title: A plant class V chitinase from a cycad (Cycas revoluta): biochemical characterization, cDNA isolation, and posttranslational modification.
abstract: Chitinase-A (CrChi-A) was purified from leaf rachises of Cycas revoluta by several steps of column chromatography. It was found to be a glycoprotein with a molecular mass of 40 kDa and an isoelectric point of 5.6. CrChi-A produced mainly (GlcNAc)(3) from the substrate (GlcNAc)(6) through a retaining mechanism. More interestingly, CrChi-A exhibited transglycosylation activity, which has not been observed in plant chitinases investigated so far. A cDNA encoding CrChi-A was cloned by rapid amplification of cDNA ends and polymerase chain reaction procedures. It consisted of 1399 nucleotides and encoded an open reading frame of 387-amino-acid residues. Sequence analysis indicated that CrChi-A belongs to the group of plant class V chitinases. From peptide mapping and mass spectrometry of the native and recombinant enzyme, we found that an N-terminal signal peptide and a C-terminal extension were removed from the precursor (M1-A387) to produce a mature N-glycosylated protein (Q24-G370). This is the first report on a plant chitinase with transglycosylation activity and posttranslational modification of a plant class V chitinase.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Ryukyu University, Okinawa 903-0213, Japan. tokey@agr.u-ryukyu.ac.jp
authors.forename: Toki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Taira
authors.forename: Hiroko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.forename: Yoshiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tajiri
authors.forename: Shoko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Onaga
authors.forename: Gen-ichiro
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Uechi
authors.forename: Hironori
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Iwasaki
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ohnuma
authors.forename: Tamo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fukamizo
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D002688:Chitinases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D029784:Cycas / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000302:isolation & purification; D017343:Genes, Plant; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010449:Peptide Mapping; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational / Q000502:physiology; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D002688:Chitinases