Structure of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase, a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of the plant hormone ethylene

The 2.4 A crystal structure of the vitamin B6-dependent enzyme 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) synthase is described. This enzyme catalyses the committed step in the biosynthesis of ethylene, a plant hormone that is responsible for the initiation of fruit ripening and for regulating many other developmental processes. ACC synthase has 15 % sequence identity with the well-studied aspartate aminotransferase, and a completely different catalytic activity yet the overall folds and the active sites are very similar. The new structure together with available biochemical data enables a comparative mechanistic analysis that largely explains the catalytic roles of the conserved and non-conserved active site residues. An external aldimine reaction intermediate (external aldimine with ACC, i.e. with the product) has been modeled. The new structure provides a basis for the rational design of inhibitors with broad agricultural applications.     

A tomato HD-Zip homeobox protein, LeHB-1, plays an important role in floral organogenesis and ripening

Ethylene is required for climacteric fruit ripening. Inhibition of ethylene biosynthesis genes, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) synthase and ACC oxidase, prevents or delays ripening, but it is not known how these genes are modulated during normal development. LeHB-1, a previously uncharacterized tomato homeobox protein, was shown by gel retardation assay to interact with the promoter of LeACO1 , an ACC oxidase gene expressed during ripening. Inhibition of LeHB-1 mRNA accumulation in tomato fruit, using virus-induced gene silencing, greatly reduced LeACO1 mRNA levels, and inhibited ripening. Conversely, ectopic overexpression of LeHB-1 by viral delivery to developing flowers elsewhere on injected plants triggered altered floral organ morphology, including production of multiple flowers within one sepal whorl, fusion of sepals and petals, and conversion of sepals into carpel-like structures that grew into fruits and ripened. Our findings suggest that LeHB-1 is not only involved in the control of ripening but also plays a critical role in floral organogenesis.     

Apple 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase in complex with the inhibitor L-aminoethoxyvinylglycine. Evidence for a ketimine intermediate

The 1.6-A crystal structure of the covalent ketimine complex of apple 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) synthase with the potent inhibitor l-aminoethoxyvinylglycine (AVG) is described. ACC synthase catalyzes the committed step in the biosynthesis of ethylene, a plant hormone that is responsible for the initiation of fruit ripening and for regulating many other developmental processes. AVG is widely used in plant physiology studies to inhibit the activity of ACC synthase. The structural assignment is supported by the fact that the complex absorbs maximally at 341 nm. These results are not in accord with the recently reported crystal structure of the tomato ACC synthase AVG complex, which claims that the inhibitor only associates noncovalently. The rate constant for the association of AVG with apple ACC synthase was determined by stopped-flow spectrophotometry (2.1 x 10(5) m(-1) s(-1)) and by the rate of loss of enzyme activity (1.1 x 10(5) m(-1) s(-1)). The dissociation rate constant determined by activity recovery is 2.4 x 10(-6) s(-1). Thus, the calculated K(d) value is 10-20 pm.     

The never ripe mutation blocks ethylene perception in tomato.

Seedlings of tomato fruit ripening mutants were screened for their ability to respond to ethylene. Ethylene induced the triple response in etiolated hypocotyls of all tomato ripening mutants tested except for one, Never ripe (Nr). Our results indicated that the lack of ripening in this mutant is caused by ethylene insensitivity. Segregation analysis indicated that Nr-associated ethylene insensitivity is a single codominant trait and is pleiotropic, blocking senescence and abscission of flowers and the epinastic response of petioles. In normal tomato flowers, petal abscission and senescence occur 4 to 5 days after the flower opens and precede fruit expansion. If fertilization does not occur, pedicel abscission occurs 5 to 8 days after petal senescence. If unfertilized, Nr flowers remained attached to the plant indefinitely, and petals remained viable and turgid more than four times longer than their normal counterparts. Fruit development in Nr plants was not preceded by petal senescence; petals and anthers remained attached until they were physically displaced by the expanding ovary. Analysis of engineered 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) synthase-overexpressing plants indicated that they are phenotypic opposites of Nr plants. Constitutive expression of ACC synthase in tomato plants resulted in high rates of ethylene production by many tissues of the plant and induced petiole epinasty and premature senescence and abscission of flowers, usually before anthesis. There were no obvious effects on senescence in leaves of ACC synthase overexpressers, suggesting that although ethylene may be important, it is not sufficient to cause tomato leaf senescence; other signals are clearly involved.     

