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Plant Physiol. (1998) 118: 675-682
Differential Expression of Alternative Oxidase Genes in Soybean
Cotyledons during Postgerminative Development1
Tulene C. McCabe,
Patrick M. Finnegan,
A. Harvey
Millar2,
David A. Day, and
James Whelan*
Department of Biochemistry, The University of Western Australia,
Nedlands, Perth, WA 6907, Australia (T.C.M., J.W.); and Division of
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Science, The Australian
National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia (P.M.F., A.H.M.,
D.A.D.)
 |
ABSTRACT |
The
expression of the alternative oxidase (AOX) was investigated during
cotyledon development in soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) seedlings. The total amount of AOX protein increased throughout development, not just in earlier stages as previously thought, and was
correlated with the increase in capacity of the alternative pathway.
Each AOX isoform (AOX1, AOX2, and AOX3) showed a different developmental trend in mRNA abundance, such that the increase in AOX
protein and capacity appears to involve a shift in gene expression from
AOX2 to AOX3. As the cotyledons aged, the
size of the mitochondrial ubiquinone pool decreased. We discuss how this and other factors may affect the alternative pathway activity that
results from the developmental regulation of AOX expression.
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INTRODUCTION |
AOX is a quinol oxidase located in the inner mitochondrial
membrane of plants, some fungi, and protists (McIntosh, 1994 ; Day et
al., 1995 ; Siedow and Umbach, 1995 ; Wagner and Krab, 1995 ). The
presence of AOX provides an alternative to the Cyt pathway (complex
III, Cyt c, and complex IV) for the transport of electrons from ubiquinol to molecular oxygen to form water. Unlike the Cyt pathway, operation of the alternative pathway is not linked to proton
translocation, and the free energy released by electron transfer is
lost as heat. Alternative pathway activity can be catalyzed by a single
gene product (Kumar and Söll, 1992 ; Albury et al., 1996 ), with
the functional AOX enzyme thought to be a dimer of two similar or
identical subunits (Umbach and Siedow, 1993 ).
High levels of AOX activity accompany maturation of the spadices of
thermogenic flowers such as voodoo lily (Rhoads and McIntosh, 1992 ),
but AOX activity has also been detected in every other higher plant
examined (Siedow and Umbach, 1995 ). Increases in AOX activity have been
observed in plant cells after exposure to a range of stresses,
including low temperature (Vanlerberghe and McIntosh, 1992b ), wounding
(Hiser and McIntosh, 1990 ), and the addition of compounds that inhibit
protein synthesis (Morohashi et al., 1991 ; Zhang et al., 1996 ), amino
acid synthesis (Aubert et al., 1997 ), and Cyt pathway activity
(Vanlerberghe and McIntosh, 1992a , 1994 ). AOX activity also changes
during the ripening of mango fruit (Cruz-Hernández and
Gómez-Lim, 1995 ) and during the development of pea leaves (Lennon
et al., 1995 ). Increases in AOX activity are usually paralleled by
increases in the amount of AOX protein (McIntosh, 1994 ; Siedow and
Umbach, 1995 ), which are manifested as an increase in immunoreactive
signal produced by probing mitochondrial protein extracts with an
anti-AOX antibody raised against voodoo lily AOX proteins (Elthon et
al., 1989 ). The increase in protein is typically accompanied by an
increase in the abundance of AOX transcripts (Rhoads and
McIntosh, 1992 ; Vanlerberghe and McIntosh, 1994 , 1996 ;
Cruz-Hernández and Gómez-Lim, 1995 ; Aubert et al., 1997 ).
AOX activity in mitochondria from cotyledons of soybean (Glycine
max) seedlings increases with seedling age (Tuquet and
Dizengremel, 1984 ; Azcón-Bieto et al., 1989 ; Obenland et al.,
1990 ). In one study this increase was found to correlate with an
increase in AOX protein, but the magnitude of the protein increase was
greater than the increase in activity (Obenland et al., 1990 ). This
discrepancy may be explained by the recent findings that the AOX enzyme
is activated by reduction of an intermolecular disulfide bond between the two subunits of the dimer (Umbach and Siedow, 1993 , 1996 ; Umbach et
al., 1994 ) and is stimulated by certain -keto acids (Millar et al.,
1993 ).
