Enzyme Regulation in Crassulacean Acid Metabolism Photosynthesis : Studies on Thioredoxin-Linked Enzymes of KalanchoE daigremontiana.

Fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (FBPase) and sedoheptulose-1,7-bisphosphatase (SBPase) were identified and purified from the Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) plant, Kalanchoë daigremontiana. FBPase and SBPase showed respective molecular weights of 180,000 and 76,000, and exhibited immunological cross-reactivity with their counterparts from chloroplasts of C(3) (spinach) and C(4) (corn) plants. Based on Western blot analysis, FBPase was composed of four identical 45,000-dalton subunits and SBPase of two identical 38,000-dalton subunits. Immunological evidence, together with physical properties, indicated that both enzymes were of chloroplast origin.Kalanchoë FBPase and SBPase could be activated by thioredoxin f reduced chemically by dithiothreitol or photochemically by a reconstituted Kalanchoë ferredoxin/thioredoxin system. Both enzymes were activated synergistically by reduced thioredoxin f and thier respective substrates.Kalanchoë FBPase could be partially activated by Mg(2+) at concentrations greater than 10 millimolar; however, such activation was considerably less than that observed in the presence of reduced thioredoxin and Ca(2+), especially in the pH range between 7.8 and 8.3. In contrast to FBPase, Kalanchoë SBPase exhibited an absolute requirement for a dithiol such as reduced thioredoxin irrespective of Mg(2+) concentration. However, like FBPase, increased Mg(2+) concentrations enhanced the thioredoxin-linked activation of this enzyme.In conjunction with these studies, an NADP-linked malate dehydrogenase (NADP-MDH) was identified in cell-free preparations of Kalanchoë leaves which required reduced thioredoxin m for activity.These results indicate that Kalanchoë FBPase, SBPase, and NADP-MDH share physical and regulatory properties with their equivalents in C(3) and C(4) plants. In contrast to previous evidence, all three enzymes appear to have the capacity to be photoregulated in chloroplasts of CAM plants, thereby providing a means for the functional segregation of glucan synthesis and degradation.