Protoplast formation and yeast cell-wall structure. The action of the enzymes of the snail, Helix pomatia.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Anderson FB
PROVIDER: S-EPMC1265058 | biostudies-other | 1966 Jun
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other
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Project description:The reaction of nitrite at pH 5.0-7.0 with the deoxyhaemocyanin of a mollusc, the Roman snail (Helix pomatia), yielded nitrosylhaemocyanin (CuIA.NO+ CuIIB), in contrast with the formation of methaemocyanin with the deoxyhaemocyanin of the crustacean Astacus leptodactylus (mud crayfish). With Helix haemocyanin 1 NO was thereby liberated per active site, as shown by m.s., as against 2 NO with Astacus haemocyanin. Helix nitrosylhaemocyanin was characterized in c.d. by the negative extremum at 336 nm (CuIA.NO+) and by the mononuclear e.p.r. signal at g = 2 (CuIIB). Binuclear e.p.r. signals have been observed after the addition of nitrite to methaemocyanins. With Astacus methaemocyanin, no further reaction occurred, whereas with Helix methaemocyanin the mononuclear e.p.r. signal, characteristic for nitrosylhaemocyanin gradually appeared. This formation of Helix nitrosylhaemocyanin implicates the binding, most likely on CuIIA, of a second nitrite besides a bridging nitrite, so that a dismutation into NO and NO2 can occur there. A further dismutation of NO2 yields nitrite and nitrate. The formation of the latter was demonstrated by Raman spectrometry. The reaction rate of Helix methaemocyanin with nitrite decreased with increasing pH according to the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation with a pKa value of 6.77, attributed to a mu-aquo bridging ligand, which can be exchanged for nitrite, in equilibrium with a mu-hydroxo ligand which cannot. These data also favour the formulation of the final reaction product as nitrosylhaemocyanin instead of semi-methaemocyanin, with or without bound nitrite.
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Project description:Metallothioneins (MTs) are small proteins present in all kingdoms of life. Their high cysteine content enables them to bind metal ions, such as Zn2+, Cd2+, and Cu+, providing means for detoxification and metal homeostasis. Three MT isoforms with distinct metal binding preferences are present in the Roman Snail Helix pomatia. Here, we use nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to follow the evolution of Cd2+ and Cu+ binding from the reconstructed ancestral Stylommatophora MT to the three H. pomatia MT (HpMT) isoforms. Information obtained from [15N,1H]-HSQC spectra and T2 relaxation times are combined to describe the conformational stability of the MT-metal complexes. A well-behaved MT-metal complex adopts a unique structure and does not undergo additional conformational exchange. The ancestor to all three HpMTs forms conformationally stable Cd2+ complexes and closely resembles the Cd2+-specific HpCdMT isoform, suggesting a role in Cd2+ detoxification for the ancestral protein. All Cu+-MT complexes, including the Cu+-specific HpCuMT isoform, undergo a considerable amount of conformational exchange. The unspecific HpCd/CuMT and the Cu+-specific HpCuMT isoforms form Cu+ complexes with comparable characteristics. It is possible to follow how Cd2+ and Cu+ binding changed throughout evolution. Interestingly, Cu+ binding improved independently in the lineages leading to the unspecific and the Cu+-specific HpMT isoforms. C-terminal domains are generally less capable of coordinating the non-cognate metal ion than N-terminal domains, indicating a higher level of specialization of the C-domain. Our findings provide new insights into snail MT evolution, helping to understand the interplay between biological function and structural features toward a comprehensive understanding of metal preference.
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Project description:Protein haze formation in bottled wines is a significant concern for the global wine industry, and wine clarification before bottling is therefore a common but expensive practice. Previous studies have shown that wine yeast strains can reduce haze formation through the secretion of certain mannoproteins, but it has been suggested that other yeast-dependent haze protective mechanisms exist. On the other hand, the addition of chitin has been shown to reduce haze formation, likely because grape chitinases have been shown to be the major contributors to haze. In this study, Chardonnay grape must fermented by various yeast strains resulted in wines with different protein haze levels, indicating differences in haze-protective capacities of the strains. The cell wall chitin levels of these strains were determined, and a strong correlation between cell wall chitin levels and haze protection capability was observed. To further evaluate the mechanism of haze protection, Escherichia coli-produced green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged grape chitinase was shown to bind efficiently to yeast cell walls in a cell wall chitin concentration-dependent manner, while commercial chitinase was removed from synthetic wine in quantities that also correlated with the cell wall chitin levels of the strains. Our findings suggest a new mechanism of reducing wine haze, and we propose a strategy for optimizing wine yeast strains to improve wine clarification.IMPORTANCE In this study, we establish a new mechanism by which wine yeast strains can impact the protein haze formation of wines, and we demonstrate that yeast cell wall chitin binds grape chitinase in a chitin concentration-dependent manner. We also show that yeast can remove this haze-forming protein from wine. Chitin has in the past been shown to efficiently reduce wine haze formation when added to the wine in high concentration as a clarifying agent. Our data suggest that the selection of yeast strains with high levels of cell wall chitin can reduce protein haze. We also investigate how yeast cell wall chitin levels are affected by environmental conditions.
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Project description:ADP-ribosyltransferases from several higher eukaryotes have been purified and characterized, but little is known about ADP-ribosyltransferases in lower eukaryotes. We have purified an ADP-ribosyltransferase (EC 2.4.2.30) from Helix pomatia. The enzyme has an apparent Km of 26.7 microM. Optimal conditions for the enzyme reaction are 17.5 degrees C and pH 8. The time course is linear during the first 10 min of the reaction. The enzyme is capable of poly-ADP-ribosylation. The most highly purified preparation shows one major band at an Mr of 75,000 on electrophoresis in an SDS/polyacrylamide gel, with minor bands at Mr 115,000 and 155,000. Re-activation of SDS/polyacrylamide gels in situ shows the 75,000-Mr band to be enzymically active and additional active bands with Mr values of 115,000, 90,000 and 87,000 respectively. The 115,000-Mr and 75,000-Mr bands cross-react with a polyclonal affinity-purified antiserum against human ADP-ribosyltransferase. Like enzymes from higher eukaryotes, the activity from Helix pomatia is inhibited by thymidine, theophylline, theobromine nicotinamide, 3-methoxybenzamide and 3-aminobenzamide, and is dependent on histone and DNA.
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Project description:Homogeneous adenylate deaminase from snail foot muscle deaminated 5'-AMP, 5'-ADP, 5'-ATP and NADH with similar velocity and affinity to all substrates. At millimolar concentration NAD+ was also deaminated to a comparable extent, but NADP+, NADPH and FAD were not substrates for the snail enzyme. The amount of deaminase activity per g of fresh tissue is 5-10 times greater than in the muscle of any other species studied. The activity of the snail deaminase is regulated by pH, KCl and buffer concentrations, and Pi; however, regulation seems to be very poor in comparison with that of muscle deaminases from other species, specific to 5'-AMP. Snail enzyme appears as the first animal deaminase so far described that has such characteristics. It offers also some opportunities as an analytical tool as a consequence of its very high affinity toward adenylates.
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