Two distinct AOX proteins can be detected in mitochondria from soybean
cotyledons (Obenland et al., 1990 ; Kearns et al., 1992 ). The
higher-mobility species (approximately 34 kD) was observed at all
developmental stages, whereas the lower-mobility species (approximately
36 kD) did not appear until several days after germination (Obenland et
al., 1990 ). Although the presence of multiple AOX proteins is common in
plants (Elthon et al., 1989 ; Obenland et al., 1990 ; Kearns et al.,
1992 ; Hiser and McIntosh, 1994 ; Cruz-Hernández and
Gómez-Lim, 1995 ; Zhang et al., 1996 ), the molecular basis for
this has only been resolved for soybean, in which three distinct
AOX genes (GmAOX1, GmAOX2, and
GmAOX3) have been identified (Whelan et al., 1996 ). Direct
N-terminal sequencing of partially purified soybean AOX proteins has
demonstrated that the 34- and 36-kD proteins found in the mitochondria
of soybean cotyledons are the products of the AOX2 and
AOX3 genes, respectively (Finnegan et al., 1997 ). Multiple
AOX proteins in other species may also be due to multiple
AOX genes, because AOX multigene families have
been identified in tobacco (Whelan et al., 1996 ), Arabidopsis (Saisho et al., 1997 ), rice (Ito et al., 1997 ), mango (M. Considine and J. Whelan, unpublished data), and tomato (R. Holtzapffel, P.M. Finnegan, and D.A. Day, unpublished data). The mechanisms by which
these different genes are regulated have not yet been elucidated.
We examined the expression of the AOX multigene family in
cotyledons during soybean seedling development and reinvestigated AOX
expression in this tissue in terms of protein abundance and alternative
pathway capacity. In contrast to previous work on soybean cotyledons,
but in line with other systems, increases in alternative pathway
capacity during cotyledon development strongly correlated with
increases in total AOX protein abundance. However, the increase in AOX
activity and protein abundance was not due simply to the
transcriptional up-regulation of an already active AOX gene, but,
rather, to a developmentally regulated shift from the expression of one
AOX subunit gene to the expression of another.
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MATERIALS AND METHODS |
Plant Growth, Tissue Collection, and Mitochondrial Isolation
Soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr. cv Stevens) seeds
were germinated in trays of vermiculite and grown with a photocycle of
12 h of light (120 or 380 µmol photons
m 2 s 1) at 28°C and
12 h of dark at 19°C in controlled-environment cabinets with
daily watering. Cotyledons were harvested 5, 7, 10, 14, or 20 d
after planting. For each stage examined, cotyledons for RNA extraction
and for isolation of mitochondria were taken from the same tray of
plants. Cotyledons to be used for RNA isolation were frozen immediately
in liquid nitrogen and stored at 80°C. Cotyledons from
approximately 200 plants were harvested for isolation of mitochondria,
which was done according to the method of Day et al. (1985) .
mRNA Analysis
Frozen cotyledons from 5 to 30 plants were ground to a powder
under liquid nitrogen using a mortar and pestle. Total RNA was isolated
by the guanidine thiocyanate/organic extraction method of Chomczynski
and Sacchi (1987) and extracted with LiCl (Puissant and Houdebine,
1990 ). Poly(A+) RNA was enriched from 0.35 to 1.0 mg of total RNA using a kit (Oligotex, Qiagen, Clifton Hill, Australia)
and the protocol described by the supplier.
Poly(A+)-enriched RNA samples were mixed with
sample buffer containing ethidium bromide, separated by electrophoresis
through agarose gels containing formaldehyde (Sambrook et al., 1989 ), and transferred by capillary action to nylon membranes (Hybond-N+, Amersham) using 20× SSC (3 M NaCl and 0.3 M
trisodium citrate) as the transfer buffer. RNA was fixed to the
membrane by baking at 80°C for 2 h. Linearized clones of
full-length soybean AOX cDNAs (Finnegan et al.,
1997 ) were used as templates for the synthesis of digoxigenin-labeled
antisense RNA probes using a commercial kit (Boehringer Mannheim).
