作者: Kenji Yamada , Tomoo Shimada , Mikio Nishimura , Ikuko Hara-Nishimura
DOI: 10.1111/J.1399-3054.2005.00464.X
关键词: Cysteine protease 、 Biochemistry 、 Cotyledon 、 Protease 、 Enzyme 、 Storage protein 、 Programmed cell death 、 Hypersensitive response 、 Biology 、 Tobacco mosaic virus
摘要: Vacuolar processing enzyme (VPE) is a cysteine protease that has substrate specificity toward Asn and Asp residues, found in various eukaryotic organisms including higher plants mammals. Plant VPEs are separated into three subfamilies: seed-type, vegetative-type uncharacterized-type. VPE was originally identified as responsible for the maturation of seed storage proteins, recent research shown it key vacuolar proteins not only maturating cotyledons, but also vegetative tissues. Thus, VPE-mediated system important functions plant. Vegetative-type expressed during senescence or pathogen-induced hypersensitive response. A VPE-deficiency abolished programmed cell death response tobacco leaves after TMV infection. This suggests involved vacuolar-organized death.