Esterification Of Chlorophyllide Research Articles

Chlorophyll Synthase under Epigenetic Surveillance Is Critical for Vitamin E Synthesis, and Altered Expression Affects Tocopherol Levels in Arabidopsis.

Chlorophyll synthase catalyzes the final step in chlorophyll biosynthesis: the esterification of chlorophyllide with either geranylgeranyl diphosphate or phytyl diphosphate (PDP). Recent studies have pointed to the involvement of chlorophyll-linked reduction of geranylgeranyl by geranylgeranyl reductase as a major pathway for the synthesis of the PDP precursor of tocopherols. This indirect pathway of PDP synthesis suggests a key role of chlorophyll synthase in tocopherol production to generate the geranylgeranyl-chlorophyll substrate for geranylgeranyl reductase. In this study, contributions of chlorophyll synthase to tocopherol formation in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) were explored by disrupting and altering expression of the corresponding gene CHLOROPHYLL SYNTHASE (CHLSYN; At3g51820). Leaves from the homozygous chlysyn1-1 null mutant were nearly devoid of tocopherols, whereas seeds contained only approximately 25% of wild-type tocopherol levels. Leaves of RNA interference lines with partial suppression of CHLSYN displayed marked reductions in chlorophyll but up to a 2-fold increase in tocopherol concentrations. Cauliflower mosaic virus35S-mediated overexpression of CHLSYN unexpectedly caused a cosuppression phenotype at high frequencies accompanied by strongly reduced chlorophyll content and increased tocopherol levels. This phenotype and the associated detection of CHLSYN-derived small interfering RNAs were reversed with CHLSYN overexpression in rna-directed rna polymerase6 (rdr6), which is defective in RNA-dependent RNA polymerase6, a key enzyme in sense transgene-induced small interfering RNA production. CHLSYN overexpression in rdr6 had little effect on chlorophyll content but resulted in up to a 30% reduction in tocopherol levels in leaves. These findings show that altered CHLSYN expression impacts tocopherol levels and also, show a strong epigenetic surveillance of CHLSYN to control chlorophyll and tocopherol synthesis.

Analysis of an Arabidopsis heat-sensitive mutant reveals that chlorophyll synthase is involved in reutilization of chlorophyllide during chlorophyll turnover.

Chlorophylls, the most abundant pigments in the photosynthetic apparatus, are constantly turned over as a result of the degradation and replacement of the damage-prone reaction center D1 protein of photosystem II. Results from isotope labeling experiments suggest that chlorophylls are recycled by reutilization of chlorophyllide and phytol, but the underlying mechanism is unclear. In this study, by characterization of a heat-sensitive Arabidopsis mutant we provide evidence of a salvage pathway for chlorophyllide a. A missense mutation in CHLOROPHYLL SYNTHASE (CHLG) was identified and confirmed to be responsible for a light-dependent, heat-induced cotyledon bleaching phenotype. Following heat treatment, mutant (chlg-1) but not wild-type seedlings accumulated a substantial level of chlorophyllide a, which resulted in a surge of phototoxic singlet oxygen. Immunoblot analysis suggested that the mutation destabilized the chlorophyll synthase proteins and caused a conditional blockage of esterification of chlorophyllide a after heat stress. Accumulation of chlorophyllide a after heat treatment occurred during recovery in the dark in the light-grown but not the etiolated seedlings, suggesting that the accumulated chlorophyllides were not derived from de novo biosynthesis but from de-esterification of the existing chlorophylls. Further analysis of the triple mutant harboring the CHLG mutant allele and null mutations of CHLOROPHYLLASE1 (CLH1) and CLH2 indicated that the known chlorophyllases are not responsible for the accumulation of chlorophyllide a in chlg-1. Taken together, our results show that chlorophyll synthase acts in a salvage pathway for chlorophyll biosynthesis by re-esterifying the chlorophyllide a produced during chlorophyll turnover.

