Biosynthesis of Floral Scent Benzenoid Esters

花香苯酯的生物合成

• 批准号: 9974463
• 负责人: Eran Pichersky
• 金额: $ 30万
• 依托单位: Regents of the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 1999
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1999-09-01 至 2003-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9974463&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Biosynthesis; Floral; Scent; Benzenoid; Esters

PicherskyThe flowers of many plants synthesize and emit scent as a means of attracting pollinators, and low seed/fruit set could result if the plant is not successful in the competition for the attention of locally available pollinators. Benzenoid esters, including methylsalicylate, are among the most common, and most efficacious, scent volatiles that flowers emit to attract moths and other insect pollinators. Yet, until the recent work from the lab of the principle investigator, little had been known about how plants synthesize them. In this project, Dr. Pichersky's lab will continue the biochemical and structural characterization of two benzenoid ester-forming enzymes that his lab recently identified, including the enzyme that catalyzes the formation of methylsalicylate. They will also identify and characterize a key enzyme that acts at an earlier step in the pathway and that is responsible for the shortening of the carbon skeleton of the benzoic acid precursor from C9 to C7. In addition to the biochemical characterization of these enzymes, they will determine their cellular and subcellular localization and the mode of regulation of the genes encoding them.This project should result in a substantial enhancement of the understanding of this important plant biochemical pathway, and the isolation of the genes could eventually lead to the ability to manipulate floral volatiles in agronomically important crops to enhance visitation frequencies by insect pollinators and thereby increase fruit/seed yields.

Pichersky许多植物的花合成并散发气味，作为吸引传粉者的一种手段，如果植物在争夺当地传粉者的注意力方面不成功，则可能导致低种子/果实。苯酯类，包括水杨酸甲酯，是最常见的，最有效的，气味挥发物，花朵散发吸引飞蛾和其他昆虫授粉。然而，直到最近的工作从实验室的主要研究者，很少有人知道植物如何合成它们。在这个项目中，Pichersky博士的实验室将继续对他的实验室最近发现的两种苯酯形成酶进行生物化学和结构表征，包括催化水杨酸甲酯形成的酶。他们还将确定和表征一种关键酶，该酶在该途径的早期步骤起作用，并负责将苯甲酸前体的碳骨架从C9缩短到C7。除了这些酶的生化特性外，它们还将确定它们的细胞和亚细胞定位以及编码它们的基因的调节模式。这些基因的分离最终可能导致在农业上重要的作物中操纵花挥发物的能力，通过昆虫授粉的频率，从而增加果实/种子产量。