Submicrosomal distribution of dolichol kinase and dolichyl phosphate phosphatase in the microsomes of germinating soybeans

The availability of dolichyl phosphate is a major factor in the rate of formation of N-linked glycoproteins in mammalian cells. Recent studies in our laboratory suggested that glycoproteins required for seed germination and early plant development are formed via the dolichyl phosphate pathway. Soybean microsomes contain dolichol kinase and dolichyl phosphate phosphatase, enzymes that regulate dolichyl phosphate levels by interconversion of dolichyl phosphate and dolichol. In the present study, soybean microsomes were fractionated into rough and smooth endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi, and the activities of dolichol kinase and dolichyl phosphate phosphatase were measured in each. Submicrosomal fractions were obtained using a procedure developed for rat liver, and were characterized by marker enzymes, RNA content and electron microscopy. The site of N -glycosylation, the rough endoplasmic reticulum, contained high levels of both dolichol kinase and dolichyl phosphate phosphatase. This makes possible a mechanism whereby glycoprotein formation during seed germination is regulated by availability of dolichyl phosphate.