Purification and primary amino acid sequence of the L subunit of glycine decarboxylase. Evidence for a single lipoamide dehydrogenase in plant mitochondria.

In order to purify the lipoamide dehydrogenase associated with the glycine decarboxylase complex of pea leaf mitochondria, the activity of free lipoamide dehydrogenase has been separated from those of the pyruvate and 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase complexes under conditions in which the glycine decarboxylase dissociates into its component subunits. This free lipoamide dehydrogenase which is normally associated with the glycine decarboxylase complex has been further purified and the N-terminal amino acid sequence determined. Positive cDNA clones isolated from both a pea leaf and embryo lambda gt11 expression library using an antibody raised against the purified lipoamide dehydrogenase proved to be the product of a single gene. The amino acid sequence deduced from the open reading frame included a sequence matching that determined directly from the N terminus of the mature protein. The deduced amino acid sequence shows good homology to the sequence of lipoamide dehydrogenase associated with the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex from Escherichia coli, yeast, and humans. The corresponding mRNA is strongly light-induced both in etiolated pea seedlings and in the leaves of mature plants following a period of darkness. The evidence suggests that the mitochondrial enzyme complexes: pyruvate dehydrogenase, 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase, and glycine decarboxylase all use the same lipoamide dehydrogenase subunit.