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Plant ornithine decarboxylase is not post-transcriptionally feedback regulated by polyamines but can interact with a cytosolic ribosomal protein S15 polypeptide

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Abstract

The formation of putrescine by ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) is a key regulatory step in polyamine biosynthesis in metazoa and fungi. Excess polyamines post-transcriptionally induce the synthesis of a unique non-competitive protein inhibitor of ODC, termed antizyme. Binding of antizyme to an ODC monomer subunit results in enzymatic inhibition, rapid ubiquitin-independent degradation of ODC by the 26S proteasome and recycling of antizyme. Plants possess an additional route for synthesizing putrescine via arginine decarboxylase (ADC). No homologue of ODC antizyme has been detected in plant genomes but several biochemical studies have reported plant ODC antizyme proteins of 9 and 16 kDa. Here we show that plant cells grown in liquid culture do not exhibit any substantial post-transcriptional, polyamine-responsive feedback regulation of ODC or ADC. However, using the yeast two hybrid system, a plant ODC-binding polypeptide was detected: the C-terminal 84-87 amino acids of cytosolic ribosomal protein (rp) S15. The Arabidopsis rpS15 polypeptide interacted specifically with plant ODC but not with human or Saccharomyces cerevisiae ODCs. Co-expression of either the full length or C-terminal rpS15 polypeptides with a plant ODC in yeast did not reduce ODC enzymatic activity. Only the full length mRNA encoding rpS15 was detected in Arabidopsis cells, suggesting that the C-terminal rpS15 polypeptide is encoded by a low abundance mRNA or the polypeptide is not physiologically relevant in plants. These results confirm the primacy of S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase as the key regulatory enzyme in plant polyamine biosynthesis.

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Abbreviations

ODC:

Ornithine decarboxylase

BY-2:

Bright Yellow-2 tobacco cells

rpS15:

Cytosolic ribosomal protein S15

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Acknowledgments

A. J. Michael is supported by UT Southwestern Medical Center. We would like to express our thanks to Susanne Sommer for analysis of the tobacco BY-2 cells.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UCL Gene Therapy Consortium, University College London Cancer Institute, 72 Huntley Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK

    Crista Illingworth

  2. Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390-9041, USA

    Anthony J. Michael

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  1. Crista Illingworth
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  2. Anthony J. Michael
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Correspondence to Anthony J. Michael.

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Illingworth, C., Michael, A.J. Plant ornithine decarboxylase is not post-transcriptionally feedback regulated by polyamines but can interact with a cytosolic ribosomal protein S15 polypeptide. Amino Acids 42, 519–527 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-011-1029-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-011-1029-5

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