A Chlorophyll-Deficient Rice Mutant with Impaired Chlorophyllide Esterification in Chlorophyll Biosynthesis

Chlorophyll (Chl) synthase catalyzes esterification of chlorophyllide to complete the last step of Chl biosynthesis. Although the Chl synthases and the corresponding genes from various organisms have been well characterized, Chl synthase mutants have not yet been reported in higher plants. In this study, a rice (Oryza Sativa) Chl-deficient mutant, yellow-green leaf1 (ygl1), was isolated, which showed yellow-green leaves in young plants with decreased Chl synthesis, increased level of tetrapyrrole intermediates, and delayed chloroplast development. Genetic analysis demonstrated that the phenotype of ygl1 was caused by a recessive mutation in a nuclear gene. The ygl1 locus was mapped to chromosome 5 and isolated by map-based cloning. Sequence analysis revealed that it encodes the Chl synthase and its identity was verified by transgenic complementation. A missense mutation was found in a highly conserved residue of YGL1 in the ygl1 mutant, resulting in reduction of the enzymatic activity. YGL1 is constitutively expressed in all tissues, and its expression is not significantly affected in the ygl1 mutant. Interestingly, the mRNA expression of the cab1R gene encoding the Chl a/b-binding protein was severely suppressed in the ygl1 mutant. Moreover, the expression of some nuclear genes associated with Chl biosynthesis or chloroplast development was also affected in ygl1 seedlings. These results indicate that the expression of nuclear genes encoding various chloroplast proteins might be feedback regulated by the level of Chl or Chl precursors.

Enzymes of the Last Steps of Chlorophyll Biosynthesis: Modification of the Substrate Structure Helps To Understand the Topology of the Active Centers

Enzymes catalyzing two of the late steps of chlorophyll biosynthesis are NADPH:protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase (POR), responsible for the light-dependent reduction of protochlorophyllide to chlorophyllide, and chlorophyll synthase that catalyses the esterification of chlorophyllide to chlorophyll. Inhibitors of these enzymes are of interest as potential herbicides. Both enzymes presumably form a complex, and the question arose whether chlorophyll synthase can react with chlorophyllide while it is still bound to POR. Here, we describe the chemical modification of protochlorophyllides and chlorophyllides with space-filling substituents at rings A, B, and E of the tetrapyrrole macrocycle and the reactivity of the modified substrates. Both enzymes tolerate the large and flexible phenylamino substituent at ring B, indicating that ring B points toward the enzyme surface while the substrate is bound. On the basis of the standard compound zinc protopheophorbide a (100% activity), the 7(1)-phenylamino derivative shows a comparable activity (83%) with POR that is higher than that of the parent formyl derivative zinc protopheophorbide b (58% activity). In contrast, the 3(1)-phenylamino derivative is less active (12%) than the parent formyl compound zinc protopheophorbide d (49% activity), indicating that the binding pocket leaves less space around ring A than around ring B. Almost no space must be left around ring E because substitution of the 13(2)-carboxymethyl ester (100% activity) by the 13(2)-carboxyethyl ester reduces the activity to 0.2%. Chlorophyll synthase leaves somewhat more space around ring E on the A side of the tetrapyrrole in the binding pocket; substitution of the 13(2)-proton (100% activity) by a methoxy group (53% activity) and an ethoxy group (11% activity) is tolerated to a certain extent, while the carbomethoxy group in this position is not accepted. Opening of ring E to a chlorin e6 dimethylester is tolerated (39% activity), while the large benzylamide residue at this site leads to the loss of activity. We conclude that the tetrapyrroles bind to both enzymes in the same direction: rings C, D, and E are oriented to the interior of the binding cleft, and rings A and B are oriented to the surface of the enzyme; this excludes simultaneous binding to both enzymes.

