title: Maize recombinant non-C4 NADP-malic enzyme: a novel dimeric malic enzyme with high specific activity.
abstract: Among the different isoforms of NADP-malic enzyme (NADP-ME) involved in a wide range of metabolic pathways in plants, the NADP-ME that participates in C(4)-photosynthesis is the most studied. In the present work, the expression in E. coli of a cDNA encoding for a maize non-photosynthetic NADP-ME is presented. The recombinant NADP-ME thus obtained presents kinetic and structural properties different from the enzyme previously purified from etiolated leaves and roots. Moreover, the recombinant non-photosynthetic NADP-ME presents very high intrinsic NADP-ME activity, which is unexpected for a non-C( 4) NADP-ME. Using antibodies against this recombinant enzyme, an immunoreactive band of 66 kDa is detected in different maize tissues indicating that the 66 kDa-NADP-ME is in fact a protein expressed in vivo. The recombinant NADP-ME assembles as a dimer, although the results obtained indicate that a higher molecular mass oligomeric state of the enzyme is found in maize roots in vivo. In this way, maize presents at least three NADP-ME isoforms: a 72 kDa constitutive form (previously characterized); the novel non-photosynthetic 66 kDa isoform characterized in this work (which is the product of the ZmChlMe2 gene and the likely precursor to the evolution of the photosynthetic C(4) NADP-ME) and the 62 kDa isoform (implicated in C(4) photosynthesis). The contribution of the present work anticipates further studies concerning the equilibrium between the oligomeric states of the NADP-ME isoforms and the evolution towards the C(4) isoenzyme in maize.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Estudios Fotosintéticos y Bioquímicos (CEFOBI), Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Suipacha 531, Argentina.
authors.forename: Mariana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saigo
authors.forename: Federico P
authors.initials: FP
authors.lastname: Bologna
authors.forename: Verónica G
authors.initials: VG
authors.lastname: Maurino
authors.forename: Enrique
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Detarsio
authors.forename: Carlos S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Andreo
authors.forename: María F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Drincovich
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D015153:Blotting, Western; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D019281:Dimerization; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D007700:Kinetics; D008291:Malate Dehydrogenase / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D008970:Molecular Weight; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D003313:Zea mays / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D007527:Isoenzymes; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D008291:Malate Dehydrogenase; C031917:malate dehydrogenase (oxaloacetate-decarboxylating) (NADP+)