Prehybridization (2 h) and hybridization (approximately 16 h) were
performed in hybridization buffer (DIG Easy Hyb, Boehringer
Mannheim) at 65°C or 68°C. After hybridization, membranes were
washed for 15 min twice with 1× SSC, 1% (w/v) SDS at ambient
temperature, twice with 0.1× SSC, 1% (w/v) SDS at 65°C or 68°C,
and twice with 0.1× SSC, 0.1% (w/v) SDS at ambient temperature. Hybrids were tagged with an alkaline phosphatase-conjugated
anti-digoxigenin antibody and visualized by an
alkaline-phosphatase-catalyzed reaction using a chemiluminescent
substrate (CDP-Star, Boehringer Mannheim) following the
supplier's instructions. A competitive reverse transcriptase-PCR assay
specific for the soybean AOX multigene family (Finnegan et
al., 1997 ) was used to estimate the relative abundance of
AOX gene transcripts in the total RNA.
Protein Analysis
Protein concentrations were estimated by the method of Lowry et
al. (1951) . Mitochondrial proteins were solubilized in sample buffer,
separated by SDS-PAGE (Laemmli, 1970 ), and transferred to a supported
nitrocellulose membrane (Hybond-C Extra, Amersham) by the method of
Towbin et al. (1979) using a semidry blotting apparatus (Millipore).
AOX proteins were tagged with the AOA monoclonal antibody raised
against AOX proteins from voodoo lily (Elthon et al., 1989 ), followed
by a horseradish peroxidase-conjugated goat anti-mouse secondary
antibody (Bio-Rad), and detected by chemiluminescence according to the
instructions supplied with a commercial kit (Boehringer Mannheim).
Signal intensities were estimated using ImageQuant software (version
1.11, Molecular Dynamics, Sunnyvale, CA) after digitization using an
image scanner (UMAX, Hsinchu, Taiwan).
Assays
Oxygen uptake by isolated mitochondria was measured using an
oxygen electrode (Rank Bros., Cambridge, UK) in 2 mL of reaction medium
(0.3 M Suc, 5 mM
KH2PO4, 10 mM
NaCl, 2 mM MgSO4, 0.1% [w/v] BSA,
and 10 mM Tes [pH 7.0]). Alternative pathway capacity was measured as the rate of oxygen uptake in the presence of 2 mM NADH, 10 mM succinate, 1 mM ADP,
2 mM pyruvate, and an inhibitor of the Cyt pathway (16 µM myxothiazol or 0.5 mM KCN). Subsequent addition of DTT to 10 mM was used to check that the
capacity had not been limited by the presence of oxidized AOX.
Alternative pathway activity was measured in the presence of 2 mM NADH, 1 mM ADP, and a Cyt pathway inhibitor
(16 µM myxothiazol or 0.5 mM KCN), before and
after pyruvate was added to a concentration of 2 mM. The
capacity of the Cyt pathway was measured as oxygen uptake in the
presence of 2 mM NADH, 10 mM succinate, 1 mM ADP, and 0.25 mM n-propyl
gallate. The residual oxygen uptake (after addition of both
n-propyl gallate and myxothiazol/KCN) was subtracted from
all rates.
Ubiquinone was extracted from isolated cotyledon mitochondria and
homologs were quantified by reverse-phase HPLC according to the method
of Ribas-Carbo et al. (1995) as modified by Millar et al. (1997) . Malic
enzyme activity was assayed according to the method of Day et al.
(1984) .
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RESULTS |
Changes in AOX mRNA and Protein during Cotyledon Expansion
The expression of AOX was investigated at five stages of
postgerminative cotyledon development. The amounts of AOX proteins in
cotyledon mitochondria were determined by immunodetection (Fig. 1A). The two bands previously observed in
cotyledon mitochondria (Obenland et al., 1990 ; Kearns et al., 1992 )
were detected in all samples. The 36-kD band contained AOX3 protein and
the 34-kD band contained AOX2 protein (Finnegan et al., 1997 ). The
linear range of signal intensity for AOX immunodetection was narrow; therefore, in a single exposure either the signals of highest intensity or lowest intensity were outside of this range.
However, varying the exposure time enabled the changes to be seen
clearly (Fig. 1A). By determining signal intensities from several
exposures, we obtained estimates of the changes in the relative amounts
of AOX2 and AOX3 and the total amount of AOX protein. Figure 1B shows signal-intensity data from one exposure (Fig. 1A, middle), which are
representative of the qualitative changes observed.

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| Figure 1.
