title: Molecular cloning, expression, and characterization of adenylate isopentenyltransferase from hop (Humulus lupulus L.).
abstract: A cDNA encoding adenylate isopentenyltransferase (AIPT) was cloned and sequenced from cones of hop (Humulus lupulus L.) by RT-PCR using oligonucleotide primers based on the conserved sequences of Arabidopsis thaliana AIPT isozymes (AtIPT1, AtIPT3, AtIPT4, AtIPT5, AtIPT6, AtIPT7 and AtIPT8). A full-length cDNA contained a 990-bp open reading frame encoding a molecular mass of 36,603 Da protein with 329 amino acids. Further, DNA sequencing of genomic DNA revealed absence of introns in the frame. On Southern blot analysis, a single AIPT gene was detected in H. lupulus, while RT-PCR analyses demonstrated that the gene was equally expressed in almost all tissues in the plant including roots, stems, leaves and cones. The deduced amino acid sequence shares 38-51% identity to those of A. thaliana AtIPTs. A recombinant enzyme expressed in Escherichia coli catalyzed isopentenyl transfer reaction from dimethylallyldiphosphate (DMAPP) to the N6 amino group of adenosine monophosphate (AMP), adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP), respectively. In contrast, other nucleotides; guanosine monophosphate (GMP), inosine monophosphate (IMP), cytosine monophosphate (CMP), uridine monophosphate (UMP), were not accepted as a substrate. Interestingly, steady-state kinetic analyses revealed that the isopentenylation of ADP and ATP were more efficient than that of AMP as previously reported for A. thaliana AtIPT4. Finally, H. lupulus AIPT contains the putative ATP/GTP binding motif at the N-terminal as in the case of other known isopentenyltransferases. Site-directed mutagenesis of a conserved Asp62, located right after the ATP/GTP binding motif, with Ala resulted in complete loss of enzyme activity.
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmaceutical Sciences and the 21st Century COE Program, University of Shizuoka, 52-1 Yada, Shizuoka 422-8526, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sakano
authors.forename: Yukio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Okada
authors.forename: Akiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Matsunaga
authors.forename: Takaharu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Suwama
authors.forename: Takafumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kaneko
authors.forename: Kazutoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Noguchi
authors.forename: Ikuro
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Abe
mesh_terms: D019883:Alkyl and Aryl Transferases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000032:analysis; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D027582:Humulus / Q000737:chemistry / Q000201:enzymology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D019883:Alkyl and Aryl Transferases; C024274:adenylate isopentenyltransferase