title: Genes encoding nitrilase-like proteins from tobacco.
abstract: Nitrilase (nitrile aminohydrolase, EC 3.5.5.1) catalyzes the hydrolysis of indole-3-acetonitrile (IAN) to indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). Arabidopsis thaliana genome has four nitrilase genes (NIT1, NIT2, NIT3 and NIT4). Three (NIT1, NIT2 and NIT3) of the four genes have high similarity. We have cloned two NIT4 homologs (TNIT4A and TNIT4B) from tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). Genomic Southern hybridization, among other experiments, strongly suggests that tobacco has NIT4 homologs but not NIT1 to NIT3 homologs. Introduction of Arabidopsis NIT2 into tobacco conferred IAN-mediated growth inhibition, probably due to hydrolysis of IAN to IAA, while ectopic expression of TNIT4A had little effect on the sensitivity of transgenic plants to IAN. Nitrilase activity of TNIT4 proteins is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Gene Research, Kanazawa University, Japan.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dohmoto
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tsunoda
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Isaji
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chiba
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000619:Aminohydrolases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018744:DNA, Plant / Q000235:genetics; D017343:Genes, Plant; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D010940:Plant Proteins; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D010947:Plants, Toxic; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D018744:DNA, Plant; D010940:Plant Proteins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D000619:Aminohydrolases; C116432:nitrilase-like protein, Nicotiana tabacum; C021867:nitrilase