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Davis I, Geng J, Liu A. Metalloenzymes involved in carotenoid biosynthesis in plants. Methods Enzymol 2022; 671:207-222. [PMID: 35878978 PMCID: PMC9315058 DOI: 10.1016/bs.mie.2022.01.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Carotenoids are a family of pigment compounds, a subset of which are precursors for vitamin A biosynthesis. These pigments are derived from isopentenyl pyrophosphate (IPP), with geranylgeranyl diphosphate being the first metabolite unique to carotenoid biosynthesis in plants, algae, fungi, some bacteria, and arthropods. This chapter highlights the metal-dependent enzymes involved in synthesizing carotenoids in plants and the current state of knowledge of their cofactors and mechanisms. Emphasis is given to spectroscopic methods used to characterize metal centers. The recently discovered heme-dependent isomerase Z-ISO is presented as a case study in how to interrogate a metalloenzyme. Use of UV-vis, electron paramagnetic resonance, and magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopies of a metal center at various oxidation states and with external small molecule probes (CN-, CO, and NO) can provide information about the nature of the metal center, the identity of its ligands, and its mechanism of action. Z-ISO is a histidine/cysteine ligated heme-dependent enzyme that is only active in the ferrous state and possesses redox-linked ligand switching. The choice and design of experiments are discussed as well as the conclusions that can be drawn.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian Davis
- Department of Chemistry, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States.
| | - Jiafeng Geng
- Department of Chemistry, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Aimin Liu
- Department of Chemistry, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States.
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Wang S, Zhuang K, Zhang S, Yang M, Kong F, Meng Q. Overexpression of a tomato carotenoid ε-hydroxylase gene (SlLUT1) improved the drought tolerance of transgenic tobacco. JOURNAL OF PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 2018; 222:103-112. [PMID: 29425813 DOI: 10.1016/j.jplph.2018.01.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2017] [Revised: 01/28/2018] [Accepted: 01/28/2018] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Drought stress is a considerable environmental factor that restrains photosynthesis. Lutein, the most prolific carotenoid in plant photosynthetic tissues, plays vital roles in the light-harvesting complexes. However, its biological functions under abiotic stresses remain unclear. In our research, transgenic tobacco plants were utilized to investigate the function of the tomato chloroplast-targeted carotenoid epsilon-ring hydroxylase (SlLUT1) in drought stress tolerance. The analysis of SlLUT1-pro-LUC and qRT-PCR showed that drought stress induced SlLUT1 expression. Transgenic tobacco plants exhibit higher lutein content than wild-type (WT) tobacco. Under drought stress, transgenic plants overexpressing SlLUT1 showed better growth performance, higher chlorophyll and relative water contents and more intact chloroplast and PSII supercomplex structures than WT tobacco. The Fv/Fm, Pn, NPQ, and content of D1 protein in transgenic plants were higher than those in WT plants under drought stress. The accumulation of H2O2 and O2- decreased in transgenic tobacco plants. Moreover, transgenic plants exhibited lower MDA accumulation and REL. These results indicate that overexpression of SlLUT1 enhances tolerance to drought stress by maintaining photosynthesis and scavenging ROS in transgenic tobacco.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shiju Wang
- College of Life Science, State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, Shandong 271018, PR China
| | - Kunyang Zhuang
- College of Life Science, State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, Shandong 271018, PR China
| | - Song Zhang
- College of Life Science, State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, Shandong 271018, PR China
| | - Minmin Yang
- College of Life Science, State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, Shandong 271018, PR China
| | - Fanying Kong
- College of Life Science, State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, Shandong 271018, PR China.
| | - Qingwei Meng
- College of Life Science, State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, Shandong 271018, PR China.
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Berman J, Zorrilla-López U, Sandmann G, Capell T, Christou P, Zhu C. The Silencing of Carotenoid β-Hydroxylases by RNA Interference in Different Maize Genetic Backgrounds Increases the β-Carotene Content of the Endosperm. Int J Mol Sci 2017; 18:E2515. [PMID: 29186806 PMCID: PMC5751118 DOI: 10.3390/ijms18122515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2017] [Revised: 11/15/2017] [Accepted: 11/16/2017] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Maize (Zea mays L.) is a staple food in many parts of Africa, but the endosperm generally contains low levels of the pro-vitamin A carotenoid β-carotene, leading to vitamin A deficiency disease in populations relying on cereal-based diets. However, maize endosperm does accumulate high levels of other carotenoids, including zeaxanthin, which is derived from β-carotene via two hydroxylation reactions. Blocking these reactions could therefore improve the endosperm β-carotene content. Accordingly, we used RNA interference (RNAi) to silence the endogenous ZmBCH1 and ZmBCH2 genes, which encode two non-heme di-iron carotenoid β-hydroxylases. The genes were silenced in a range of maize genetic backgrounds by introgressing the RNAi cassette, allowing us to determine the impact of ZmBCH1/ZmBCH2 silencing in diverse hybrids. The β-carotene content of the endosperm increased substantially in all hybrids in which ZmBCH2 was silenced, regardless of whether or not ZmBCH1 was silenced simultaneously. However, the β-carotene content did not change significantly in C17 hybrids (M7 × C17 and M13 × C17) compared to C17 alone, because ZmBCH2 is already expressed at negligible levels in the C17 parent. Our data indicate that ZmBCH2 is primarily responsible for the conversion of β-carotene to zeaxanthin in maize endosperm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judit Berman
- Department of Plant Production and Forestry Science, University of Lleida-Agrotecnio Center, Av. Alcalde Rovira Roure, 191, 25198 Lleida, Spain; (J.B.); (U.Z.-L.); (T.C.); (P.C.)
