title: Mechanism of the increase in cytochrome c oxidase activity in pea cotyledons during seed hydration. The presence of free cytochrome-c-oxidase subunits in dry cotyledons and their probable assembly into the holoenzyme during seed hydration.
abstract: The increase in cytochrome c oxidase activity in pea cotyledons during seed hydration was investigated with two kinds of antibodies against the enzymes purified from mitochondria of pea shoot and sweet potato root. The antibody against the pea enzyme recognized only the largest of the enzyme subunits (subunit I), while that against the sweet potato one did other three of the pea enzyme subunits: the second largest (subunit II) and the two smallest (subunits IV and V). There was no increase in the amount of protein immunoprecipitated with the anti-(pea enzyme) antibody in a crude fraction of cotyledon membranes during seed hydration, despite the marked increase in cytochrome c oxidase activity. Neither cycloheximide nor chloramphenicol had any effect on the activity or the amount. The crude membrane fraction from dry cotyledons contained an enzymatically inert protein precipitated with the anti-(pea enzyme) antibody. The inert protein could be separated from the active enzyme protein through solubilization of the protein from the membranes with various concentrations of Triton X-100. It consisted of only one kind of polypeptide with the same molecular weight as subunit I and decreased with the concomitant increase in the active enzyme protein during seed hydration. Dry pea cotyledons also contained a soluble protein that was immunoprecipitated by antibody to the sweet potato enzyme. The soluble form of the immunoreactive protein decreased with the concomitant increase in active cytochrome c oxidase protein in the crude membrane fraction from the cotyledons during seed hydration. None of these changes during seed hydration were inhibited by cycloheximide or chloramphenicol. The soluble, immunoreactive protein contained only one kind of polypeptide, of which the molecular weight was identical to that of subunit IV. The mitochondrial inner membranes of dry cotyledons were separated into three fractions by sucrose density gradient centrifugation. The lightest was the richest of the three in the enzymatically inert protein immunoprecipitated with the anti-(pea enzyme)antibody; cytochrome c oxidase activity in this fraction increased immediately after the onset of seed hydration. These results indicate that a membrane-bound, free form of subunit I and a soluble, free form of subunit IV of cytochrome c oxidase exist in dry pea cotyledons. We propose that these free forms of subunits are assembled with the other subunits to form the active cytochrome c oxidase during seed hydration.
mesh_terms: D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D012639:Seeds / Q000201:enzymology*; D014867:Water / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D014867:Water; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV