title: Unusual 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde synthase activity from tissue cultures of the vanilla orchid Vanilla planifolia.
abstract: Tissue cultures of the vanilla orchid, Vanilla planifolia, produce the flavor compound vanillin (4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde) and vanillin precursors such as 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde. A constitutively expressed enzyme activity catalyzing chain shortening of a hydroxycinnamic acid, believed to be the first reaction specific for formation of vanilla flavor compounds, was identified in these cultures. The enzyme converts 4-coumaric acid non-oxidatively to 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde in the presence of a thiol reagent but with no co-factor requirement. Several forms of this 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde synthase (4HBS) were resolved and partially purified by a combination of hydrophobic interaction, ion exchange and gel filtration chromatography. These forms appear to be interconvertible. The unusual properties of the 4HBS, and its appearance in different protein fractions, raise questions as to its physiological role in vanillin biosynthesis in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Plant Biology Division, Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, 2510 Sam Noble Parkway, Ardmore, OK 73401, USA.
authors.forename: Andrzej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Podstolski
authors.forename: Daphna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Havkin-Frenkel
authors.forename: Jacek
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Malinowski
authors.forename: Jack W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Blount
authors.forename: Galina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kourteva
authors.forename: Richard A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Dixon
mesh_terms: D019755:Carbon-Carbon Lyases / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D002850:Chromatography, Gel; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D002852:Chromatography, Ion Exchange; D046508:Culture Techniques; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D031669:Vanilla / Q000201:enzymology*
chemical_list: D019755:Carbon-Carbon Lyases; C470885:4-hydroxybenzaldehyde synthase, Vanilla planifolia