Generation of up-regulated allosteric variants of potato ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase by reversion genetics

Mutagenesis of the large subunit (LS) of the potato ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase generated an enzyme, P52L, that was insensitive to 3-phosphoglycerate (3-PGA). To identify additional residues involved in 3-PGA interaction, we subjected P52L LS DNA to a second round of mutagenesis and identified second-site revertants by their ability to restore glycogen accumulation as assessed by iodine (I2) staining. Enzymes from class I revertants with normal I2-staining had an 11- to 49-fold greater affinity for the activator 3-PGA compared with the P52L mutant and a decreased sensitivity to the inhibitor orthophosphate. Sequence analysis of these class I revertants identified a P66L mutation in R4, an E38K mutation in R20, and a G101N mutation in R10 and R32. These mutations appear to restore 3-PGA binding by counteracting the effect of the P52L mutation because introducing E38K or G101N into the wild-type LS led to enzyme variants with higher affinity for the activator 3-PGA and increased resistance to the inhibitor orthophosphate. The generation of these revertant enzymes provides additional structure-function information on the allosteric regulation of higher plant ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylases and validates a strategy for developing novel variants of the enzyme that may be useful in manipulating starch biosynthesis in higher plants.