Effect of ATP Sulfurylase Overexpression in Bright Yellow 2 Tobacco Cells1

• Published in: Plant physiology (Bethesda) Vol. 116; no. 4; pp. 1307 - 1313
• Main Authors: Hatzfeld, Yves, Cathala, Nicole, Grignon, Claude, Davidian, Jean-Claude
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.04.1998
• ISSN: 0032-0889; 1532-2548
• DOI: 10.1104/pp.116.4.1307

Abstract To determine if the ATP sulfurylase reaction is a regulatory step for the SO42−-assimilation pathway in plants, anArabidopsis thaliana ATP sulfurylase cDNA,APS2, was fused to the 35S promoter of the cauliflower mosaic virus and introduced by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation into isolated Bright Yellow 2 tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) cells. The ATP sulfurylase activity in transgenic cells was 8-fold that in control cells, and was correlated with the expression of a specific polypeptide revealed by western analysis using an anti-ATP sulfurylase antibody. The molecular mass of this polypeptide agreed with that for the overexpressed mature protein. ATP sulfurylase overexpression had no effect on [35S]SO42− influx or ATP sulfurylase activity regulation by S availability, except that ATP sulfurylase activity variations in response to S starvation in transgenic cells were 8 times higher than in the wild type. There were also no differences in cell growth or sensitivity to SeO42− (a toxic SO42−analog) between transgenic and wild-type cells. We propose that in Bright Yellow 2 tobacco cells, the ATP sulfurylase derepression by S deficiency may involve a posttranscriptional mechanism, and that the ATP sulfurylase abundance is not limiting for cell metabolism.