| | - Uxue Zorrilla-López
- Department of Plant Production and Forestry Science, University of Lleida-Agrotecnio Center, Av. Alcalde Rovira Roure, 191, 25198 Lleida, Spain; (J.B.); (U.Z.-L.); (T.C.); (P.C.)
| | - Gerhard Sandmann
- Biosynthesis Group, Molecular Biosciences, Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universität, 60054 Frankfurt, Germany;
| | - Teresa Capell
- Department of Plant Production and Forestry Science, University of Lleida-Agrotecnio Center, Av. Alcalde Rovira Roure, 191, 25198 Lleida, Spain; (J.B.); (U.Z.-L.); (T.C.); (P.C.)
| | - Paul Christou
- Department of Plant Production and Forestry Science, University of Lleida-Agrotecnio Center, Av. Alcalde Rovira Roure, 191, 25198 Lleida, Spain; (J.B.); (U.Z.-L.); (T.C.); (P.C.)
- ICREA, Catalan Institute for Research and Advanced Studies, Passeig Lluís Companys 23, 08010 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Changfu Zhu
- Department of Plant Production and Forestry Science, University of Lleida-Agrotecnio Center, Av. Alcalde Rovira Roure, 191, 25198 Lleida, Spain; (J.B.); (U.Z.-L.); (T.C.); (P.C.)
- School of Life Sciences, Changchun Normal University, Changchun 130032, China
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Zanga D, Capell T, Slafer GA, Christou P, Savin R. A carotenogenic mini-pathway introduced into white corn does not affect development or agronomic performance. Sci Rep 2016; 6:38288. [PMID: 27922071 PMCID: PMC5138849 DOI: 10.1038/srep38288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2016] [Accepted: 11/07/2016] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
High-carotenoid corn (Carolight®) has been developed as a vehicle to deliver pro-vitamin A in the diet and thus address vitamin A deficiency in at-risk populations in developing countries. Like any other novel crop, the performance of Carolight® must be tested in different environments to ensure that optimal yields and productivity are maintained, particularly in this case to ensure that the engineered metabolic pathway does not attract a yield penalty. Here we compared the performance of Carolight® with its near isogenic white corn inbred parental line under greenhouse and field conditions, and monitored the stability of the introduced trait. We found that Carolight® was indistinguishable from its near isogenic line in terms of agronomic performance, particularly grain yield and its main components. We also established experimentally that the functionality of the introduced trait was indistinguishable when plants were grown in a controlled environment or in the field. Such thorough characterization under different agronomic conditions is rarely performed even for first-generation traits such as herbicide tolerance and pest resistance, and certainly not for complex second-generation traits such as the metabolic remodeling in the Carolight® variety. Our results therefore indicate that Carolight® can now be incorporated into breeding lines to generate hybrids with locally adapted varieties for further product development and assessment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Zanga
- Crop and Forestry Sciences, School of Agrifood and Forestry Science and Engineering (ETSEA), University of Lleida-Agrotecnio Center, Lleida, Spain
| | - Teresa Capell
- Crop and Forestry Sciences, School of Agrifood and Forestry Science and Engineering (ETSEA), University of Lleida-Agrotecnio Center, Lleida, Spain
| | - Gustavo A Slafer
- Crop and Forestry Sciences, School of Agrifood and Forestry Science and Engineering (ETSEA), University of Lleida-Agrotecnio Center, Lleida, Spain.,ICREA, Catalan Institute for Research and Advanced Studies, Passeig Lluís Companys 23, 08010 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Paul Christou
- Crop and Forestry Sciences, School of Agrifood and Forestry Science and Engineering (ETSEA), University of Lleida-Agrotecnio Center, Lleida, Spain.,ICREA, Catalan Institute for Research and Advanced Studies, Passeig Lluís Companys 23, 08010 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Roxana Savin
- Crop and Forestry Sciences, School of Agrifood and Forestry Science and Engineering (ETSEA), University of Lleida-Agrotecnio Center, Lleida, Spain
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Soltis NE, Kliebenstein DJ. Natural Variation of Plant Metabolism: Genetic Mechanisms, Interpretive Caveats, and Evolutionary and Mechanistic Insights. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 2015; 169:1456-68. [PMID: 26272883 PMCID: PMC4634085 DOI: 10.1104/pp.15.01108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2015] [Accepted: 08/12/2015] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Combining quantitative genetics studies with metabolomics/metabolic profiling platforms, genomics, and transcriptomics is creating significant progress in identifying the causal genes controlling natural variation in metabolite accumulations and profiles. In this review, we discuss key mechanistic and evolutionary insights that are arising from these studies. This includes the potential role of transport and other processes in leading to a separation of the site of mechanistic causation and metabolic consequence. A reilluminated observation is the potential for genomic variation in the organelle to alter phenotypic variation alone and in epistatic interaction with the nuclear genetic variation. These studies are also highlighting new aspects of metabolic pleiotropy both in terms of the breadth of loci altering metabolic variation as well as the potential for broader effects on plant defense regulation of the metabolic variation than has previously been predicted. We also illustrate caveats that can be overlooked when translating quantitative genetics descriptors such as heritability and per-locus r(2) to mechanistic or evolutionary interpretations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole E Soltis
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, California 95616 (N.E.S., D.J.K.); andDynaMo Center of Excellence, University of Copenhagen, DK-1871 Frederiksberg C, Denmark (D.J.K.)
| | - Daniel J Kliebenstein
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, California 95616 (N.E.S., D.J.K.); andDynaMo Center of Excellence, University of Copenhagen, DK-1871 Frederiksberg C, Denmark (D.J.K.)
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