Substrates of the Arabidopsis thaliana protein isoaspartyl methyltransferase 1 identified using phage display and biopanning

J Biol Chem. 2010 Nov 26;285(48):37281-92. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M110.157008. Epub 2010 Sep 24.

Abstract

The role of protein isoaspartyl methyltransferase (PIMT) in repairing a wide assortment of damaged proteins in a host of organisms has been inferred from the affinity of the enzyme for isoaspartyl residues in a plethora of amino acid contexts. The identification of PIMT target proteins in plant seeds, where the enzyme is highly active and proteome long-lived, has been hindered by large amounts of isoaspartate-containing storage proteins. Mature seed phage display libraries circumvented this problem. Inclusion of the PIMT co-substrate, S-adenosylmethionine (AdoMet), during panning permitted PIMT to retain aged phage in greater numbers than controls lacking co-substrate or when PIMT protein binding was poisoned with S-adenosyl homocysteine. After four rounds, phage titer plateaued in AdoMet-containing pans, whereas titer declined in both controls. This strategy identified 17 in-frame PIMT target proteins, including a cupin-family protein similar to those identified previously using on-blot methylation. All recovered phage had at least one susceptible Asp or Asn residue. Five targets were recovered independently. Two in-frame targets were produced in Escherichia coli as recombinant proteins and shown by on-blot methylation to acquire isoAsp, becoming a PIMT target. Both gained isoAsp rapidly in solution upon thermal insult. Mutant analysis of plants deficient in any of three in-frame PIMT targets resulted in demonstrable phenotypes. An over-representation of clones encoding proteins involved in protein production suggests that the translational apparatus comprises a subgroup for which PIMT-mediated repair is vital for orthodox seed longevity. Impaired PIMT activity would hinder protein function in these targets, possibly resulting in poor seed performance.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Motifs
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Arabidopsis / chemistry
  • Arabidopsis / enzymology*
  • Arabidopsis / genetics
  • Arabidopsis / growth & development
  • Arabidopsis Proteins / chemistry*
  • Arabidopsis Proteins / genetics
  • Arabidopsis Proteins / metabolism*
  • Gene Library
  • Genetic Techniques
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Peptide Library*
  • Protein D-Aspartate-L-Isoaspartate Methyltransferase / chemistry*
  • Protein D-Aspartate-L-Isoaspartate Methyltransferase / genetics
  • Protein D-Aspartate-L-Isoaspartate Methyltransferase / metabolism*
  • Substrate Specificity

Substances

  • Arabidopsis Proteins
  • Peptide Library
  • Protein D-Aspartate-L-Isoaspartate Methyltransferase