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Unmediated heterogeneous electron transfer reaction of ascorbate oxidase and laccase at a gold electrode.

ABSTRACT: The unmediated electrochemistry of two large Cu-containing proteins, ascorbate oxidase and laccase, was investigated by direct-current cyclic voltammetry. Rapid heterogeneous electron transfer was achieved in the absence of promoters or mediators by trapping a small amount of protein within a solid, electrochemically inert, tributylmethyl phosphonium chloride membrane coating a gold electrode. The problems typical of proteins in solution, such as adsorption on the electrode surface, were avoided by this procedure. In anaerobic conditions, the cyclic voltammograms, run at a scan rate of up to 200 mV/s, showed the electron transfer process to be quasi-reversible and diffusion-controlled. The pH-dependent redox potentials (+360 mV and +400 mV against a normal hydrogen electrode at pH7.0 for ascorbate oxidase and laccase respectively and +390 mV and +410 mV at pH5.5) were similar to those of the free proteins. The same electrochemical behaviour was recorded for the type 2 Cu-depleted derivatives, which contain reduced type 3 Cu, whereas the apoproteins were electrochemically inactive. Under aerobic conditions the catalytic current intensity of holoprotein voltammograms increased up to approx. 2-fold at a low scanning rate, with unchanged redox potentials. The voltammograms of type 2 Cu-depleted proteins and of apoproteins were unaffected by the presence of oxygen. This suggests that electron uptake at the electrode surface involves type 1 Cu and that only in the presence of oxygen is the intramolecular electron transfer to other protein sites rapid enough to be observed. The analogy with available kinetic results is discussed.

SUBMITTER: Santucci R

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1219519 | biostudies-other | 1998 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Project description:Ascorbate (vitamin C) is an important antioxidant in leaves with multiple functions in photosynthesis and its levels are tightly regulated by light quality. The majority of work to date has focussed on regulation of ascorbate levels via biosynthesis. However, the pathway of ascorbate degradation, which is localised in the apoplast may additionally play a significant role. The degradative pathway begins with ascorbate oxidation by the enzyme ascorbate oxidase (AO) and hence we have examined the impact of manipulation of ascorbate oxidase activity on the content of ascorbate and the acclimation of photosynthesis to changing light levels. Leaf ascorbate content was highly light dependent in Nicotiana tobaccum being double in high compared with low light conditions. In contrast ascorbate oxidase activity was not altered by changing light levels. Transgenic tobacco lines with reduced or enhanced AO activity exhibited no morphological phenotype and photosynthesis under high light was similarly impaired irrespective of the measured AO activity. However further investigation between AO activity and leaf acclimation to changing light intensity revealed a suite of metabolic and transcriptome changes indicating a role for the apoplastic ascorbate pool in chloroplast to nucleus communication. In all genotypes, transcripts associated with ascorbate synthesis and recycling were less abundant following transition from high to low light. However transcripts associated with glutathione recycling, light harvesting, reaction centre function and the Calvin cycle were all increased in abundance. Following the transition from high to low light increases in leaf threonate, an ascorbate degradation product, were proportional to AO activity. A number of chloroplast synthesised amino acids were significantly increased both during high light and following transfer back to LL for 12 h. Similarly, several primary carbohydrates and TCA intermediates were significantly enhanced following high light treatment. In addition to light effects, AO activity had a significant impact on ï¢-alanine, aspartate and threonine. Intriguingly, a large number of fatty acids were reduced in antisense AO and wild-type plants immediately after high light stress however the content of these compounds were significantly increased in overexpressing sense lines. We conclude that AO mediated turnover plays an important role in adjusting cellular ascorbate content to photosynthetic need in a fluctuating light environment and that light mediated signals rapidly adjust that the apoplastic ascorbate pool.

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Unmediated heterogeneous electron transfer reaction of ascorbate oxidase and laccase at a gold electrode.

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