CNR转录因子在番茄果实成熟过程中的功能

SPL转录因子在植物中广泛存在并参与植物生长、发育和成熟过程,CNR是SPL转录因子家族中的一个成员,其作用机制尚不清楚.通过RNA-seq、qRT-PCR和染色质免疫共沉淀技术(ChIP)确定转录因子CNR直接作用的新的靶基因,旨在揭示番茄果实成熟过程中CNR的转录调控网络.通过RNA-seq筛选出野生型AC和突变体...     

Wound ethylene and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase in ripening tomato fruit

Ethylene production, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) levels and ACC-synthase activity were compared in intact and wounded tomato fruits (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) at different ripening stages. Freshly cut and wounded pericarp discs produced relatively little ethylene and had low levels of ACC and of ACC-synthase activity. The rate of ethylene synthesis, the level of ACC and the activity of ACC synthase all increased manyfold within 2 h after wounding. The rate of wound-ethylene formation and the activity of wound-induced ACC synthase were positively correlated with the rate of ethylene production in the intact fruit. When pericarp discs were incubated overnight, wound ethylene synthesis subsided, but the activity of ACC synthase remained high, and ACC accumulated, especially in discs from ripe fruits. In freshly harvested tomato fruits, the level of ACC and the activity of ACC synthase were higher in the inside parts of the fruit than in the pericarp. When wounded pericarp tissue of green tomato fruits was treated with cycloheximide, the activity of ACC synthase declined with an apparent half life of 30–40 in. The activity of ACC synthase in cycloheximide-treated, wounded pericarp of ripening tomatoes declined more slowly.Abbreviation ACC 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid     

Purification and partial characterization of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase from tomato pericarp

1-Aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase was purified 5000-fold from LiCl-induced tomato fruit slices by conventional and high-performance liquid chromatography. The final preparation was estimated to be between 25% and 50% pure. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis indicates that 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase activity is associated with a 45-kDa polypeptide, with a pI of 5.8 +/- 0.2. The enzyme is inactivated both by its substrate, S-adenosyl-L-methionine (AdoMet) and by one of its products, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate. Due to the extremely low abundance of the protein it was necessary to scale up the extraction in order to obtain reasonable amounts for sequence analysis. Therefore, 200 kg tomatoes were extracted on semi-industrial scale and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase purified. This yielded approximately 150 micrograms enzyme.     

Ripening Physiology of Fruit from Transgenic Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) Plants with Reduced Ethylene Synthesis

The physiological effects of reduced ethylene synthesis in a transgenic tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) line expressing 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) deaminase enzyme have been examined. Fruit from the transgenic line 5673 ripen significantly slower than control fruit when removed from the vine early in ripening. In contrast, fruit that remain attached to the plants ripen much more rapidly, exhibiting little delay relative to the control. Ethylene determinations on attached fruit revealed that there was significantly more internal ethylene in attached than detached fruit. The higher ethylene content can fully account for the observed faster on-the-vine ripening. All of the data are consistent with a catalytic role for ethylene in promoting many, although not all, aspects of fruit ripening. Biochemical analyses of transgenic fruit indicated no significant differences from controls in the levels of ACC oxidase or polygalacturonase. Because transgenic fruit are significantly firmer than controls, this last result indicates that other enzymes may have a significant role in fruit softening.     

Control of ethylene synthesis by expression of a bacterial enzyme in transgenic tomato plants.

Synthesis of the phytohormone ethylene is believed to be essential for many plant developmental processes. The control of ripening in climacteric fruits and vegetables is among the best characterized of these processes. One approach to reduce ethylene synthesis in plants is metabolism of its immediate precursor, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC). Soil bacteria containing an enzyme, ACC deaminase, were identified by their ability to grow on ACC as a sole nitrogen source. The gene encoding ACC deaminase was cloned and introduced into tomato plants. Reduction in ethylene synthesis in transgenic plants did not cause any apparent vegetative phenotypic abnormalities. However, fruits from these plants exhibited significant delays in ripening, and the mature fruits remained firm for at least 6 weeks longer than the nontransgenic control fruit. These results indicated that ACC deaminase is useful for examining the role of ethylene in many developmental and stress-related processes in plants as well as for extending the shelf life of fruits and vegetables whose ripening is mediated by ethylene.     

