Affiliation: | 1. State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, The Innovative Academy of Seed Design, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101 China University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100039 China Yihua Ma and Qingwen Chen contributed equally to this work.;2. State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, The Innovative Academy of Seed Design, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101 China Yihua Ma and Qingwen Chen contributed equally to this work.;3. State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, The Innovative Academy of Seed Design, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101 China University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100039 China;4. State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, The Innovative Academy of Seed Design, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101 China;5. Center for Microbes, Development and Health, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031 China |
Abstract: | Terpenes are the largest and most diverse class of plant specialized metabolites. Sesterterpenes (C25), which are derived from the plastid methylerythritol phosphate pathway, were recently characterized in plants. In Arabidopsis thaliana, four genes encoding geranylfarnesyl diphosphate synthase (GFPPS) (AtGFPPS1 to 4) are responsible for the production of GFPP, which is the common precursor for sesterterpene biosynthesis. However, the interplay between sesterterpenes and other known terpenes remain elusive. Here, we first provide genetic evidence to demonstrate that GFPPSs are responsible for sesterterpene production in Arabidopsis. Blockage of the sesterterpene pathway at the GFPPS step increased the production of geranylgeranyl diphosphate (GGPP)-derived terpenes. Interestingly, co-expression of sesterTPSs in GFPPS-OE (overexpression) plants rescued the phenotypic changes of GFPPS-OE plants by restoring the endogenous GGPP. We further demonstrated that, in addition to precursor (DMAPP/IPP) competition by GFPPS and GGPP synthase (GGPPS) in plastids, GFPPS directly decreased the activity of GGPPS through protein-protein interaction, ultimately leading to GGPP deficiency in planta. Our study provides a new regulatory mechanism of the plastidial terpenoid network in plant cells. |