For understanding the function of tonoplast protein in plant cell signal pathway, we have identified an integral protein kinase activity from the highly purified tonoplast isolated from maize ( Zea mays L.) root by a new nonradioactive method in which a color labeled peptide was used as substrate. The protein kinase was Ca 2+ _dependent and CaM and phosphatidylserine_independent, like the calmodulin_like domain protein kinase (CDPK) in many plants. The optimal pH value and Ca 2+ concentration were 6.5 and 10 μmol/L, respectively. According to the optimal pH value and the effect of detergent, it could be inferred that the active site of this protein kinase is oriented toward the cytoplasm. Zn 2+ had no obvious effect on its activity, indicating that this protein kinase has no zinc_finger domain that exists in some mammalian protein kinases. At the same time, when tonoplast proteins were prephosphorylated in the presence of Ca 2+ and ATP, both the ATP_hydrolysis and the proton_transport activity of vacuolar H +_ATPase were stimulated. This stimulation could be reversed by an alkaline_phosphatase. These results indicate that a Ca 2+ _dependent protein kinase was located in the tonoplast, and a Ca 2+ _dependent phosphorylation, probably caused by this kinase, activated the vacuolar H +_ATPase activity. These results are helpful for further research on the function of CDPK in the course of signal transduction in plants.