Analysis of the expression of AOX proteins during
the development of soybean cotyledons. A, Immunoblot of AOX proteins in
cotyledon mitochondria. Each lane contains 20 µg of mitochondrial
protein. Numbers across the top refer to seedling age in days
postimbibition. 5`, Longer exposure of 5 min; 14 and 20 , shorter
exposures of 14 and 20 min, respectively. Results from one of two
independent experiments are shown. B, Intensity of the bands on the
immunoblot exposure shown in the central panel of A. Values are
expressed as the percentages of the sum of the d-10 band intensities.
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It was obvious that the total amount of AOX protein increased with
cotyledon age, mostly as a result of increasing amounts of AOX3
throughout seedling growth (Fig. 1B). AOX2 protein abundance increased
between d 5 and 7 but thereafter was relatively constant. AOX3 was less
abundant than AOX2 at d 5 but by d 14 had increased to become the
predominant form. An underlying assumption in these measurements was
that the AOA antibody recognizes all forms of soybean AOX equally. The
ability of the AOA antibody to cross-react with divergent AOX proteins
from a range of plant and nonplant species following electrophoresis
under denaturing conditions (Chaudhuri et al., 1995 ; Siedow and Umbach,
1995 ) suggests that the antibody recognizes a linear amino acid
sequence epitope that is conserved across these proteins. Considering
the high degree of similarity between soybean AOX proteins in the
regions conserved across all AOX proteins (Finnegan et al., 1997 ), it
is likely that their cross-reactivity with AOA is similar.
Northern analysis of cotyledon poly(A+)-enriched
RNA using antisense RNA probes derived from the soybean AOX2
and AOX3 cDNAs produced the results shown in Figure
2. With each probe, only the hybridizing
band shown in Figure 2 was observed. The intensity of the signal
obtained using the AOX2 probe decreased during the growth of
the seedlings (Fig. 2A); that obtained with the AOX3 probe
was low in young cotyledons but became much greater in the later three
stages (Fig. 2B). Each sample contained the same amount of nucleic
acid, and we confirmed that the opposing trends were not due to
differences between experiments by stripping the former membrane of the
AOX2 probe and reprobing it with the AOX3 probe. Because of the low abundance of AOX1 mRNA in cotyledons
(Finnegan et al., 1997 ; see below), no signal was detected by northern
analysis of cotyledon RNA with an AOX1 probe. It should be
noted that the absolute ratio of AOX2 and AOX3
mRNAs cannot be determined from these results because of different
labeling efficiencies and exposure times. Nonetheless, a clear opposing
trend in message abundance between the two genes was evident.

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| Figure 2.
Northern analysis of changes in the level of
expression of AOX2 (A) and AOX3
transcripts (B) during the development of soybean cotyledons. Each lane
contained 2 µg of poly(A+)-enriched RNA. Numbers across
the top refer to seedling age in days postimbibition. The position of
18S rRNA on each blot is indicated. Results from one of two independent
experiments are shown. C, Relative abundance of AOX
mRNAs as determined using a competitive reverse transcriptase-PCR
assay. The results from one experiment are shown. For d 5, 10, and 20, n = 3, and for d 7 and 14, n = 1. Bars indicate SE.
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To quantify the relative amounts of AOX transcripts at each
age, the mole-fraction contribution of each AOX gene to the
AOX transcript pool was determined using a competitive
reverse transcriptase-PCR assay (Finnegan et al., 1997 ). This assay
allowed the detection of AOX1 transcripts in addition to
those of AOX2 and AOX3 (Fig. 2C). At d 5, AOX2 transcripts were the most abundant and AOX3 transcripts were about twice as abundant as those from AOX1.
During seedling development the relative abundance of AOX2
transcripts decreased, whereas the relative abundance of
AOX3 transcripts increased, exceeding AOX2 by d
10 and increasing further through d 20. AOX1 transcripts
remained only a small percentage of total AOX transcripts at
every cotyledon age. These results correlate well with the protein
analysis shown in Figure 1.
Alternative Pathway Capacity in Isolated Mitochondria
Measurements of oxygen uptake (Fig.