Correlation between chlorophyllide esterification, Shibata shift and regeneration of protochlorophyllide650 in flash‐irradiated etiolated barley leaves

The pigments of etiolated leaves of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) were analysed during dark periods after flash illumination, and the results were compared with in vivo spectroscopy of the leaves. Pretreatment of the leaves with kinetin slightly stimulated and pretreatment with NaF and anaerobiosis inhibited the esterification of chlorophyllide a (Chlide) at 10–40 min after the flash, whereas the rapid esterification within 30 s after the flash remained unchanged. Irrespective of pretreatment, the amount of esterified pigment was, at any time, identical with the amount of pigment that had shifted its absorption from 684 to 672 nm (Shibata shift). Cycloheximide (CHI) had only a small inhibitory effect on esterification, but drastically inhibited the hydrogenation of geranylgeraniol to phytol, bound to Chlide. The regeneration of long‐wavelength protochlorophyllide a (Pchlide650) was stimulated by kinetin and inhibited by CHI and NaF. During the rapid phase (0–30 s after the flash), the esterification was faster than the regeneration of Pchlide650, and this, in turn, was faster than the formation of photoactive Pchlide. The kinetics changed after pretreatment with 5‐aminolaevulinic acid: regeneration of Pchlide650 was the fastest reaction and the Shibata shift preceded the esterification of Chlide. The results are discussed as pigment exchange reactions at NADPH:protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase (POR; EC 1.6.99.1).

Biosynthesis of non-fluorescent chlorophyll of Photosystem II core in greening plant leaves. Effect of etiolated plants growing under heat shock conditions (38 °C)

Preliminary dark incubation of etiolated pea and maize plants at 38 °C allowed to observe a new dark reaction of Chl biosynthesis occuring after photoconversion of protochlorophyllide Pchld 655/650 into chlorophyllide Chld 684/676. This reaction was accompanied by chlorophyllide esterification and by the bathochromic shift of pigment spectra: Chld 684/676 → Chl 688/680. After completion of the reaction, a rapid (20–30 s at 26 °C) quenching of Chl 688/680 low-temperature fluorescence was observed. The reaction Chld 684/676 → Chl 688/680 was inhibited under anaerobic conditions as well as in the presence of KCN; the reaction accompanied by Chl fluorescence quenching was inhibited in the leaves of pea mutants with impaired function of Photosystem II reaction centers. The spectra position of newly formed Chl, effects of Chl fluorescence quenching allowed to assume that the new dark reaction is responsible for biosynthesis of P–680, the key pigment of Photosystem II reaction centres.

Formation of long-wavelength chlorophyllide (Chlide695) is required for the assembly of Photosystem II in etiolated barley leaves

Chlorophyll(ide) spectroscopic properties and Photosystem II assembly, monitored by 77 K variable fluorescence, were studied in etiolated barley leaves as a function of the extent of protochlorophyllide photoreduction by a single millisecond light flash of different intensities. Variable fluorescence, measured 2 hours after the flash, was only detected when the extent of phototransformation was higher than a threshold value of 0.4. Its development paralleled the formation of a chlorophyll emission component at 685 nm, which itself derived from long-wavelength chlorophyllide with an emission maximum at 695 nm. At low flash intensities, short-wavelength chlorophyllide forms preferentially accumulated and no Photosystem II fluorescence was detected after 2 hours. Chlorophyllide esterification was independent of the extent of phototransformation. These results suggested that the formation of long-wavelength chlorophyllide was essential for further assembly of Photosystem II. This interpretation was strengthened by the observed inhibition of both long-wavelength chlorophyllide formation and of variable fluorescence development in leaves treated with δ-aminolevulinic acid or in untreated leaves subjected to repeated flashes of low intensity.

Cryopreservation of Chlorophyll Synthesis and Apoprotein Stabilization in Barley Etioplasts.

Methods for the cryopreservation of protein import and integration in pea chloroplasts and of protein import or protein synthesis in tobacco mitochondria were modified to yield enzymatically active cryopreserved etioplasts from barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). The cryoprotectants ethylene glycol and dimethy sulfoxide were about 64 and 77% effective, respectively, for the cryopreservation of etioplast intactness. Phototransformation of protochlorophyllide a, esterification of chlorophyllide a or zinc-pheophorbide a, and stabilization of the de novo synthesized plastid-encoded chlorophyll-apoproteins P700, CP47, CP43, D2, and D1 were successfully preserved in liquid nitrogen. Cryopreservation of freshly prepared intact etioplasts completely retained enzymatic activities for accumulation of chlorophyll a or resulted in a slightly decreased yield of zinc-pheophytin a.

