title: Folate biosynthesis in higher plants. cDNA cloning, heterologous expression, and characterization of dihydroneopterin aldolases.
abstract: Dihydroneopterin aldolase (EC 4.1.2.25) is one of the enzymes of folate synthesis that remains to be cloned and characterized from plants. This enzyme catalyzes conversion of 7,8-dihydroneopterin (DHN) to 6-hydroxymethyl-7,8-dihydropterin, and is encoded by the folB gene in Escherichia coli. The E. coli FolB protein also mediates epimerization of DHN to 7,8-dihydromonapterin. Searches of the Arabidopsis genome detected three genes encoding substantially diverged FolB homologs (AtFolB1-3, sharing 57%-73% identity), for which cDNAs were isolated. A fourth cDNA specifying a FolB-like protein (LeFolB1) was obtained from tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) by reverse transcription-PCR. When overproduced in E. coli, recombinant AtFolB1, AtFolB2, and LeFolB1 proteins all had both dihydroneopterin aldolase and epimerase activities, and carried out the aldol cleavage reaction on the epimerization product, 7,8-dihydromonapterin, as well as on DHN. AtFolB3, however, could not be expressed in active form. Size exclusion chromatography indicated that the plant enzyme is an octamer, like the bacterial enzyme. Quantifying expression of the Arabidopsis genes by real-time reverse transcription-PCR showed that AtFolB1 and AtFolB2 messages occur at low levels throughout the plant, whereas the AtFolB3 mRNA was detected only in siliques and only with an extremely low abundance. Sequence comparisons and phylogenetic analysis of FolB homologs from 16 plants indicated that their N-terminal regions are highly variable, and that most species have a small number of FolB genes that diverged after separation of the lineages leading to families. The substantial divergence of FolB homologs in Arabidopsis and other plants suggests that some of them may act on substrates other than DHN.
authors.affiliation: Horticultural Sciences Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA.
authors.forename: Aymeric
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Goyer
authors.forename: Victoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Illarionova
authors.forename: Sanja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Roje
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.forename: Adelbert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bacher
authors.forename: Andrew D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Hanson
mesh_terms: D000446:Aldehyde-Lyases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D005492:Folic Acid / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D018551:Solanum lycopersicum / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D015394:Molecular Structure; D010802:Phylogeny; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D019998:Racemases and Epimerases / Q000378:metabolism; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D010940:Plant Proteins; D005492:Folic Acid; D000446:Aldehyde-Lyases; C020044:dihydroneopterin aldolase; D019998:Racemases and Epimerases