Regulation of Tomato Fruit Polygalacturonase mRNA Accumulation by Ethylene: A Re-Examination

Polygalacturonase (PG) is the major enzyme responsible for pectin disassembly in ripening fruit. Despite extensive research on the factors regulating PG gene expression in fruit, there is conflicting evidence regarding the role of ethylene in mediating its expression. Transgenic tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) fruits in which endogenous ethylene production was suppressed by the expression of an antisense 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) synthase gene were used to re-examine the role of ethylene in regulating the accumulation of PG mRNA, enzyme activity, and protein during fruit ripening. Treatment of transgenic antisense ACC synthase mature green fruit with ethylene at concentrations as low as 0.1 to 1 μL/L for 24 h induced PG mRNA accumulation, and this accumulation was higher at concentrations of ethylene up to 100 μL/L. Neither PG enzyme activity nor PG protein accumulated during this 24-h period of ethylene treatment, indicating that translation lags at least 24 h behind the accumulation of PG mRNA, even at high ethylene concentrations. When examined at concentrations of 10 μL/L, PG mRNA accumulated within 6 h of ethylene treatment, indicating that the PG gene responds rapidly to ethylene. Treatment of transgenic tomato fruit with a low level of ethylene (0.1 μL/L) for up to 6 d induced levels of PG mRNA, enzyme activity, and protein after 6 d, which were comparable to levels observed in ripening wild-type fruit. A similar level of internal ethylene (0.15 μL/L) was measured in transgenic antisense ACC synthase fruit that were held for 28 d after harvest. In these fruit PG mRNA, enzyme activity, and protein were detected. Collectively, these results suggest that PG mRNA accumulation is ethylene regulated, and that the low threshold levels of ethylene required to promote PG mRNA accumulation may be exceeded, even in transgenic antisense ACC synthase tomato fruit.     

Isolation of a Tomato Protease that May Be Involved in Proteolysis of 1-Aminocyclopropane-1-Carboxylate Synthase

1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) synthase is a principal enzyme that catalyses the committed step in phytohormone ethylene biosynthesis. Previous evidence indicates that the hypervariable C-terminus of ACC synthase is most likely to be processed proteolytically in vivo. However, the protease responsible has not been identified thus far. In the present study, we detected proteolytic activity against ACC synthase (LeACS2) in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) fruit extract based on a newly established in vitro assay system. Purification of the protease through DEAE, gel filtration and MonoQ chromatography resulted in considerable enrichment of a 64-kDa protein species. Subsequent biochemical analysis of the purified tomato protease revealed that the optimal conditions for its proteolytic activity were at pH 8.0 and at 37 ℃. In addition, the protease activity was blocked completely by the metalloprotease inhibitor 1,10-phenanthroline. The present study represents the first report on the isolation of an ACC synthaseprocessing protease from plant tissues.     

The Tomato E8 Gene Influences Ethylene Biosynthesis in Fruit but Not in Flowers

We investigated the function of the tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) E8 gene. Previous experiments in which antisense suppression of E8 was used suggested that the E8 protein has a negative effect on ethylene evolution in fruit. E8 is expressed in flowers as well as in fruit, and its expression is high in anthers. We introduced a cauliflower mosaic virus 35S-E8 gene into tomato plants and obtained plants with overexpression of E8 and plants in which E8 expression was suppressed due to co-suppression. Overexpression of E8 in unripe fruit did not affect the level of ethylene evolution during fruit ripening; however, reduction of E8 protein by cosuppression did lead to elevated levels during ripening. Levels for ethylene, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC), and ACC oxidase mRNA were increased approximately 7-fold in fruit of plants with reduced E8 protein. Levels of ACC synthase 2 mRNA were increased 2.5-fold, and ACC synthase 4 mRNA was not affected. Reduction of E8 protein in anthers did not affect the accumulation of ACC or of mRNAs encoding enzymes involved in ethylene biosynthesis. Our results suggest that the product of the E8 reaction participates in feedback regulation of ethylene biosynthesis during fruit ripening.     