Chlorophyll synthetase activity is relocated from transforming prolamellar bodies to developing thylakoids during irradiation of dark‐grown wheat

Analyses of the esterification of newly formed chlorophyllide in irradiated dark‐grown leaves of wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Kosack) suggest a translocation of chlorophyll synthetase activity from transforming prolamellar bodies to developing thylakoids. We have fractionated plastid inner membranes from dark‐grown leaves and from leaves irradiated for 5, 10, or 20 min and compared the in vitro esterification of chlorophyllide in two fractions, corresponding (in density) to the prolamellar body and the prothylakoid fraction of dark‐grown leaves. The relative amounts of chlorophyllide, and total protein, as well as the specific esterification activity, increased with irradiation time in the prothylakoid fraction. The esterification of chlorophyllide seems to depend on a transformation of the prolamellar body structure. The results are discussed also in relation to other events initiated by irradiation, such as the Shibata‐shift and the altered distribution of NADPH‐protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase (EC 1.3.1.33).

The Shibata Shift and the Transformation of Etioplasts to Chloroplasts in Wheat with Clomazone (FMC 57020) and Amiprophos-Methyl (Tokunol M)

The Shibata shift is a change in the absorption maximum of chlorophyllide from 684 to 672 nanometers that occurs within approximately 0.5 hour of phototransformation of protochlorophyllide to chlorophyllide. Two compounds, clomazone and amiprophos-methyl, which previously have been shown to inhibit the Shibata shift in vivo, were used to look for correlations between the Shibata shift and other processes that occur during etioplast to chloroplast transformation. Leaf sections from 6-day-old etiolated wheat seedlings (Triticum aestivum L. cv Walde) were treated with 0.5 millimolar clomazone or 0.1 millimolar amiprophos-methyl in darkness. In addition to the Shibata shift, the esterification of chlorophyllide to chlorophyll and the relocation of protochlorophyllide reductase from the prolamellar bodies to the developing thylakoids were inhibited by these treatments. Prolamellar body transformation did not appear to be affected by amiprophos-methyl and was only slightly affected by clomazone. The results indicate that: (a) there is a strong correlation between the occurrence of the Shibata shift and esterification activity; (b) transformation of the prolamellar bodies does not depend on the Shibata shift; and (c) the occurrence of the Shibata shift may be a prerequisite to the relocation of protochlorophyllide reductase from prolamellar bodies to thylakoids.

The greening process in cress seedlings. I. Pigment accumulation and ultrastructure after application of 5‐aminolevulinate and complexing agents

A reduced rate of greening after continuous illumination was observed in dark‐grown cress seedlings (Lepidium sativum L.) incubated with 5‐aminolevulinate (ALA) or the complexing agents 2,2′‐bipyridyl, 8‐hydroxyquinoline or 1,10‐phenanthroline. This effect cannot be explained merely by photodynamic damage caused by chlorophyll precursors which are accumulated in the dark under these conditions. Flash light experiments revealed that photoconversion of protochlorophyll(ide) to chlorophyllide was not influenced by chelator treatment. The next step in the chlorophyll pathway, the esterification of chlorophyllide, however, was inhibited. Simultaneously applicated ALA and complexing agents did not result in a synergistic reponse; on the contrary, ALA seemed to render cress plants less susceptible to the treatment with complexing agents upon subsequent irradiation. Ultrastructural studies demonstrated that grana formation in light was inhibited after pretreatment with ALA or complexing agents.

The implication of a plastid-derived factor in the transcriptional control of nuclear genes encoding the light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b protein.

