Six peptide wound signals derived from a single precursor protein in Ipomoea batatas leaves activate the expression of the Defense gene sporamin

A mixture of three homologous bioactive hydroxyproline-rich glycopeptides (HypSys peptides) of 18 amino acids in length, differing only at two residues, was isolated from leaves of Ipomoea batatas, the common sweet potato. One of the peptides represented over 95% of the isolated isopeptides, which, at 2.5 nM concentration, induced the expression of sporamin, a major defense protein of I. batatas. The sequence of the major isoform was used to synthesize a primer that identified a cDNA encoding a precursor protein. The protein contained six proline-rich regions whose sequences suggested that they might be HypSys defense signals. One of the encoded peptides, called IbHypSys IV, was identical to one of two minor components of the isolated isopeptides, but neither the major isopeptide nor the other minor isoform was found within the precursor. The six peptides encoded by the precursor gene were synthesized but with hydroxyproline residues at positions found in the native isoforms and lacking carbohydrate moieties. All of the peptides were biologically active when supplied to leaves of sweet potato plants. The gene is the first ortholog of the preproHypSys gene family to be found outside of the Solanaceae family, and its encoded peptide precursor is the first example in plants of a precursor protein with six potential peptide defense signals, a scenario only found previously in animals. The data indicate that multiple copies of the HypSys peptides in a single precursor may have an important role in amplifying wound signaling in leaves in response to herbivore attacks.