Abstract
RuBisCO, D-ribulose-l,5-bisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase (EC 4.1.1.39), converts carbon dioxide to sugar in the first step of photosynthesis1,2. In plants and some bacteria, this enzyme has an L8S8 structure, where L is the large catalytic subunit and S is the small subunit of unknown function. The molecule resembles a keg 105 Å along the 4-fold axis and 132 Å in diameter at the widest point of the keg3–6. Here we describe the quaternary structure of RuBisCO from N. tabacum, the first L8S8 type known from an X-ray crystallographic study at near-atomic resolution (3 Å). The structure shows that all eight L subunits are elongated along the 4-fold axis so that the molecule cannot be simply described as layers of subunits, as it had been from studies by electron microscopy5,6. The structure, with its elongated and inter-digitated L subunits, is evidence against a large, sliding-layer conformational change in plant RuBisCO, as proposed recently in Nature for the same enzyme from Alcaligenes eutrophus7.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Miziorko, H. M. & Lorimer, G. H. A. Rev. Biochem. 52, 507–535 (1983).
Ellis, R. J. & Gray, J. C. (eds) Ribulose Bisphosphate Carboxylase-Oxygenase (Royal Society, London, 1986).
Baker, T. S., Eisenberg, D., Eiserling, F. A. & Weissman, L. J. molec. Biol. 91, 391–399 (1975).
Chapman, M. S. et al. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B313, 367–378 (1986).
Baker, T. S., Eisenberg, D. & Eiserling, F. A. Science 196, 293–295 (1977).
Bowien, B., Mayer, F., Codd, G. A. & Schlegel, H. G. Archs Microbiol. 110, 157–166 (1976).
Holzenberg, et al. Nature 325, 730–732 (1987).
Baker, T. S., Suh, S. W. & Eisenberg, D. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 74, 1037–1041 (1977).
Bowien, B. et al. Eur. J. Biochem. 106, 405–410 (1980).
Andersson, I., Tjader, A.-C., Cedergren-Zeppezauer, E. & Brändén, C.-I. J. biol. Chem. 258, 14088–14090 (1983).
Barcena, J. A., Pickersgill, R. W., Adams, M. J., Phillips, D. C. & Whatley, F. R. EMBO J. 2, 2363–2367 (1983).
Schneider, G., Brändén, C.-I. & Lorimer, G. J. molec. Biol. 175, 99–102 (1984).
Janson, C. A., Smith, W. W., Eisenberg, D. & Hartman, F. C. J. biol. Chem. 259, 11594–11596 (1984).
Nakagawa, H. et al. J. molec. Biol. 191, 577–578 (1986).
Schneider, G., Lindqvist, Y. Brändén, C.-I. & Lorimer, G. EMBO J. 5, 3409–3415 (1986).
Wang, B. C. Meth. Enzym. 115, 90–117 (1985).
Williams, R. L. Thesis, Univ. of California, Riverside (1986).
Jack, A. & Levitt, M. Acta Cryst. A34, 931–935 (1978).
Hendrickson, W. A. Meth. Enzym. 115, 252–270 (1985).
Stuart, D. & Artimiuk, P. Acta Cryst. A40, 71–716 (1984).
Bhat, T. N. & Cohen, G. H. J. appl. Cryst. 17, 244–248 (1984).
Muirhead, H. et al. EMBO J. 5, 475–481 (1986).
Banner, D. W. et al. Nature 255, 609–614 (1975).
Shinozaki, K. & Sugiura, M. Gene 20, 91–102 (1982).
Amiri, I., Salnikow, J. & Vater, J. Biochim. biophys. Acta 784, 116–123 (1984).
Hartman, F. C., Stringer, C. D., Milanez, S. & Lee, E. L. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B313, 379–395 (1986).
Herndon, C. S. & Hartman, F. C. J. biol. Chem. 259, 3102–3110 (1984).
Roy, H., Valeri, A., Pope, D. H., Rueckert, L. & Costa, K. A. Biochemistry 17, 665–668 (1978).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chapman, M., Suh, S., Cascio, D. et al. Sliding-layer conformational change limited by the quaternary structure of plant RuBisCO. Nature 329, 354–356 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1038/329354a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/329354a0
This article is cited by
-
Isolation and kinetic characterisation of hydrophobically distinct populations of form I Rubisco
Plant Methods (2014)
-
Discoveries in Rubisco (Ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase): a historical perspective
Photosynthesis Research (2007)
-
Samuel Goodnow Wildman (1912–2004): Discoverer of Fraction I protein, later named Rubisco, who worked till he was 92
Photosynthesis Research (2006)
-
A point mutation in the gene encoding the Rubisco large subunit interferes with holoenzyme assembly
Plant Molecular Biology (1996)
-
Digestion of uncrushed leaf tissues by leaf-snipping larval Lepidoptera
Oecologia (1992)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.