Publications

• A thiocyanate-forming protein generates multiple products upon allylglucosinolate breakdown in Thlaspi arvense.

  Kuchernig J.-C., Backenkoehler A., Luebbecke M., Burow M., Wittstock U.

  Glucosinolates, amino acid-derived thioglycosides found in plants of the Brassicales order, are one of the best studied classes of plant secondary metabolites. Together with myrosinases and supplementary proteins known as specifier proteins, they form the glucosinolate-myrosinase system that upon ... >> More

  Glucosinolates, amino acid-derived thioglycosides found in plants of the Brassicales order, are one of the best studied classes of plant secondary metabolites. Together with myrosinases and supplementary proteins known as specifier proteins, they form the glucosinolate-myrosinase system that upon tissue damage gives rise to a number of biologically active glucosinolate breakdown products such as isothiocyanates, epithionitriles and organic thiocyanates involved in plant defense. While isothiocyanates are products of the spontaneous rearrangement of the glucosinolate aglycones released by myrosinase, the formation of epithionitriles and organic thiocyanates depends on both myrosinases and specifier proteins. Hydrolysis product profiles of many glucosinolate-containing plant species indicate the presence of specifier proteins, but only few have been identified and characterized biochemically. Here, we report on cDNA cloning, heterologous expression and characterization of TaTFP, a thiocyanate-forming protein (TFP) from Thlaspi arvense L. (Brassicaceae), that is expressed in all plant organs and can be purified in active form after heterologous expression in Escherichia coli. As a special feature, this protein promotes the formation of allylthiocyanate as well as the corresponding epithionitrile upon myrosinase-catalyzed hydrolysis of allylglucosinolate, the major glucosinolate of T. arvense. All other glucosinolates tested are converted to their simple nitriles when hydrolyzed in the presence of TaTFP. Despite its ability to promote allylthiocyanate formation, TaTFP has a higher amino acid sequence similarity to known epithiospecifier proteins (ESPs) than to Lepidium sativum TFP. However, unlike Arabidopsis thaliana ESP, its activity in vitro is not strictly dependent on Fe²⁺ addition to the assay mixtures. The availability of TaTFP in purified form enables future studies to be aimed at elucidating the structural bases of specifier protein specificities and mechanisms. Furthermore, identification of TaTFP shows that product specificities of specifier proteins can not be predicted based on amino acid sequence similarity and raises interesting questions about specifier protein evolution. << Less

  Phytochemistry 72:1699-1709(2011) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

  This publication is cited by 7 other entries.

• Glucosinolate hydrolysis in Lepidium sativum--identification of the thiocyanate-forming protein.

  Burow M., Bergner A., Gershenzon J., Wittstock U.

  Glucosinolates are a class of thioglycosides found predominantly in plants of the order Brassicales whose function in anti-herbivore defense has been attributed to the products formed by myrosinase-catalyzed hydrolysis upon plant tissue damage. The most common type of hydrolysis products, the isot ... >> More

  Glucosinolates are a class of thioglycosides found predominantly in plants of the order Brassicales whose function in anti-herbivore defense has been attributed to the products formed by myrosinase-catalyzed hydrolysis upon plant tissue damage. The most common type of hydrolysis products, the isothiocyanates, are toxic to a wide range of organisms. Depending on the glucosinolate side-chain structure and the presence of certain protein factors, other types of hydrolysis products, such as simple nitriles, epithionitriles and organic thiocyanates, can be formed whose biological functions are not well understood. Of the proteins controlling glucosinolate hydrolysis, only epithiospecifier proteins (ESPs) that promote the formation of simple nitriles and epithionitriles have been identified on a molecular level. We investigated glucosinolate hydrolysis in Lepidium sativum and identified a thiocyanate-forming protein (TFP) that shares 63-68% amino acid sequence identity with known ESPs and up to 55% identity with myrosinase-binding proteins from Arabidopsis thaliana, but differs from ESPs in its biochemistry. TFP does not only catalyze thiocyanate and simple nitrile formation from benzylglucosinolate but also the formation of simple nitriles and epithionitriles from aliphatic glucosinolates. Analyses of glucosinolate hydrolysis products in L. sativum autolysates and TFP transcript accumulation revealed an organ-specific regulation of thiocyanate formation. The identification of TFP defines a new family of proteins that control glucosinolate hydrolysis and challenges the previously proposed reaction mechanism of epithionitrile formation. As a protein that promotes the formation of a wide variety of hydrolysis products, its identification provides an important tool for further elucidating the mechanisms of glucosinolate hydrolysis as well as the ecological role and the evolutionary origin of the glucosinolate-myrosinase system. << Less

  Plant Mol. Biol. 63:49-61(2007) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

  This publication is cited by 6 other entries.

• Nitrile-specifier proteins involved in glucosinolate hydrolysis in Arabidopsis thaliana.

  Kissen R., Bones A.M.

  Glucosinolates are plant secondary metabolites present in Brassicaceae plants such as the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Intact glucosinolates are believed to be biologically inactive, whereas degradation products after hydrolysis have multiple roles in growth regulation and defense. The degrad ... >> More

  Glucosinolates are plant secondary metabolites present in Brassicaceae plants such as the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Intact glucosinolates are believed to be biologically inactive, whereas degradation products after hydrolysis have multiple roles in growth regulation and defense. The degradation of glucosinolates is catalyzed by thioglucosidases called myrosinases and leads by default to the formation of isothiocyanates. The interaction of a protein called epithiospecifier protein (ESP) with myrosinase diverts the reaction toward the production of epithionitriles or nitriles depending on the glucosinolate structure. Here we report the identification of a new group of nitrile-specifier proteins (AtNSPs) in A. thaliana able to generate nitriles in conjunction with myrosinase and a more detailed characterization of one member (AtNSP2). Recombinant AtNSP2 expressed in Escherichia coli was used to test its impact on the outcome of glucosinolate hydrolysis using a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry approach. AtNSP proteins share 30-45% sequence homology with A. thaliana ESP. Although AtESP and AtNSP proteins can switch myrosinase-catalyzed degradation of 2-propenylglucosinolate from isothiocyanate to nitrile, only AtESP generates the corresponding epithionitrile. Using the aromatic benzylglucosinolate, recombinant AtNSP2 is also able to direct product formation to the nitrile. Analysis of glucosinolate hydrolysis profiles of transgenic A. thaliana plants overexpressing AtNSP2 confirms its nitrile-specifier activity in planta. In silico expression analysis reveals distinctive expression patterns of AtNSPs, which supports a biological role for these proteins. In conclusion, we show that AtNSPs belonging to a new family of A. thaliana proteins structurally related to AtESP divert product formation from myrosinase-catalyzed glucosinolate hydrolysis and, thereby, likely affect the biological consequences of glucosinolate degradation. We discuss similarities and properties of AtNSPs and related proteins and the biological implications. << Less

  J. Biol. Chem. 284:12057-12070(2009) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

  This publication is cited by 10 other entries.