ABSTRACT
Con el objetivo de aislar y caracterizar parcialmente las enzimas ribonucleasas (RNasas) contenidas en el látex de Calotropis procera y Pedilanthus tithymaloides, se colectaron muestras de plantas adultas. Las proteínas solubles fueron extraídas con acetato de sodio y centrifugación a 16.000 x g durante 15 min y fraccionadas por cromatografía de intercambio iónico. Se estimó la masa molecular a través de ecuaciones de regresión lineal. Se realizaron pruebas de glicosilación. En ambas especies, las proteínas con actividad RNasa presentaron una masa molecular entre 28 y 30 kDa. No existe evidencia de proteínas glicosiladas en el látex de C. procera. En P. tithymaloides la RNasa es una proteína glicosilada.
In order to isolate and characterize partially ribonucleases (RNases) enzymes contained in the latex from Calotropis procera and Pedilanthus tithymaloides, samples were collected from mature plants. Soluble proteins were extracted with sodium acetate and centrifugation at 16,000 xg for 15 min and fractionated by ion exchange chromatography. Molecular mass was estimated by linear regression equations. Glycosylation tests were conducted. In both species, proteins with RNase activity showed a molecular mass between 28 and 30 kDa. No evidence of glycosylated proteins in latex from C. procera. In P. tithymaloides, RNase may be a glycosylated protein.
Subject(s)
Calotropis/enzymology , Euphorbiaceae/enzymology , Latex/chemistry , Ribonucleases/isolation & purification , Ribonucleases/metabolism , Calotropis/chemistry , Euphorbiaceae/chemistry , GlycosylationABSTRACT
Pitiúba cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp] seeds were germinated in distilled water (control treatment) or in 100 mM NaCl solution (salt treatment), and RNase was purified from different parts of the seedlings. Seedling growth was reduced by the NaCl treatment. RNase activity was low in cotyledons of quiescent seeds, but the enzyme was activated during germination and seedling establishment. Salinity reduced cotyledon RNase activity, and this effect appeared to be due to a delay in its activation. The RNases from roots, stems, and leaves were immunologically identical to that found in cotyledons. Partially purified RNase fractions from the different parts of the seedling showed some activity with DNA as substrate. However, this DNA hydrolyzing activity was much lower than that of RNA hydrolyzing activity. The DNA hydrolyzing activity was strongly inhibited by Cu(2+), Hg(2+), and Zn(2+) ions, stimulated by MgCl(2), and slowly inhibited by EDTA. This activity from the most purified fraction was inhibited by increasing concentrations of RNA in the reaction medium. It is suggested that the major biological role of this cotyledon RNase would be to hydrolyze seed storage RNA during germination and seedling establishment, and it was discussed that it might have a protective role against abiotic stress during later part of seedling establishment.