G. Hind et al., SPINACH THYLAKOID POLYPHENOL OXIDASE - CLONING, CHARACTERIZATION, ANDRELATION TO A PUTATIVE PROTEIN-KINASE, Biochemistry, 34(25), 1995, pp. 8157-8164
A 64-kDa protein was purified from an octyl glucoside/cholate extract
of spinach thylakoids. N-Terminal analysis yielded 23 residues of sequ
ence, of which the first 15 were identical to a sequence reported [Gal
, A., Hermann, R. G., Lottspeich, F., & Ohad, I. (1999) FEES Lett. 298
,; 33-35] for a protein kinase with specificity toward the photosystem
II light-harvesting complex (LHC-P). We report the complete sequence
of this 64-kDa protein, deduced from cDNA clones. The transit peptide
has a chloroplast import signal at the N-terminus and a C-terminal hyd
rophobic span bounded by basic amino acids that predicts localization
of the protein to the thylakoid lumen. The mature protein sequence is
about 50% identical to several polyphenol oxidases (PPOs). Canonical p
rotein kinase motifs are absent, as are sequences characteristic of AT
P-binding sites. The mature protein resembles arthropodan hemocyanin (
Hc), possessing three major domains. The N-terminal domain is rich in
cysteine residues and predicted alpha-helices. The central domain has
a conserved motif, N-terminal to a presumptive Cu-A site; that is not
found in tyrosinases or Hc and is proposed as the provider of a third
imidazole ligand to Cu-A. An unusual 13-residue, glutamine-rich link b
egins a C-terminal domain containing 7 predicted beta-strands which, b
y analogy with Hc, may form an antiparallel beta-barrel. We conclude t
hat this 64-kDa polypeptide is a lumenal PPO and the precursor of a 42
.5-kDa PPO form described previously [Golbeck, J. H., & Cammarata, K.
V. (1981) Plant Physiol. 67, 977-984]. In view of its lumenal location
and primary sequence, it is unlikely to be a serine/threonine protein
kinase.