A tobacco calcium/calmodulin-binding protein kinase (NtCBK1) was isolated and identified. The predicted NtCBK1 protein has 599 amino acids, an N-terminal kinase domain, and shares high homology with other calmodulin (CaM)-related kinases. Whereas NtCBK1 phosphorylates itself and substrates such as histone IIIS and syntide-2 in the absence of CaM, its kinase activity can be stimulated by tobacco CaMs. However, unlike another tobacco protein kinase designated NtCBK2, NtCBK1 was not differentially regulated by the different CaM isoforms tested. The CaM-binding domain of NtCBK1 was located between amino acids 436 and 455, and this domain was shown to be necessary for CaM modulation of kinase activity. RNA in situ hybridization showed that NtCBK1 was highly regulated in the transition to flowering. Whereas NtCBK1 mRNA was accumulated in the shoot apical meristem during vegetative growth, its expression was dramatically decreased in the shoot apical meristem after floral determination, and in young flower primordia. The expression of NtCBK1 was up-regulated to high levels in floral organ primordia. Fluctuations in NtCBK1 expression were verified by analysis of tobacco plants expressing green fluorescent protein under the control of the NtCBK1 promoter, suggesting a role of NtCBK1 in the transition to flowering. This conclusion was confirmed by overexpressing NtCBK1 in transgenic tobacco plants, where maintenance of high levels of NtCBK1 in the shoot apical meristem delayed the switch to flowering and extended the vegetative phase of growth. Further work indicated that overexpression of NtCBK1 in transgenic tobacco did not affect the expression of NFL, a tobacco homologue of the LFY gene that controls meristem initiation and floral structure in tobacco. In addition, the promotion of tobacco flowering time by DNA demethylation cannot be blocked by the overexpression of NtCBK1.

A cDNA encoding a calcium (Ca21)/calmodulin (CaM)-dependent protein kinase (CaMK) from tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum), NtCaMK1, was isolated by protein-protein interaction-based screening of a cDNA expression library using 35S-labeled CaM as a probe. The genomic sequence is about 24.6 kb, with 21 exons, and the full-length cDNA is 4.8 kb, with an open reading frame for NtCaMK1 consisting of 1,415 amino acid residues. NtCaMK1 has all 11 subdomains of a kinase catalytic domain, lacks EF hands for Ca21-binding, and is structurally similar to other CaMKs in mammal systems. Biochemical analyses have identified NtCaMK1 as aCa21/CaMKsinceNtCaMK1phosphorylated itself and histone IIIs as substrate only in the presence ofCa21/CaMwith aKm of 44.5 mM and a Vmax of 416.2 nM min21 mg21. Kinetic analysis showed that the kinase not previously autophosphorylated had a Km for the synthetic peptide syntide-2 of 22.1mM and aVmax of 644.1 nMmin21mg21 when assayed in the presence of Ca21/CaM. Once the autophosphorylation of NtCaMK1 was initiated, the phosphorylated form displayed Ca21/CaM-independent behavior, as many other CaMKs do. Analysis of the CaM-binding domain (CaMBD) in NtCaMK1 with truncated and site-directed mutated forms defined a stretch of 20 amino acid residues at positions 913 to 932 as the CaMBD with high CaM affinity (Kd 5 5 nM). This CaMBD was classified as a 1-8-14 motif. The activation of NtCaMK1 was differentially regulated by three tobacco CaM isoforms (NtCaM1, NtCaM3, and NtCaM13). While NtCaM1 and NtCaM13 activated NtCaMK1 effectively, NtCaM3 did not activate the kinase.

An AtCRK1 [Arabidopsis thaliana CDPK (Ca2+-dependent protein kinase)-related protein kinase 1] has been characterized molecularly and biochemically. AtCRK1 contains the kinase catalytic domain and a CaM (calmodulin)-binding site. Our results demonstrated thatAtCRK1couldbindCaMinaCa2+-dependent manner. This kinase phosphorylated itself and substrates such as histone IIIS and syntide-2 in a Ca2+-independent manner and the activitywas stimulated by several CaM isoforms through its CaMbinding domain. This domain was localized within a stretch of 39 amino acid residues at positions from 403 to 441 with Kd=67 nM for CaM binding. However, the stimulation amplification of the kinase activity of AtCRK1 by different CaM isoforms was similar.

A rapid and sensitive method for the determination of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) in apple tissues has been described. This method is based on the derivatization of ACC with 3-(2-furoyl)quinoline-2-carboxaldehyde (FQ), and separation and quantification of the resulting FQ–ACC derivative by capillary electrophoresis coupled to laser-induced fluorescence detection (CE-LIF). Our results indicated that ACC derivatized with FQ could be well separated from other interfering amino acids using 20mM borate buffer (pH 9.35) containing 40mM sodium dodecyl sulfate and 10mM Brij 35. The linearity of ACC was determined in the range from 0.05 to 5 Mwith a correlation of 0.9967. The concentration detection limit for ACC was 10nM (signal-to-noise=3). The sensitivity and selectivity of this described method allows the analysis of ACC in crude apple extracts without extra purification and enrichment procedure.

A sensitive analytical protocol for determining phosphoamino acids using capillary electrophoresis coupled with laser-induced fluorescence detection has been developed. The technique involved the derivatization of the phosphoamino acids with fluorescent reagent 5-(4,6-dichloros- triazin-2-ylamino)fluorescein (DTAF) and the analyses of the derivatives by micellar electrokinetic chromatography with laser induced fluorescence detection (MEKC-LIF). Different variables that affect derivatization (DTAF concentration, pH, temperature and time) and separation (kind of surfactant, pH and concentration of buffer) were studied. The baseline separation of three phosphoamino acids could be obtained in less than 11 min with good reproducibility. There was a linear relationship between the peak area of the analyte and its concentration, with correlation coefficients in the range of 0.9979-0.9997. The concentration detection limits (signal to noise=3) with respect to each single phosphoamino acid were in the range of 0.5-1nM. The developed method was successfully applied for the determination of phosphoamino acids in the hydrolyzed phosphorylated protein samples.