In carotenoid-deficient albina mutants of barley and in barley plants treated with the herbicide Norflurazon the light-dependent accumulation of the mRNA for the light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b protein (LHCP) is blocked. Thus, the elimination of a functional chloroplast, either as a result of mutation or as a result of herbicide treatment, can lead to the specific suppression of the expression of a nuclear gene encoding a plastid-localized protein. These results confirm and extend earlier observations on maize [Mayfield and Taylor (1984) Eur. J. Biochem. 144, 79-84]. The inhibition of mRNA accumulation appears to be specific for the LHCP; the mRNAs encoding the small subunit of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase and the NADPH: protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase are relatively unaffected. The failure of the albina mutants and of Norflurazon-treated plants to accumulate the LHCP mRNA is not exclusively caused by an instability of the transcript but rather by the inability of the plants to enhance the rate of transcription of the LHCP genes during illumination. Several chlorophyll-deficient xantha mutants of barley, which are blocked after protoporphyrin IX or Mg-protoporphyrin, and the chlorophyll-b-less mutant chlorina f2 accumulate the LHCP mRNA to almost normal levels during illumination. Thus, if any of the reactions leading to chlorophyll formation is involved in the control of LHCP mRNA accumulation it should be one between the formation of protochlorophyllide and the esterification of chlorophyllide a. While the nature of the regulatory factor(s) has not been identified our results suggest that, in addition to phytochrome (Pfr), plastid-dependent factors are required for a continuous light-dependent transcription of nuclear genes encoding the LHCP.

Changes in the Endogenous Pools of Tetraprenyl Diphosphates in Etiolated Oat Seedlings after Irradiation

The chlorophyll synthetase reaction (Rüdiger et al., 1980) was used as a probe to investigate the soluble and membrane-bound pools of phytyl diphosphate and geranylgeranyl diphosphate in etiolated seedlings of oat ( Avena sativa L.). Incubating increasing amounts of the soluble fractions of etiolated seedlings («supernatant») with a standard, irradiated etioplast membrane preparation, produced increasing amounts of esterified chlorophyll, mainly Chl GG , while incubation of the same membrane preparation with 3 H-geranylgeranyl diphosphate yielded labelled Chl GG and unlabelled Chl p . The Chl p was derived from a membrane-bound pool of phytol derivatives rather then by hydrogenation in vitro from Chl GG . Esterification of chlorophyllide, the ratio of applied substrates GGPP/PhyPP and the ratio of formed pigments Chl GG /Chl p are compared diagramatically (Fig. 2). The effect on the composition of the supernatants of etiolated seedlings of a short period of irradiation, followed by various dark periods, were also investigated. The soluble GGPP pool of etiolated seedlings was depleted by the irradiation but refilled in the subsequent dark period. Only a small soluble phytyl diphosphate pool was detected.

Esterification of chlorophyllide b in higher plants

Chlorophyllide b and four chemically different chlorophyll b specieis, chlorophyllide b esterified with geranylgeraniol, dihydrogeranylgeraniol, tetrahydrogeranylgeraniol and phytol have been detected in addition to the same derivatives of chlorophyll a in the greening cotyledons of cucumber. These esters could be separated and determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. The results suggest that chlorophyll b phytol is formed from the esterification of chlorophyllide b and geranylgeraniol followed by three hydrogenations of the alcohol moiety, as in the case of chlorophyll a and protochlorophyll phytol formation

Incorporation of 1-14C-Isopentenyldiphosphate, Geraniol and Farnesol into Chlorophyll in Plastid Membrane Fractions of Avena sativa L.

Incorporation of 1-14C-isopentenyldiphosphate (IPP)1 and related diprenyl and triprenyl substrates into chlorophyll of irradiated etioplast membranes of Avena sativa L. was investigated. The etioplast membranes contain the enzyme chlorophyll synthetase which catalyzes the esterification of chlorophyllide with exogenous substrates like geranylgeranyl diphosphate or geranylgeraniol + ATP (Rüdiger et al., 1980). The main product after incubation with IPP, IPP + geraniol/ATP, IPP + farnesyl/ATP or IPP + farnesyl diphosphate was ChlGG, followed by ChlH2GG, ChlH4GG and Chlp. Increased yields of Chlp after incubation with (arnesyl diphosphate with or without IPP were due to increased mobilization of endogenous substrates. The specific radioactivities of ChlGG after incubation with IPP + farnesyl, IPP + geraniol or IPP alone indicated the incorporation of one, two or three mols IPP, respectively, into one mol geranylgeraniol. Specific radioactivities of ChlH2GG were somewhat, that of ChlH4GG and Chlp considerably smaller than that of ChlGG. The results confirmed earlier observations on the following sequential steps for chlorophyll biosynthesis: Download : Download full-size image

