Properties of plant aminotransferases

The occurrence and properties of plant aminotransferases are considered in relation to the known characteristics of corresponding animal and bacterial aminotransferases. Development of aminotransferase systems during seed germination and plant development is examined and changes in the activity of various systems are discussed in relation to environmental factors and endogenous hormone changes. Purification and substrate specificity of various plant aminotransferases are considered and the evidence for substrate multispecificity shown by certain enzymes is related to similar findings with some animal and bacterial aminotransferases. The physical and kinetic properties of plant aminotransferases such as their molecular weight, sedimentation coefficient, subunit composition, pyridoxal phosphate requirement, effect of pH and cations on activity, and their mechanism of action are reviewed and compared to similar observations from animal and bacterial aminotransferases. Finally, the intracellular location and functions of plant aminotransferases and their isoenzyme composition are discussed and compared to those of corresponding animal enzymes.     

Plant pathogens as a source of diverse enzymes for lignocellulose digestion

The plant cell wall is a major barrier that many plant pathogens must surmount for successful invasion of their plant hosts. Full genome sequencing of a number of plant pathogens has revealed often large, complex, and redundant enzyme systems for degradation of plant cell walls. Recent surveys have noted that plant pathogenic fungi are highly competent producers of lignocellulolytic enzymes, and their enzyme activity patterns reflect host specificity. We propose that plant pathogens may contribute to biofuel production as diverse sources of accessory enzymes for more efficient conversion of lignocellulose into fermentable sugars.     

Lipid signaling

Various lipids are involved in mediating plant growth, development and responses to biotic and abiotic cues, and their production is regulated by lipid-signaling enzymes. Lipid-hydrolyzing enzymes play a pivotal role both in the production of lipid messengers and in other processes, such as cytoskeletal rearrangement, membrane trafficking, and degradation. Studies on the downstream targets and modes of action of lipid signals in plants are still in their early stages but distinguishing features of plant lipid-based signaling are being recognized. Phospholipase D enzymes and phosphatidic acid may play a broader role in lipid signaling in plants than in other systems.     

Bioreactor systems for in vitro production of foreign proteins using plant cell cultures

Plant cells have been demonstrated to be an attractive heterologous expression host (using whole plants and in vitro plant cell cultures) for foreign protein production in the past 20years. In recent years in vitro liquid cultures of plant cells in a fully contained bioreactor have become promising alternatives to traditional microbial fermentation and mammalian cell cultures as a foreign protein expression platform, due to the unique features of plant cells as a production host including product safety, cost-effective biomanufacturing, and the capacity for complex protein post-translational modifications. Heterologous proteins such as therapeutics, antibodies, vaccines and enzymes for pharmaceutical and industrial applications have been successfully expressed in plant cell culture-based bioreactor systems including suspended dedifferentiated plant cells, moss, and hairy roots, etc. In this article, the current status and emerging trends of plant cell culture for in vitro production of foreign proteins will be discussed with emphasis on the technological progress that has been made in plant cell culture bioreactor systems.     

Physical interactions among flavonoid enzymes in snapdragon and torenia reveal the diversity in the flavonoid metabolon organization of different plant species

