Solution structure and assembly of b amylase 2 from Arabidopsis thaliana
Starch is a key energy storage molecule in plants that requires controlled synthesis and breakdown for effective plant growth. b amylases (BAMs) hydrolyze starch into maltose to help meet the metabolic needs of the plant. In the model plant, Arabidopsis thaliana, there are nine BAMs which have apparently distinct functional and domain structures, although the functions of only a few of the BAMs are known and there are no 3 D structures of BAMs from this organism. Recently, AtBAM2 was proposed to form a tetramer based on chromatography and activity assays of mutants, however there was no direct observation of this tetramer. We collected small angle X ray scattering data on AtBAM2 and N terminal mutants to describe the structure and assembly of the tetramer. Comparison of the scattering of the AtBAM2 tetramer to data collected using the sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) BAM5, which is also reported to form a tetramer, showed there were differences in the overall assembly. Analysis of N terminal truncations of AtBAM2 identified a loop sequence found only in BAM2 orthologs that appears to be critical for AtBAM2 tetramer assembly as well as activity.