Premium
A VPE family supporting various vacuolar functions in plants
Author(s) -
Yamada Kenji,
Shimada Tomoo,
Nishimura Mikio,
HaraNishimura Ikuko
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
physiologia plantarum
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.351
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1399-3054
pISSN - 0031-9317
DOI - 10.1111/j.1399-3054.2005.00464.x
Subject(s) - biology , cysteine protease , protease , hypersensitive response , microbiology and biotechnology , botany , programmed cell death , pathogen , enzyme , biochemistry , apoptosis
Vacuolar processing enzyme (VPE) is a cysteine protease that has substrate specificity toward Asn and Asp residues, and found in various eukaryotic organisms including higher plants and mammals. Plant VPEs are separated into three subfamilies: seed‐type, vegetative‐type and uncharacterized‐type. VPE was originally identified as a protease responsible for the maturation of seed storage proteins, and recent research has shown that it is a key protease responsible for the maturation of various vacuolar proteins not only in maturating cotyledons, but also in vegetative tissues. Thus, the VPE‐mediated processing system is important for various vacuolar functions in the plant. Vegetative‐type VPEs are expressed during senescence or pathogen‐induced hypersensitive response. A VPE‐deficiency abolished programmed cell death during hypersensitive response in tobacco leaves after TMV infection. This suggests that vegetative‐type VPEs are involved in vacuolar‐organized programmed cell death.