Potato cysteine proteinase inhibitor gene family: molecular cloning, characterisation and immunocytochemical localisation studies

• Published in: Plant molecular biology Vol. 34; no. 2; pp. 317 - 323
• Main Authors: Gruden, K. (Jozef Stefan Inst., Ljubljana (Slovenia). Dept. of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology), Strukelj, B, Ravnikar, M, Poljsak-Prijatelj, M, Mavric, I, Brzin, J, Pungercar, J, Kregar, I
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Springer Nature B.V 01-05-1997
• Subjects: Amino Acid Sequence; Amino acids; CISTEINA; CLONACION MOLECULAR; CLONAGE MOLECULAIRE; Cloning; Cloning, Molecular; CYSTEINE; Cysteine Proteinase Inhibitors - chemistry; Cysteine Proteinase Inhibitors - genetics; Cysteine Proteinase Inhibitors - metabolism; GENE; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; GENE LOCATION; GENES; Genes, Plant; Genome, Plant; Immunohistochemistry; IMMUNOLOGIE; IMMUNOLOGY; INMUNOLOGIA; Intracellular Fluid - enzymology; LOCALISATION DE GENE; LOCALIZACION DE GENES; MOLECULAR CLONING; Molecular Sequence Data; Multigene Family; Potatoes; PROTEASAS; PROTEASE; PROTEASES; Proteinase inhibitors; Proteins; Sequence Analysis, DNA; SOLANUM TUBEROSUM; Solanum tuberosum - chemistry; Solanum tuberosum - enzymology; Solanum tuberosum - genetics; Soybeans
• ISSN: 0167-4412; 1573-5028
• DOI: 10.1023/A:1005853026333

Potato cysteine proteinase inhibitors (PCPIs) represent a distinct group of proteins as they show no homology to any other known cysteine proteinase inhibitor superfamilies, but they all belong to the Kunitz-type soybean trypsin inhibitor family. cDNA clones for five PCPIs have been isolated and sequenced. Amino acid substitutions occurring in the limited regions forming loops on the surface of these proteins suggest a further classification of PCPIs into three subgroups. Accumulation of PCPI was observed in vacuoles of stems after treatment with jasmonic acid (JA) using immunocytochemical localisation, implying that these inhibitors are part of a potato defence mechanism against insects and pathogens. Genomic DNA analysis show that PCPIs form a multigene family and suggest that their genes do not possess any introns.