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Publications - Cell and Metabolic Biology
Publications
Rational re-design of the substrate pocket of phenylpropanoid-flavonoid O-methyltransferase (PFOMT) from Mesembryanthe-mum crystallinum, an enzyme that selectively methylates the 3’-position (= meta-position) in catechol-moieties of flavonoids to guiacol-moieties, provided the basis for the generation of variants with opposite, i. e. 4’- (para-) regioselectivity and enhanced catalytic efficiency. A double variant (Y51R/N202W) identified through a newly developed colorimetric assay efficiently modified the para-position in flavanone and flavano-nol substrates, providing access to the sweetener molecule hesperetin and other rare plant flavonoids having an isovanil-loid motif.
Publications
In the respirofermentative yeast Kluyveromyces lactis, only a single genetic locus encodes glucose transporters that can support fermentative growth. This locus is polymorphic in wild-type isolates carrying either KHT1and KHT2, two tandemly arranged HXT-like genes, or RAG1, a low-affinity transporter gene that arose by recombination between KHT1 andKHT2. Here we show that KHT1 is a glucose-induced gene encoding a low-affinity transporter very similar to Rag1p. Kht2p has a lower Km (3.7 mM) and a more complex regulation. Transcription is high in the absence of glucose, further induced by low glucose concentrations, and repressed at higher glucose concentrations. The response ofKHT1 and KHT2 gene regulation to high but not to low concentrations of glucose depends on glucose transport. The function of either Kht1p or Kht2p is sufficient to mediate the characteristic response to high glucose, which is impaired in akht1 kht2 deletion mutant. Thus, the KHTgenes are subject to mutual feedback regulation. Moreover, glucose repression of the endogenous β-galactosidase (LAC4) promoter and glucose induction of pyruvate decarboxylase were abolished in the kht1 kht2 mutant. These phenotypes could be partially restored by HXT gene family members fromSaccharomyces cerevisiae. The results indicate that the specific responses to high but not to low glucose concentrations require a high rate of glucose uptake.
This page was last modified on 27 Jan 2025 .
