CHARACTERIZATION OF RIBONUCLEASE-ACTIVITY OF 3 S-ALLELE-ASSOCIATED PROTEINS OF PETUNIA-INFLATA

Three S-allele-associated proteins (S-proteins) of Petunia inflata, a species with gametophytic self-incompatibility, were previously found to share sequence similarity with two fungal ribonucleases, RNase T2 and RNase Rh. In this study, the S-proteins from P. inflata plants of S1S2 and S2S3 genotypes were purified to homogeneity by gel filtration and cation-exchange chromatography, and their enzymatic properties were characterized. The three S-proteins (S1, S2, and S3), with pairwise sequence identity ranging from 73.1 to 80.5%, were similar in most of the enzymatic properties characterized. The ribonuclease activity had a pH optimum of 7.0 and a temperature optimum of 50-degrees-C. Diethylpyrocarbonate at 1 millimolar almost completely abolished the ribonuclease activity; cupric sulfate and zinc sulfate at 1 millimolar reduced the ribonuclease activity of the three S-proteins by 50 to 75%. EDTA and RNasin had no inhibitory effect. All three S-proteins hydrolyzed polycytidylic acid preferentially, but varied in their nucleolytic activity toward polyadenylic acid and polyuridylic acid.