Purification and characterization of Terfezia claveryi TcCAT-1, a desert truffle catalase upregulated in mycorrhizal symbiosis

PLoS One. 2019 Jul 10;14(7):e0219300. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0219300. eCollection 2019.

Abstract

Terfezia claveryi Chatin is a mycorrhizal fungus that forms ectendomycorrhizal associations with plants of Helianthemum genus. Its appreciated edibility and drought resistance make this fungus a potential alternative crop in arid and semiarid areas of the Mediterranean region. In order to increase the knowledge about the biology of this fungus in terms of mycorrhiza formation and response to drought stress, a catalase from T. claveryi (TcCAT-1) has been purified to apparent homogeneity and biochemically characterized; in addition, the expression pattern of this enzyme during different stages of T. claveryi biological cycle and under drought stress conditions are reported. The results obtained, together with the phylogenetic analysis and homology modeling, indicate that TcCAT-1 is a homotetramer large subunit size monofunctional-heme catalase belonging to Clade 2. The highest expression of this enzyme occurs in mature mycorrhiza, revealing a possible role in mycorrhiza colonization, but it is not upregulated under drought stress. However, the H2O2 content of mycorrhizal plants submitted to drought stress is lower than in well watered treatments, suggesting that mycorrhization improves the plant's oxidative stress response, although not via TcCAT-1 upregulation.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Catalase / chemistry*
  • Catalase / isolation & purification
  • Cistaceae / growth & development
  • Cistaceae / microbiology*
  • Droughts
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic
  • Hydrogen Peroxide / chemistry
  • Mycelium / enzymology
  • Mycorrhizae / enzymology*
  • Phylogeny
  • Symbiosis / genetics*

Substances

  • Hydrogen Peroxide
  • Catalase

Grants and funding

This work was supported by Spanish grants from AEI-FEDER, UE (CGL2016-78946-R; AGL2017-86526P) and from Fundación Séneca- Agencia de Ciencia y Tecnología de la Región de Murcia (20866/PI/18 and 19893/GERM/15). ANR holds a postdoctoral contract (IJCI-2016-28252) and JEMG a PhD grant (DI-14-06904) both from MINECO (Ministerio de Economia y Empresa, Gobierno de España). Additionally, Thader Biotechnology SL (https://thaderbiotechnology.com/) provided support in the form of salary to JEMG. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific roles of these authors are articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section.