title: Divalent cation interactions with oligogalacturonides.
abstract: The conformational properties of high and low molecular weight galacturonides were investigated in relation to the ability of oligomers with degree of polymerization >10 to act as elicitors of plant defense mechanisms. Oligomers from polygalacturonate were obtained by means of enzymatic hydrolysis. Two fractions exhibiting high and low average degrees of polymerization were isolated by solvent fractionation and characterized by means of electrospray mass spectrometry. The conformational behaviors of the two fractions were investigated in the presence of different divalent cations using circular dichroism. Calcium, copper, and zinc ions were able to induce a conformational transition in both fractions. When in the presence of the high molecular weight fraction, copper and zinc ions were much more effective than calcium ions, whereas the efficiency was much reduced with low molecular weight oligomers.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Biochimica, Biofisica e Chimica delle Macromolecole, Università di Trieste, Via Licio Giorgieri 1, 34127 Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cescutti
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rizzo
mesh_terms: D002413:Cations, Divalent / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*; D002942:Circular Dichroism; D008970:Molecular Weight; D009844:Oligosaccharides / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*; D011108:Polymers; D011487:Protein Conformation; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D002413:Cations, Divalent; D009844:Oligosaccharides; D011108:Polymers; C412763:oligogalacturonic acid