Esterification of Chlorophyllide in Prolamellar Body (PLB) and Prothylakoid (PT) Fractions from Avena sativa Etioplasts

Abstract Etioplast membranes were fractionated into enriched prothylakoid (PT) and prolamellar body fraction (PLB) by known procedures [2]. The photoconversion of Protochlide to Chlide was 77% in the PT fraction but only 65% in the PLB fraction with optimum NADPH concentrations. The subsequent esterification reaction proceeds in both fractions indicating that the enzyme chlorophyll synthetase is present in both fractions. In the PLB fraction, 10-15% more ChlP is formed than in the PT fraction. It is concluded that the concentration of the endogenous phytol precursor is higher in the membranes still present in the PLB fraction than in the PT fraction.

Influence of Anaerobiosis on Chlorophyll Biosynthesis in Greening Oat Seedlings (Avena sativa L.)

The influence of anaerobiosis for 0.5 to 15 hours on the last steps of chlorophyll biosynthesis of etiolated oat seedlings was investigated. Phototransformation of protochlorophyllide to chlorophyllide is only slightly reduced and esterification of chlorophyllide is slightly increased by pretreatment under anaerobic conditions. Pretreated plants accumulate the geranylgeraniol ester of chlorophyllide rather than the phytol ester. Enzymic hydrogenation of the esterifying alcohol geranylgeraniol to phytol is presumably inhibited by anaerobiosis.

Detection and partial characterization of activity of chlorophyll synthetase in etioplast membranes.

The esterification of chlorophyllide a was investigated an irradiated etioplast-membrane fractions ('broken etioplasts') from oat seedlings (Avena sativa L.). As a substrate, [1(-3)H]geranylgeraniol and its monophosphate and diphosphate derivatives were prepared by chemical synthesis. Geranylgeraniol and its monphosphate derivative are incorporated into chlorophyll only in the presence of ATP whereas the diphosphate derivative is incorporated also without ATP. The yield of esterified chlorophyll is 80-90% of chlorophyllide with saturating substrate concentrations. The term 'chlorophyll synthetase' is used to describe the enzyme activity which is different from chlorophyllase. Other substrates are phytol and farnesol either with ATP or as the diphosphate derivatives. The relative specificity of 'chlorophyll synthetase' for thse substrates is geranylgeraniol:phytol:farnesol = 6:3:1. In these experiments in vitro, a new chlorphyll esterified with farnesol was detected which does not occur in intact plants. Geraniol and n-pentadecanol are no substrates for the enzyme. Protochlorphyllide which is present in non-irradiated etioplast membrane fractions is not esterified under the same conditions.

The Esterification of Chlorophyllide a in Greening Bean Leaves

Abstract The accumulation of esterfied chlorophyll a (Chl a) in etiolated bean leaves was determined during a dark period of 60 minutes after 1 minute irradiation with white light. The separation of the pigments esterified with geranylgeraniol (GG), dihydrogeranylgeraniol (DHGG), tetrahydrogeranylgeraniol (THGG) and phytol (P) was performed by HPLC. The last step for chlorophyll a biosynthesis is confirmed to be an esterification of chlorophyllide a to ChlGG followed by a stepwise hydrogenation of the pigment-bounded alcohols to ChlDHGG and ChlTHGG and finally to Chl a.

Esterification of chlorophyllide by geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate in a cell-free system from maize shoots

A cell-free system is described which incorporates [ 14C ]-geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate, but not free [ 14C ]-geranylgeraniol, into chlorophyll a geranylgeraniol. The esterifying enzyme is found in the 75,000 g pellet of a homogenate from maize shoots whereas most of the phosphatase activity remains in the supernatant. The enzyme is different from chlorophyllase which has been discussed in the literature as the possible esterifying enzyme.