Tomato fruits accumulate a diverse set of volatiles including multiple esters. The content of ester volatiles is relatively low in tomato fruits (Solanum lycopersicum) and far more abundant in the closely related species Solanum pennellii. There are also qualitative variations in ester content between the two species. We have previously shown that high expression of a non-specific esterase is critical for the low overall ester content of S. lycopersicum fruit relative to S. pennellii fruit. Here, we show that qualitative differences in ester composition are the consequence of divergence in enzymatic activity of a ripening-related alcohol acyltransferase (AAT1). The S. pennellii AAT1 is more efficient than the tomato AAT1 for all the alcohols tested. The two enzymes have differences in their substrate preferences that explain the variations observed in the volatiles. The results illustrate how two related species have evolved to precisely adjust their volatile content by modulating the balance of the synthesis and degradation of esters.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.molp.2014.11.007 | DOI Listing |
Nat Commun
December 2024
AZTI, Marine Research, Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), Sukarrieta, Spain.
Marine brown algae produce the highly recalcitrant polysaccharide fucoidan, contributing to long-term oceanic carbon storage and climate regulation. Fucoidan is degraded by specialized heterotrophic bacteria, which promote ecosystem function and global carbon turnover using largely uncharacterized mechanisms. Here, we isolate and study two Planctomycetota strains from the microbiome associated with the alga Fucus spiralis, which grow efficiently on chemically diverse fucoidans.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Commun
December 2024
Beijing Frontier Research Center for Biological Structure, State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
Exceptionally diverse type V CRISPR-Cas systems provide numerous RNA-guided nucleases as powerful tools for DNA manipulation. Two known Cas12e nucleases, DpbCas12e and PlmCas12e, are both effective in genome editing. However, many differences exist in their in vitro dsDNA cleavage activities, reflecting the diversity in Cas12e's enzymatic properties.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFEBS J
December 2024
Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, University of Vienna, Austria.
Corrinoids are cobalt-containing tetrapyrroles. They include adenosylcobalamin (vitamin B) and cobamides that function as cofactors and coenzymes for methyl transfer, radical-dependent and redox reactions. Though cobamides are the most complex cofactors in nature, they are essential in the acetyl-CoA pathway, thought to be the most ancient CO-fixation pathway, where they perform a pterin-to-cobalt-to-nickel methyl transfer reaction catalyzed by the corrinoid iron-sulphur protein (CoFeS).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlants (Basel)
November 2024
Graduate School of Genome Science and Technology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
Land plant evolution has been marked by numerous genetic innovations, including novel catalytic reactions. Plants produce various carboxyl methyl esters using carboxylic acids as substrates, both of which are involved in diverse biological processes. The biosynthesis of methyl esters is catalyzed by SABATH methyltransferases, and understanding of this family has broadened in recent years.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSmall
December 2024
Department of Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, SAR, 0000, China.
Nanozymes have recently gained attention for their low cost and high stability. However, unlike natural enzymes, they often exhibit multiple enzyme-like activities, complicating their use in selective bioassays. Since HO and O are common substrates in these reactions, controlling their activation-and thus reaction specificity-is crucial.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!