3) were made using aliquots of the
mitochondrial samples used for AOX immunodetection. To estimate changes
in the capacity of the alternative pathway, oxygen uptake via the
alternative pathway was measured in reactions containing two
respiratory substrates, NADH and succinate, with pyruvate added to
activate AOX (Millar et al., 1993 ). A reducing agent, DTT, was added to
check for the presence of oxidized AOX, which is inactive (Umbach and
Siedow, 1993 ), but the change in the alternative pathway capacity was
low (typically less than 5%). The capacity of the alternative pathway
increased with cotyledon age (Fig. 3, A and B), which is consistent
with previous reports (Gerard and Dizengremel, 1988 ; Azcón-Bieto
et al., 1989 ; Obenland et al., 1990 ).

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| Figure 3.
Developmental changes in the capacity of
respiratory pathways in cotyledon mitochondria. A, Changes in
capacities of Cyt and alternative (Alt) pathways in mitochondria
isolated from different-age cotyledons from plants grown at a light
intensity of 120 µmol photons m 2 s 1.
Results represent the means of two or three measurements on one
mitochondrial sample. B, Changes in capacities of Cyt and alternative
pathways in mitochondria isolated from different-age cotyledons from
plants grown at a light intensity of 380 µmol photons
m 2 s 1. Results represent the means of two
to six measurements on one mitochondrial sample. C, Comparison of the
activity of the alternative pathway in isolated mitochondria oxidizing
NADH as a substrate in the absence or presence of exogenous pyruvate
(Pyr). Growth conditions were as in A. Each data point represents one
measurement on one mitochondrial sample.
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However, our results differ from those of Obenland et al. (1990) in
that all increases in capacity were accompanied by an increase in the
total amount of AOX protein (Figs. 1 and 3A). This correspondence was
observed in each of the experiments we performed, although the values
for alternative pathway capacity were not exactly the same. In one
experiment using a light intensity of 120 µmol photons
m 2 s 1, the AOX capacity
of mitochondria continued to increase until 20 d after planting
(Fig. 3A); at higher light intensities (380 µmol photons
m 2 s 1), AOX capacity
appeared to have reached a plateau at about d 15 (Fig. 3B). This
difference could have been due to the effect of the different
growth conditions on the rate of seedling development.
To examine the dependency of the alternative pathway on the presence of
AOX activators, AOX activity was measured before and after the addition
of pyruvate, using NADH as the respiratory substrate (Fig. 3C).
Succinate was omitted from these reactions, because it can lead to the
production of pyruvate within the mitochondrion (Millar et al., 1996 ).
In the presence of pyruvate, AOX activity with NADH was slightly less
than that observed with both substrates, but the activity increased
with cotyledon age (Fig. 3C), which is in agreement with increases in
immunoreactive protein (Fig. 1). Pyruvate (and other metabolites) can
be lost from the matrix during mitochondrial isolation; therefore, the
matrix pyruvate concentration in isolated mitochondria will be less
than or equal to the concentration in the original tissue. In the
absence of exogenous pyruvate, AOX activity remained low throughout
cotyledon aging (Fig. 3C). This indicates that the greater capacity of
the alternative pathway at later stages of development will not be fully utilized unless the concentration of AOX activators in vivo is
sufficient. This trend was the same in plants grown at light intensities of either 120 or 380 µmol photons
m 2 s 1 (data not shown).
In contrast to the increase in capacity of AOX, Cyt pathway capacity
changed little between d 5 and 20 in plants grown with a light
intensity of 120 µmol photons m 2
s 1 (Fig. 3A). For these plants the capacity of
the Cyt pathway was greater than the alternative pathway at each age.
At 380 µmol photons m 2
s 1 light intensity, the capacity of the Cyt
pathway was slightly less and decreased substantially after d 14, as
reported previously (Azcón-Bieto et al., 1989 ), eventually
becoming less than the alternative pathway capacity (Fig. 3B). The
decrease in Cyt pathway capacity with age was accompanied by an
appreciable yellowing of the cotyledons; this was not observed in the
plants grown at low light, indicating that the decline in electron
transport coincided with the onset of senescence.
Changes in Factors Affecting Alternative Pathway Activity
The amount of ubiquinone in the mitochondrial inner membrane may
affect the rate at which electron transport occurs via the alternative
pathway (Ribas-Carbo et al., 1995 , 1997 ). Soybean mitochondria contain
two ubiquinone homologs, ubiquinone 9 and 10 (Ribas-Carbo et al.,
1995 ). Because AOX does not show a preference for either homolog, the
sum of the concentrations is indicative of the size of the ubiquinone
pool (Ribas-Carbo et al., 1995 ). Measurements were made of the amount
of these ubiquinone homologs in the membranes of mitochondria from
cotyledons at different ages (Fig. 4A).