Flavonoid metabolons (weakly‐bound multi‐enzyme complexes of flavonoid enzymes) are believed to occur in diverse plant species. However, how flavonoid enzymes are organized to form a metabolon is unknown for most plant species. We analyzed the physical interaction partnerships of the flavonoid enzymes from two lamiales plants (snapdragon and torenia) that produce flavones and anthocyanins. In snapdragon, protein–protein interaction assays using yeast and plant systems revealed the following binary interactions: flavone synthase II (FNSII)/chalcone synthase (CHS); FNSII/chalcone isomerase (CHI); FNSII/dihydroflavonol 4‐reductase (DFR); CHS/CHI; CHI/DFR; and flavonoid 3′‐hydroxylase/CHI. These results along with the subcellular localizations and membrane associations of snapdragon flavonoid enzymes suggested that FNSII serves as a component of the flavonoid metabolon tethered to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). The observed interaction partnerships and temporal gene expression patterns of flavonoid enzymes in red snapdragon petal cells suggested the flower stage‐dependent formation of the flavonoid metabolon, which accounted for the sequential flavone and anthocyanin accumulation patterns therein. We also identified interactions between FNSII and other flavonoid enzymes in torenia, in which the co‐suppression of FNSII expression was previously reported to diminish petal anthocyanin contents. The observed physical interactions among flavonoid enzymes of these plant species provided further evidence supporting the long‐suspected organization of flavonoid metabolons as enzyme complexes tethered to the ER via cytochrome P450, and illustrated how flavonoid metabolons mediate flower coloration. Moreover, the observed interaction partnerships were distinct from those previously identified in other plant species (Arabidopsis thaliana and soybean), suggesting that the organization of flavonoid metabolons may differ among plant species.     

Degradation of cellulose by basidiomycetous fungi

Cellulose is the main polymeric component of the plant cell wall, the most abundant polysaccharide on Earth, and an important renewable resource. Basidiomycetous fungi belong to its most potent degraders because many species grow on dead wood or litter, in environment rich in cellulose. Fungal cellulolytic systems differ from the complex cellulolytic systems of bacteria. For the degradation of cellulose, basidiomycetes utilize a set of hydrolytic enzymes typically composed of endoglucanase, cellobiohydrolase and beta-glucosidase. In some species, the absence of cellobiohydrolase is substituted by the production of processive endoglucanases combining the properties of both of these enzymes. In addition, systems producing hydroxyl radicals based on cellobiose dehydrogenase, quinone redox cycling or glycopeptide-based Fenton reaction are involved in the degradation of several plant cell wall components, including cellulose. The complete cellulolytic complex used by a single fungal species is typically composed of more than one of the above mechanisms that contribute to the utilization of cellulose as a source of carbon or energy or degrade it to ensure fast substrate colonization. The efficiency and regulation of cellulose degradation differs among wood-rotting, litter-decomposing, mycorrhizal or plant pathogenic fungi and yeasts due to the different roles of cellulose degradation in the physiology and ecology of the individual groups.     

Microbial endoxylanases: effective weapons to breach the plant cell-wall barrier or, rather, triggers of plant defense systems?

Endo-beta-1,4-xylanases (EC 3.2.1.8) are key enzymes in the degradation of xylan, the predominant hemicellulose in the cell walls of plants and the second most abundant polysaccharide on earth. A number of endoxylanases are produced by microbial phytopathogens responsible for severe crop losses. These enzymes are considered to play an important role in phytopathogenesis, as they provide essential means to the attacking organism to break through the plant cell wall. Plants have evolved numerous defense mechanisms to protect themselves against invading pathogens, amongst which are proteinaceous inhibitors of cell wall-degrading enzymes. These defense mechanisms are triggered when a pathogen-derived elicitor is recognized by the plant. In this review, the diverse aspects of endoxylanases in promoting virulence and in eliciting plant defense systems are highlighted. Furthermore, the role of the relatively recently discovered cereal endoxylanase inhibitor families TAXI (Triticum aestivum xylanase inhibitor) and XIP (xylanase inhibitor protein) in plant defense is discussed.     

Bioconversion potential of plant enzymes for the production of pharmaceuticals

Plant enzymes are able to catalyze regio- and stereospecific reactions. Freely suspended and immobilized plant cells as well as enzyme preparations can therefore be applied for the production of pharmaceuticals by bioconversion, as such or in combination with chemical syntheses. This review paper deals with bioconversions of added precursors from natural or synthetic origin by several biocatalytic systems.     

