CELL-WALL INVERTASE IN TOBACCO CROWN GALL CELLS - ENZYME PROPERTIES AND REGULATION BY AUXIN

The cell wall invertase from Agrobacterium tumefaciens-transformed Nicotiana tabacum cell line (SR1-C58) was purified. The heterogeneously glycosylated enzyme has the following properties: M(r) 63,000, pH optimum at 4.7, K(m) sucrose 0.6 millimolar (at pH 4.7), pl 9.5. Enzyme activity is inhibited by micromolar concentrations of HgCl2 but is insensitive to H2O2, N-ethylmaleimide and dithiothreitol. Upon transfer of transformed cells from the stationary phase to fresh medium, a cycloheximide- and tunicamycin-sensitive de novo formation of cell wall invertase is demonstrated in the absence or presence of sucrose. While in an auxin mutant (lacking gene 1; SR1-3845) 1 micromolar 1-naphthaleneacetic acid led to a further increased activity, the wild-type transformed cell line (SR1-C58) responded with a decreased activity compared to the control. An analysis of cell wall invertase in and around tumors initiated with Agrobacterium tumefaciens (strain C58) on Nicotiana tabacum stem and Kalanchoe daigremontiana leaves revealed gradients of activity. The results indicate that the auxin-stimulated cell wall invertase is essential for the establishment of the tumor sink.