Publications - Cell and Metabolic Biology

Phenylpropanoid polyamine conjugates have been identified in flowers of many plant species. Their presence in Arabidopsis thaliana has only been recently established in flower buds and pollen grains. Annotation and location of a cation-dependent O-methyltransferase AtTSM1 specifically to the tapetum of young flower buds enabled the subsequent identification of several genes with a putative role in phenylpropanoid polyamine conjugate biosynthesis. Based on the analysis of several A. thaliana knockout mutants, a biosynthetic pathway of these conjugates is proposed, which involves two methylation steps catalyzed by different cation-dependent O-methyltransferases, a cytochrome P450 (CYP98A8) catalyzed hydroxylation, and a conjugating acyl transfer performed by a BAHD-like, hydroxycinnamoyl (HC)-transferase. LC/MS based metabolite profiling of the cyp98A8 knockout line identified new feruloyl- and 4-coumaroylspermidine conjugates in the corresponding flowers consistent with a role of this gene in the hydroxylation of these conjugates. A pattern of minor amounts of bis- and tris-acylspermidine conjugates, likely the products of additional HC-transferases were identified in wild type as well as in the mutant lines. Transcript suppression of the genes early in the pathway was observed in knockout or RNAi-lines of the genes encoding late enzymatic steps. The implication of these findings for spermidine conjugate biosynthesis in flower buds of A. thaliana is discussed.

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Many plants are able to develop mutualistic interactions with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and/or nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Whereas the former is widely distributed among most of the land plants, the latter is restricted to species of ten plant families, including the legumes. The establishment of both associations is based on mutual recognition and a high degree of coordination at the morphological and physiological level. This requires the activity of a number of signals, including jasmonates. Here, recent knowledge on the putative roles of jasmonates in both mutualistic symbioses will be reviewed. Firstly, the action of jasmonates will be discussed in terms of the initial signal exchange between symbionts and in the resulting plant signaling cascade common for nodulation and mycorrhization. Secondly, the putative role of jasmonates in the autoregulation of the endosymbioses will be outlined. Finally, aspects of function of jasmonates in the fully established symbioses will be presented. Various processes will be discussed that are possibly mediated by jasmonates, including the redox status of nodules and the carbohydrate partitioning of mycorrhizal roots.

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Acylation is a prevalent chemical modification that to a significant extent accounts for the tremendous diversity of plant metabolites. To catalyze acyl transfer reactions, higher plants have evolved acyltransferases that accept β-acetal esters, typically 1-O-glucose esters, as an alternative to the ubiquitously occurring CoA-thioester-dependent enzymes. Shared homology indicates that the β-acetal ester-dependent acyltransferases are derived from a common hydrolytic ancestor of the Serine CarboxyPeptidase (SCP) type, giving rise to the name Serine CarboxyPeptidase-Like (SCPL) acyltransferases. We have analyzed structure–function relationships, reaction mechanism and sequence evolution of Arabidopsis 1-O-sinapoyl-β-glucose:l-malate sinapoyltransferase (AtSMT) and related enzymes to investigate molecular changes required to impart acyltransferase activity to hydrolytic enzymes. AtSMT has maintained the catalytic triad of the hydrolytic ancestor as well as part of the H-bond network for substrate recognition to bind the acyl acceptor l-malate. A Glu/Asp substitution at the amino acid position preceding the catalytic Ser supports binding of the acyl donor 1-O-sinapoyl-β-glucose and was found highly conserved among SCPL acyltransferases. The AtSMT-catalyzed acyl transfer reaction follows a random sequential bi-bi mechanism that requires both substrates 1-O-sinapoyl-β-glucose and l-malate bound in an enzyme donor–acceptor complex to initiate acyl transfer. Together with the strong fixation of the acyl acceptor l-malate, the acquisition of this reaction mechanism favours transacylation over hydrolysis in AtSMT catalysis. The model structure and enzymatic side activities reveal that the AtSMT-mediated acyl transfer proceeds via a short-lived acyl enzyme complex. With regard to evolution, the SCPL acyltransferase clade most likely represents a recent development. The encoding genes are organized in a tandem-arranged cluster with partly overlapping functions. With other enzymes encoded by the respective gene cluster on Arabidopsis chromosome 2, AtSMT shares the enzymatic side activity to disproportionate 1-O-sinapoyl-β-glucoses to produce 1,2-di-O-sinapoyl-β-glucose. In the absence of the acyl acceptor l-malate, a residual esterase activity became obvious as a remnant of the hydrolytic ancestor. With regard to the evolution of Arabidopsis SCPL acyltransferases, our results suggest early neofunctionalization of the hydrolytic ancestor toward acyltransferase activity and acyl donor specificity for 1-O-sinapoyl-β-glucose followed by subfunctionalization to recognize different acyl acceptors.