Lipoxygenases – Structure and reaction mechanism

Lipid oxidation is a common metabolic reaction in all biological systems, appearing in developmentally regulated processes and as response to abiotic and biotic stresses. Products derived from lipid oxidation processes are collectively named oxylipins. Initial lipid oxidation may either occur by chemical reactions or is derived from the action of enzymes. In plants this reaction is mainly catalyzed by lipoxygenase (LOXs) enzymes and during recent years analysis of different plant LOXs revealed insights into their enzyme mechanism. This review aims at giving an overview of concepts explaining the catalytic mechanism of LOXs as well as the different regio- and stereo-specificities of these enzymes.     

植物细胞色素P450基因的异源表达系统研究进展

细胞色素P450氧化酶是一类具有多种催化功能含血红素的氧化酶系。由于参与多种类型的氧化反应,在植物生命活动中有重要功能,其研究一直受到重视。自1990年第一个植物P450基因成功克隆以来,到2002年年底,已有600多个P450基因被克隆,有100多个基因在细菌、酵母、杆状病毒昆虫细胞等异源表达系统中成功表达并鉴定了功能。拟对植物P450的大肠杆菌、酵母、杆状病毒昆虫细胞表达系统的特点进行比较,对在各表达系统中成功表达并进行了功能鉴定的植物P450进行归纳,并对目前植物P450异源表达的现状和应用进行概述。     

Functions of neuromediators in plants

In plants, neurotransmitters play a major biological role in chemo-signaling, as regulating agents of growth and development, membrane permeability, etc. In the plant cells, there are also main elements of cholinergic and aminergic systems including the enzymes as well as functional analogues of cholino- and aminoreceptors. It is important that the systems should be taken into consideration in fertilizing and chemical interaction of the plant cells. Acetylcholine and cholinesterase were shown to be secreted in male sexual cells (the pollen). Depression of cholinesterase on the gene level correlates with male sterility. Preliminary treatment of a female gametophyte with antagonists of acetylcholine and histamine, prior to pollination, blocked the normal process of fertilizing. Cholinesterase was also found in secrets released from the pollen surface and pistil.     

On the role of the tricarboxylic acid cycle in plant productivity

The tricarboxylic acid(TCA) cycle is one of the canonical energy pathways of living systems, as well as being an example of a pathway in which dynamic enzyme assemblies, or metabolons, are well characterized. The role of the enzymes have been the subject of saturated transgenesis approaches, whereby the expression of the constituent enzymes were reduced or knocked out in order to ascertain their in vivo function.Some of the resultant plants exhibited improved photosynthesis and plant growth, under controlled greenhouse conditions. In addition, overexpression of the endogenous genes, or heterologous forms of a number of the enzymes, has been carried out in tomato fruit and the roots of a range of species, and in some instances improvement in fruit yield and postharvest properties and plant performance, under nutrient limitation, have been reported, respectively. Given a number of variants, in nature, we discuss possible synthetic approaches involving introducing these variants, or at least a subset of them, into plants. We additionally discuss the likely consequences of introducing synthetic metabolons, wherein certain pairs of reactions are artificially permanently assembled into plants, and speculate as to future strategies to further improve plant productivity by manipulation of the core metabolic pathway.     

Using continuous directed evolution to improve enzymes for plant applications

Continuous directed evolution of enzymes and other proteins in microbial hosts is capable of outperforming classical directed evolution by executing hypermutation and selection concurrently in vivo, at scale, with minimal manual input. Provided that a target enzyme’s activity can be coupled to growth of the host cells, the activity can be improved simply by selecting for growth. Like all directed evolution, the continuous version requires no prior mechanistic knowledge of the target. Continuous directed evolution is thus a powerful way to modify plant or non-plant enzymes for use in plant metabolic research and engineering. Here, we first describe the basic features of the yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) OrthoRep system for continuous directed evolution and compare it briefly with other systems. We then give a step-by-step account of three ways in which OrthoRep can be deployed to evolve primary metabolic enzymes, using a THI4 thiazole synthase as an example and illustrating the mutational outcomes obtained. We close by outlining applications of OrthoRep that serve growing demands (i) to change the characteristics of plant enzymes destined for return to plants, and (ii) to adapt (“plantize”) enzymes from prokaryotes—especially exotic prokaryotes—to function well in mild, plant-like conditions.

