Activation of the plant plasma membrane H+ -ATPase. Is there a direct interaction between lysophosphatidylcholine and the C-terminal part of the enzyme ?

The antagonistic effects of the fungal toxin beticolin-1 and of L-alpha-lysophosphatidylcholine (lysoPC) were investigated on the plasma membrane H+-ATPase of the plant Arabidopsis thaliana (isoform 2) expressed in yeast, using both wild-type enzyme (AHA2) and C-terminal truncated enzyme (aha2delta92). Phosphohydrolytic activities of both enzymes were inhibited by beticolin-1, with very similar 50% inhibitory concentrations, indicating that the toxin action does not involve the C-terminal located autoinhibitory domain of the proton pump. Egg lysoPC, a compound that activates the H+-ATPase by a mechanism involving the C-terminal part of the protein, was found to be able to reverse the inhibi…