Rapid Degradation of Abnormal Proteins in Vacuoles from Acer pseudoplatanus L. Cells

In Acer pseudoplatanus cells, the proteins synthesized in the presence of an amino acid analog ([(14)C]p-fluorophenylalanine), were degraded more rapidly than normal ones ([(14)C]phenylalanine as precursor). The degradation of an important part of these abnormal proteins occurred inside the vacuoles. The degradation process was not apparently associated to a specific proteolytic system but was related to a preferential transfer of these aberrant proteins from the cytoplasm to the vacuole.