title: Functional cloning of an Arabidopsis thaliana cDNA encoding cycloeucalenol cycloisomerase.
abstract: Plants and certain protists use cycloeucalenol cycloisomerase (EC ) to convert pentacyclic cyclopropyl sterols to conventional tetracyclic sterols. We used a novel complementation strategy to clone a cycloeucalenol cycloisomerase cDNA. Expressing an Arabidopsis thaliana cycloartenol synthase cDNA in a yeast lanosterol synthase mutant provided a sterol auxotroph that could be genetically complemented with the isomerase. We transformed this yeast strain with an Arabidopsis yeast expression library and selected sterol prototrophs to obtain a strain that accumulated biosynthetic ergosterol. The novel phenotype was conferred by an Arabidopsis cDNA that potentially encodes a 36-kDa protein. We expressed this cDNA (CPI1) in Escherichia coli and showed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry that extracts from this strain isomerized cycloeucalenol to obtusifoliol in vitro. The cDNA will be useful for obtaining heterologously expressed protein for catalytic studies and elucidating the in vivo roles of cyclopropyl sterols.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Lovato
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Hart
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Segura
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Giner
authors.forename: S P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Matsuda
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004926:Escherichia coli; D019753:Intramolecular Lyases / Q000235:genetics*; D007535:Isomerases / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D007535:Isomerases; D019753:Intramolecular Lyases; C000588562:cyclopropylsterol-cycloisomerase, Arabidopsis; C408484:cycloeucalenol cycloisomerase