Suppression of Ripening-Associated Gene Expression in Tomato Fruits Subjected to a High CO2 Concentration

High concentrations of CO2 block or delay the ripening of fruits. In this study we investigated the effects of high CO2 on ripening and on the expression of stress- and ripening-inducible genes in cherry tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) fruit. Mature-green tomato fruits were submitted to a high CO2 concentration (20%) for 3 d and then transferred to air. These conditions effectively inhibited ripening-associated color changes and ethylene production, and reduced the protein content. No clear-cut effect was observed on the expression of two proteolysis-related genes, encoding polyubiquitin and ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E2, respectively. Exposure of fruit to high CO2 also resulted in the strong induction of two genes encoding stress-related proteins: a ripening-regulated heat-shock protein and glutamate decarboxylase. Induction of these two genes indicated that high CO2 had a stress effect, most likely through cytosolic acidification. In addition, high CO2 blocked the accumulation of mRNAs for genes involved in the main ripening-related changes: ethylene synthesis (1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid synthase and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid oxidase), color (phytoene synthase), firmness (polygalacturonase), and sugar accumulation (acid invertase). The expression of ripening-specific genes was affected by CO2 regardless of whether their induction was ethylene- or development-dependent. It is proposed that the inhibition of tomato fruit ripening by high CO2 is due, in part, to the suppression of the expression of ripening-associated genes, which is probably related to the stress effect exerted by high CO2.     

RFLP analysis of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase ACC2 and ACC4 genes from Polish cultivars of tomato

An important trait of tomato is the rate of fruit ripening, strongly dependent on ethylene production. The ripening-related ethylene synthesis in tomato is controlled mainly by 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase LE-ACS2 and LE-ACS4 isoenzymes (Rottmann et al., 1991, J. Mol. Biol. 222: 937; Lincoln et al., 1993, J. Biol. Chem. 268: 19422; Barry et al., 2000, Plant Physiol. 123: 979). In spite of numerous reports on the LE-ACS2 and LE-ACS4 gene expression, only ones considered the genomic organisation each of these genes (Rottmann et al., 1991; Lincoln et al., 1993) reported one copy of each of these genes in tomato cv VF36. In this article we suggest that the genomic organisation of LE-ACS2 and LE-ACSS4 genes may depend on tomato cultivars and may differ from that described by the above authors. The results of Southern analyses of genomic DNAs from 17-day old seedlings (cultivars Jaga, Halicz, Betalux, New Yorker) imply that the genomic organisation of LE-ACS2 and LE-ACS4 genes in Polish cultivars differs from that reported for cv VF36.     

Isolation of a Tomato Protease that May Be Involved in Proteolysis of 1-Aminocyclopropane-l-Carboxylate Synthase

1-aminocyclopropane- 1-carboxylate （ACC） synthase is a principal enzyme that catalyses the committed step in phytohormone ethylene biosynthesis. Previous evidence indicates that the hypervariable C-terminus of ACC synthase is most likely to be processed proteolytically in vivo. However, the protease responsible has not been identified thus far. In the present study, we detected proteolytic activity against ACC synthase （LeACS2） in tomato （Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.） fruit extract based on a newly established in vitro assay system. Purification of the protease through DEAE, gel filtration and MonoQ chromatography resulted in considerable enrichment of a 64-kDa protein species. Subsequent biochemical analysis of the purified tomato protease revealed that the optimal conditions for its proteolytic activity were at pH 8.0 and at 37 ~C. In addition, the protease activity was blocked completely by the metalloprotease inhibitor 1,10-phenanthroline. The present study represents the first report on the isolation of an ACC synthase- processing protease from plant tissues.     

Reduced ethylene synthesis by transgenic tomatoes expressing S-adenosylmethionine hydrolase

We have utilized a gene from bacteriophage T3 that encodes the enzyme S-adenosylmethionine hydrolase (SAMase) to generate transgenic tomato plants that produce fruit with a reduced capacity to synthesize ethylene. S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) is the metabolic precursor of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid, the proximal precursor to ethylene. SAMase catalyzes the conversion of SAM to methylthioadenosine and homoserine. To restrict the presence of SAMase to ripening fruit, the promoter from the tomato E8 gene was used to regulate SAMase gene expression. Transgenic tomato plants containing the 1.1 kb E8 promoter bore fruit that expressed SAMase during the breaker and orange stage of fruit ripening and stopped expression after the fruit fully ripened. Plants containing the 2.3 kb E8 promoter expressed SAMase at higher levels during the post-breaker phases of fruit ripening and had a substantially reduced capacity to synthesize ethylene.