Antigenic relationships between petunia peroxidase a and specific peroxidase isoenzymes in other Solanaceae

A highly specific rabbit antiserum raised against peroxidase (PRXa) from petunia (Petunia hybrida) was used to investigate the antigenic relatedness of peroxidases in the Solanaceae. After SDS-PAGE of crude leaf extracts from a large number of species of this family, immunoblotting revealed that cross-reacting protein bands were present in all species tested. In order to determine whether these protein bands represent peroxidases, the peroxidase isoenzymes in thorn apple (Datura stramonium L.), tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.), sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum L.), potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), and tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) were further analyzed. Immunoblots obtained after native PAGE revealed that the antiserum only recognized fast-moving peroxidase isoenzymes that are localized in the apoplast. Despite their serological relatedness, these peroxidases differed with respect to heat stability and apparent molecular weight. Differences in avidity for the petunia PRXa antiserum were suggested by immunoprecipitation with antibodies bound to protein A-Sepharose. The antiserum did not react with peroxidases from horseradish (Armoracea rusticana Gaertn., Mey and Scherb), turnip (Brassica napus L.), African marigold (Tagetes cresta L.), maize (Zea mays L.), and oats (Avena sativa L.). Apparently, the Solanaceae contain orthologous genes encoding the fast-moving anionic peroxidases homologous to petunia PRXa.