In all cases, ubiquinone 10 was the predominant homolog, as previously
observed for soybean mitochondria (Ribas-Carbo et al., 1995 ). The
amount of both ubiquinone homologs, and therefore total ubiquinone,
decreased during seedling growth from d 5 to 20. Values for
mitochondria from younger cotyledons were comparable to those
previously reported for mitochondria from soybean cotyledons; however,
the ubiquinone contents at d 20 were as low as values reported for
mitochondria from soybean roots (Ribas-Carbo et al., 1995 , 1997 ).

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| Figure 4.
Factors that may affect alternative pathway
activity during development of soybean cotyledons. A, Changes in the
amounts of ubiquinone 9 and 10 (Q9 and Q10) in
the membranes of cotyledon mitochondria. Results from one of two
independent experiments are shown. B, Mitochondrial malic enzyme
activity during cotyledon development.
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Alternative pathway activity is also affected by organic acid
activators, as shown in Figure 3C. Pyruvate concentrations in whole
cotyledons were below the level of detection by conventional techniques
(data not shown); however, it is the presence of intramitochondrial pyruvate that is important for AOX activity (Day et al., 1994 ; Millar
et al., 1996 ), and this can be either produced in the matrix by
NAD-dependent malic enzyme or can enter from the cytosol via a
transporter (Douce and Neuburger, 1989 ). In isolated mitochondria, malic enzyme activity is correlated with intramitochondrial pyruvate generation and consequent AOX activation (Day et al., 1994 ;
Vanlerberghe et al., 1995 ). Figure 4B shows the developmental changes
in the activity of malic enzyme in mitochondria from soybean
cotyledons. Activity was detected at all ages and was low only in very
young cotyledons (before d 5). The presence of malic enzyme activity throughout cotyledon development demonstrates the sustained potential for intramitochondrial production of pyruvate and the subsequent activation of AOX.
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DISCUSSION |
The results presented here agree with previous reports showing
that mitochondrial respiration rates and AOX protein levels in soybean
cotyledons change during seedling growth (Tuquet and Dizengremel, 1984 ;
Azcón-Bieto et al., 1989 ; Obenland et al., 1990 ). We have now
shown that the increase in AOX protein accompanies changes in
AOX transcript levels, indicating a regulation of
AOX transcription or mRNA turnover during seedling growth.
In particular, our results indicate that there is a developmental
regulation of the level of transcripts for different AOX
genes, with AOX2 transcripts (and protein) being more
abundant early in seedling growth and those for AOX3
appearing later. Since AOX2 protein levels remain more or less constant
in the later stages, when transcript levels are barely detectable, it
appears that AOX protein does not turn over rapidly in cotyledons.
The increase in AOX transcripts and protein was correlated with an
increase in AOX capacity in isolated mitochondria if pyruvate was
present to activate the enzyme. It therefore appears that some coarse
control of respiration at the protein/RNA level can occur during
soybean seedling growth. Conversely, Cyt oxidase activity and capacity
declined appreciably during cotyledon senescence. Despite an overall
decline during seedling growth, Cyt chain capacity was still
approximately equal to or greater than that of AOX in mitochondria from
20-d-old cotyledons (Fig. 3). However, preliminary estimates of oxidase
activity in intact cotyledons (using oxygen-discrimination techniques;
Robinson et al., 1995 ) indicate that at this stage of growth more
oxygen uptake occurred via AOX than via Cyt oxidase (A.H. Millar, G. Farquhar, and D.A. Day, unpublished data). This implies that metabolic
control of Cyt oxidase (e.g. by adenylate levels) also occurs in vivo
in soybean cotyledons.