Continuous directed evolution using the yeast OrthoRep system is a powerful way to improve enzymes for use in plant engineering as illustrated by “plantizing” a bacterial thiamin synthesis enzyme.     

Enzyme Action in the Regulation of Plant Hormone Responses

Plants synthesize a chemically diverse range of hormones that regulate growth, development, and responses to environmental stresses. The major classes of plant hormones are specialized metabolites with exquisitely tailored perception and signaling systems, but equally important are the enzymes that control the dose and exposure to the bioactive forms of these molecules. Here, we review new insights into the role of enzyme families, including the SABATH methyltransferases, the methylesterases, the GH3 acyl acid-amido synthetases, and the hormone peptidyl hydrolases, in controlling the biosynthesis and modifications of plant hormones and how these enzymes contribute to the network of chemical signals responsible for plant growth, development, and environmental adaptation.     

Plant peroxiredoxins: alternative hydroperoxide scavenging enzymes

The role of plant peroxiredoxins in the detoxification systems is discussed in relation with the existence of many isoforms of this protein in distinct plant compartments. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that plant peroxiredoxins can be divided into four classes. Two of these classes correspond to chloroplastic enzymes. All isoforms contain at least one conserved catalytic cysteine. The enzymes belonging to the 1-Cys Prx class seem to be seed restricted and to play a role of detoxification during the germination process. At least one putative cytosolic isoform can use both thioredoxin and glutaredoxin as an electron donor, but the chloroplastic isoforms characterized depend on reduced thioredoxin. Mutagenesis and plant transformation studies support the proposal that the chloroplastic peroxiredoxins play an important role in combating the ROS species generated at the level of the chloroplastic electron transfer chain. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Quorum sensing, virulence and secondary metabolite production in plant soft-rotting bacteria

Quorum sensing describes the ability of bacteria to sense their population density and respond by modulating gene expression. In the plant soft-rotting bacteria, such as Erwinia, an arsenal of plant cell wall-degrading enzymes is produced in a cell density-dependent manner, which causes maceration of plant tissue. However, quorum sensing is central not only to controlling the production of such destructive enzymes, but also to the control of a number of other virulence determinants and secondary metabolites. Erwinia synthesizes both N-acylhomoserine lactone (AHL) and autoinducer-2 types of quorum sensing signal, which both play a role in regulating gene expression in the phytopathogen. We review the models for AHL-based regulation of carbapenem antibiotic production in Erwinia. We also discuss the importance of quorum sensing in the production and secretion of virulence determinants by Erwinia, and its interplay with other regulatory systems.     

Role of the vacuole in the redox homeostasis of plant cells

The review focuses on the mechanisms employed by plant vacuoles for maintaining the redox homeostasis under generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) promoted by various abiotic stressors. These mechanisms are based on functioning of diverse enzymes and transport systems of the tonoplast as well as on vacuole-specific redox reactions involving vacuolar antioxidants of enzymatic and non-enzymatic nature. The established antioxidant role of plant vacuoles provides a clear example of closely integrated activities of this organelle with the metabolism of other cell parts.     

Regulation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aspergillus</Emphasis> genes encoding plant cell wall polysaccharide-degrading enzymes; relevance for industrial production

The genus Aspergillus is widely used for the production of plant cell wall polysaccharide-degrading enzymes. The range of enzymes purified from these fungi covers nearly every function required for the complete degradation of cellulose, xyloglucan, xylan, galacto(gluco)mannan and pectin. This paper describes the Aspergillus enzymes involved in the degradation of these polysaccharides and discusses the regulatory systems involved in the expression of the genes encoding these proteins. The latter is of major importance in the large-scale production of these enzymes for industrial applications.