The cDNA structure and regulatory properties of a family of starvation-induced ribonucleases from tomato

In previous work we have determined the primary structure of two of the five ribonucleases which are induced by phosphate starvation in cultured tomato cells. Here, we present the isolation and characterization of the cDNAs for the extracellular ribonuclease LE and the intracellular, but extravacuolar ribonuclease LX. Structural analysis of these cDNAs together with partial protein-sequencing of vacuolar ribonucleases LV1, LV2 and LV3 revealed a family of very similar ribonucleases. From these data we assume identify between ribonucleases LE and LV3 for which the targeting mechanism has to be shown. Furthermore, RNase LV1 and RNase LV2 might be posttranslational processing products of RNase LX which travel to the vacuoles after splitting off the putative ER retention signal present at RNase LX. Additionally, we show by northern blot analysis that phosphate starvation in plant cells leads to an increase in the steady-state level of this type of enzymes revealing close similarities of the plant response to a limited supply of inorganic phosphate with the PHO regulation in bacteria and fungi.