Whether metabolic control of AOX activity also occurred is difficult to
judge. It is probable that intramitochondrial pyruvate levels were
sufficient to activate AOX at all stages of growth; otherwise, AOX
would not have been able to compete for electrons with the Cyt path
(Hoefnagel et al., 1995 ), especially in view of the decline in
ubiquinone content with time. The high levels of malic enzyme activity,
which can generate pyruvate within the mitochondrial matrix at all
stages supports this idea. We were unable to assess the redox status of
AOX in cotyledons because the high general protein content of the
tissue made accurate detection of AOX protein in whole-tissue extracts
impossible. However, it should be noted that AOX protein in isolated
mitochondria existed as the reduced monomer in addition to the oxidized
dimer at all ages (not shown). Although changes in redox status can
occur during isolation of mitochondria, to date only oxidation has been
demonstrated (Umbach and Siedow, 1997 ).
The fact that AOX content and activity in older cotyledons increase at
the same time that the activity of the Cyt pathway declines suggests
that the cotyledon needs to maintain the flow of carbon through its
mitochondria (or to oxidize excess cytosolic reductant) without the
need for high levels of ATP synthesis. In young cotyledons there is a
rapid turnover of storage compounds and a great deal of metabolite
export to the growing seedling (Bewley and Black, 1994 ); therefore, it
is likely that this phase requires large quantities of ATP to support
these activities. As the reserves are depleted and the cotyledon greens
and develops photosynthetic capability, the need for mitochondrial ATP
synthesis presumably declines. Under these conditions, the synthesis
and activation of AOX would allow for continued oxidation of carbon compounds in the mitochondria in the face of high cytosolic ATP/ADP. This would avoid the oxidative damage that might otherwise occur (Purvis and Shewfelt, 1993 ; Wagner and Krab, 1995 ; Millar and Day,
1997 ). Similar changes in AOX and Cyt oxidase activity have been
observed in soybean roots during seedling growth (Millar et al., 1998 ).
Our results indicate that regulation of AOX gene expression contributes
to the developmental increase in AOX respiration in cotyledons. A
relationship between increased expression of AOX transcripts and
proteins and increased AOX activity has also been observed in other
systems (Rhoads and McIntosh, 1992 ; Vanlerberghe and McIntosh, 1992a ,
1994 , 1996 ; Cruz-Hernández and Gómez-Lim, 1995 ; Aubert et
al., 1997 ). In cotyledons, AOX gene expression may be up-regulated in
response to the decline in Cyt pathway function, as seen in other
systems upon addition of Cyt pathway inhibitors (Vanlerberghe and
McIntosh, 1992a , 1994 ; Saisho et al., 1997 ). However, when seedlings
were grown under low-light conditions that retarded senescence, Cyt
capacity did not decline but AOX capacity nonetheless increased,
suggesting that AOX synthesis can occur in vivo independently of
changes in Cyt pathway components.
The up-regulation of the alternative pathway seen in this study is a
normal developmental process due to the up-regulation of a single
AOX gene, not the entire gene family. Similarly, when the
alternative pathway in Arabidopsis was up-regulated upon the addition
of antimycin A, only a single gene was induced (Saisho et al., 1997 ).
Whatever the signals responsible for the up-regulation, they appear to
act on only a single gene, perhaps indicating that multiple pathways
lead to the induction of AOX in plant cells. Unlike previous reports,
our results using cotyledons demonstrate not only that an increase in
expression of an AOX transcript (AOX3) occurs during the
up-regulation of AOX activity but that expression of another AOX
transcript (AOX2) concomitantly decreases. This shift from
the expression of AOX2 to the expression of AOX3
may be the result of enhancing expression of one AOX gene during a period when a general down-regulation of gene expression is under way,
and may suggest that the gene products have different properties. Examining the promoter regions of the various genes will give greater
insight into these signals and into the roles of AOX in plant cells.
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FOOTNOTES |
1
This work was supported by Australian Research
Council grants to J.W. and D.A.D. and by an Australian postgraduate
award from the Australian Commonwealth Government to
T.C.M.
2
Present address: Department of Plant Sciences,
University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3RB, UK.
*
Corresponding author; e-mail seamus{at}cyllene.uwa.edu.au; fax
61-8-9380-1148.
Received March 9, 1998;
accepted July 21, 1998.
 |
ABBREVIATIONS |
Abbreviation:
AOX, alternative oxidase.
 |
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
Supply of the AOA antibody by Drs. Tom Elthon and Lee McIntosh
is gratefully acknowledged.
 |
LITERATURE CITED |
Albury MS,
Dudley P,
Watts FZ,
Moore AL
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