Biochemical Aspects of Putative Aminotransferase Responsible for Converting Vanillin to Vanillylamine in the Capsaicinoid Biosynthesis Pathway in Plants.

The biosynthesis pathway of capsaicinoids includes the conversion of vanillin to vanillylamine, where putative aminotransferase (pAMT) is thought to be the enzyme responsible in plants. The objectives of this study were to prove that pAMT is the enzyme responsible for this conversion in plants and to clarify its catalytic properties using biochemical methods. Both an extract of habanero placenta and recombinant pAMT (rpAMT) constructed by using an expression system were able to convert vanillin to vanillylamine in the presence of γ-aminobutyric acid as an amino donor and pyridoxal phosphate as a coenzyme.