The plant 73 kDa peroxisomal membrane protein (PMP73) is immunorelated to molecular chaperones.

We previously showed via electron microscopic immunocytochemistry that a 73 kDa polypeptide was an authentic peroxisomal membrane protein (PMP73) integrated exclusively into the boundary membrane of glyoxysomes in cucumber seedlings. In this paper we test the hypothesis that this PMP73 is a member of the heat-shock 70 protein (Hsp70) family by comparing amino acid sequences of cyanogen bromide (CNBr)-cleaved polypeptide fragments, immunoreactivities on protein blots, and microscopic immunofluorescence within suspension-cultured BY-2 tobacco cells. A sequence of eight amino acids (DAVGPEIQ) in PMP73 showed a high degree of similarity (up to 88%) with sequences in the same carboxy-terminal region of four plant Hsp70 proteins. IgGs affinity purified to PMP73 recognized on blots a membrane-bound Hsp72 (in pea cotyledon microsomes) and a cucumber PMP61, the latter shown by CNBr cleavage to be a distinct, but immunorelated polypeptide to PMP73. Conversely, IgGs specific for tomato Hsc70 (C-terminal half) recognized cucumber PMP73, and IgGs specific for cucumber DnaJ homologue (entire protein) recognized cucumber PMP61. In BY-2 cells, cucumber PMP73-specific IgGs localized only to peroxisomes. Antibodies raised against portions of tomato Hsc70 also localized to the BY-2 peroxisomes (as well as to cytosolic proteins). Collectively, the data show that authentic cucumber PMPs73 and 61 are immunorelated to each another, and that both exhibit selective immunoreactivity to IgGs from two classes of molecular chaperones, namely Hsp70 proteins and plant DnaJ homologues. They appear to be unique membrane-bound chaperones that likely function as part of the peroxisomal protein translocation machinery.