylation events (Hbkansson and Allen, 1995) and initiation of translation in the chloroplast (Danon and Mayfield, 1994), have also been shown to be redox regulated. This can be via direct effects on protein thiol state, changing the activity of key enzymes.…”

Two-component phosphorelays in fungal mitochondria and beyond

“…Support for this hypothesis comes from several recent observations indicating that these organelles themselves retain components of two-component signaling cascades from their bacterial ancestors (Mavrianos et al, 2013;Puthiyaveetil et al, 2008). Additional support for this hypothesis was provided by the phosphorylation of a mitochondrial protein on a histidine residue in the mitochondria of a pea plant (Hakansson & Allen, 1995). Furthermore, the chloroplasts and mitochondria of photosynthetic organisms Arabidopsis thaliana and Zea mays contain genes coding for histidine kinases and response regulators (Forsberg et al, 2001).…”