Publications

• Molecular and biochemical analysis of a Madagascar periwinkle root-specific minovincinine-19-hydroxy-O-acetyltransferase.

  Laflamme P., St-Pierre B., De Luca V.

  The terminal steps in the biosynthesis of the monoterpenoid indole alkaloids vindoline and minovincinine are catalyzed by separate acetyl coenzyme A-dependent O-acetyltransferases in Madagascar periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus G. Don). Two genes were isolated that had 63% nucleic acid identity and ... >> More

  The terminal steps in the biosynthesis of the monoterpenoid indole alkaloids vindoline and minovincinine are catalyzed by separate acetyl coenzyme A-dependent O-acetyltransferases in Madagascar periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus G. Don). Two genes were isolated that had 63% nucleic acid identity and whose deduced amino acid sequences were 78% identical. Active enzymes that were expressed as recombinant His-tagged proteins in Escherichia coli were named minovincinine-19-O-acetyltransferase (MAT) and deacetylvindoline-4-O-acetyltransferase (DAT) because they catalyzed the 19-O-acetylation of indole alkaloids such as minovincinine and hörhammericine and the 4-O-acetylation of deacetylvindoline, respectively. Kinetic studies showed that the catalytic efficiency of recombinant MAT (rMAT) was very poor compared with that of recombinant DAT (rDAT), whose turnover rates for Acetyl-coenzyme A and deacetylvindoline were approximately 240- and 10,000-fold greater than those of rMAT. Northern-blot analyses showed that MAT is expressed in cortical cells of the root tip, whereas DAT is only expressed in specialized idioblast and laticifer cells within light exposed tissues like leaves and stems. The coincident expression of trytophan decarboxylase, strictosidine synthase, and MAT within root cortical cells suggests that the entire pathway for the biosynthesis of tabersonine and its substituted analogs occurs within these cells. The ability of MAT to catalyze the 4-O-acetylation of deacetylvindoline with low efficiency suggests that this enzyme, rather than DAT, is involved in vindoline biosynthesis within transformed cell and root cultures, which accumulate low levels of this alkaloid under certain circumstances. << Less

  Plant Physiol. 125:189-198(2001) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

  This publication is cited by 1 other entry.

• A pair of tabersonine 16-hydroxylases initiates the synthesis of vindoline in an organ-dependent manner in Catharanthus roseus.

  Besseau S., Kellner F., Lanoue A., Thamm A.M., Salim V., Schneider B., Geu-Flores F., Hoefer R., Guirimand G., Guihur A., Oudin A., Glevarec G., Foureau E., Papon N., Clastre M., Giglioli-Guivarc'h N., St-Pierre B., Werck-Reichhart D., Burlat V., De Luca V., O'Connor S.E., Courdavault V.

  Hydroxylation of tabersonine at the C-16 position, catalyzed by tabersonine 16-hydroxylase (T16H), initiates the synthesis of vindoline that constitutes the main alkaloid accumulated in leaves of Catharanthus roseus. Over the last decade, this reaction has been associated with CYP71D12 cloned from ... >> More

  Hydroxylation of tabersonine at the C-16 position, catalyzed by tabersonine 16-hydroxylase (T16H), initiates the synthesis of vindoline that constitutes the main alkaloid accumulated in leaves of Catharanthus roseus. Over the last decade, this reaction has been associated with CYP71D12 cloned from undifferentiated C. roseus cells. In this study, we isolated a second cytochrome P450 (CYP71D351) displaying T16H activity. Biochemical characterization demonstrated that CYP71D12 and CYP71D351 both exhibit high affinity for tabersonine and narrow substrate specificity, making of T16H, to our knowledge, the first alkaloid biosynthetic enzyme displaying two isoforms encoded by distinct genes characterized to date in C. roseus. However, both genes dramatically diverge in transcript distribution in planta. While CYP71D12 (T16H1) expression is restricted to flowers and undifferentiated cells, the CYP71D351 (T16H2) expression profile is similar to the other vindoline biosynthetic genes reaching a maximum in young leaves. Moreover, transcript localization by carborundum abrasion and RNA in situ hybridization demonstrated that CYP71D351 messenger RNAs are specifically located to leaf epidermis, which also hosts the next step of vindoline biosynthesis. Comparison of high- and low-vindoline-accumulating C. roseus cultivars also highlights the direct correlation between CYP71D351 transcript and vindoline levels. In addition, CYP71D351 down-regulation mediated by virus-induced gene silencing reduces vindoline accumulation in leaves and redirects the biosynthetic flux toward the production of unmodified alkaloids at the C-16 position. All these data demonstrate that tabersonine 16-hydroxylation is orchestrated in an organ-dependent manner by two genes including CYP71D351, which encodes the specific T16H isoform acting in the foliar vindoline biosynthesis. << Less

  Plant Physiol. 163:1792-1803(2013) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

  This publication is cited by 4 other entries.