Plant O-hydroxyproline arabinogalactans are composed of repeating trigalactosyl subunits with short bifurcated side chains

J Biol Chem. 2010 Aug 6;285(32):24575-83. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M109.100149. Epub 2010 May 20.

Abstract

Classical arabinogalactan proteins partially defined by type II O-Hyp-linked arabinogalactans (Hyp-AGs) are structural components of the plant extracellular matrix. Recently we described the structure of a small Hyp-AG putatively based on repetitive trigalactosyl subunits and suggested that AGs are less complex and varied than generally supposed. Here we describe three additional AGs with similar subunits. The Hyp-AGs were isolated from two different arabinogalactan protein fusion glycoproteins expressed in tobacco cells; that is, a 22-residue Hyp-AG and a 20-residue Hyp-AG, both isolated from interferon alpha2b-(Ser-Hyp)(20), and a 14-residue Hyp-AG isolated from (Ala-Hyp)(51)-green fluorescent protein. We used NMR spectroscopy to establish the molecular structure of these Hyp-AGs, which share common features: (i) a galactan main chain composed of two 1-->3 beta-linked trigalactosyl blocks linked by a beta-1-->6 bond; (ii) bifurcated side chains with Ara, Rha, GlcUA, and a Gal 6-linked to Gal-1 and Gal-2 of the main-chain trigalactosyl repeats; (iii) a common side chain structure composed of up to six residues, the largest consisting of an alpha-L-Araf-(1-->5)-alpha-L-Araf-(1-->3)-alpha-L-Araf-(1-->3- unit and an alpha-L-Rhap-(1-->4)-beta-D-GlcUAp-(1-->6)-unit, both linked to Gal. The conformational ensemble obtained by using nuclear Overhauser effect data in structure calculations revealed a galactan main chain with a reverse turn involving the beta-1-->6 link between the trigalactosyl blocks, yielding a moderately compact structure stabilized by H-bonds.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Carbohydrate Sequence
  • Carbohydrates / chemistry
  • Cell Wall / metabolism
  • Galactans / chemistry*
  • Galactose / chemistry*
  • Glycoproteins / chemistry
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins / metabolism
  • Hydrogen Bonding
  • Hydroxyproline / chemistry*
  • Interferon-gamma / metabolism
  • Kinetics
  • Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / methods
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Nicotiana / genetics
  • Nicotiana / metabolism
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / metabolism

Substances

  • Carbohydrates
  • Galactans
  • Glycoproteins
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins
  • Interferon-gamma
  • Hydroxyproline
  • Galactose