title: Completion of the core β-oxidative pathway of benzoic acid biosynthesis in plants.
abstract: Despite the importance of benzoic acid (BA) as a precursor for a wide array of primary and secondary metabolites, its biosynthesis in plants has not been fully elucidated. BA formation from phenylalanine requires shortening of the C(3) side chain by two carbon units, which can occur by a non-β-oxidative route and/or a β-oxidative pathway analogous to the catabolism of fatty acids. Enzymes responsible for the first and last reactions of the core BA β-oxidative pathway (cinnamic acid → cinnamoyl-CoA → 3-hydroxy-3-phenylpropanoyl-CoA → 3-oxo-3-phenylpropanoyl-CoA → BA-CoA) have previously been characterized in petunia, a plant with flowers rich in phenylpropanoid/benzenoid volatile compounds. Using a functional genomics approach, we have identified a petunia gene encoding cinnamoyl-CoA hydratase-dehydrogenase (PhCHD), a bifunctional peroxisomal enzyme responsible for two consecutively occurring unexplored intermediate steps in the core BA β-oxidative pathway. PhCHD spatially, developmentally, and temporally coexpresses with known genes in the BA β-oxidative pathway, and correlates with emission of benzenoid volatiles. Kinetic analysis of recombinant PhCHD revealed it most efficiently converts cinnamoyl-CoA to 3-oxo-3-phenylpropanoyl-CoA, thus forming the substrate for the final step in the pathway. Down-regulation of PhCHD expression in petunia flowers resulted in reduced CHD enzyme activity, as well as decreased formation of BA-CoA, BA and their derived volatiles. Moreover, transgenic lines accumulated the PhCHD substrate cinnamoyl-CoA and the upstream pathway intermediate cinnamic acid. Discovery of PhCHD completes the elucidation of the core BA β-oxidative route in plants, and together with the previously characterized CoA-ligase and thiolase enzymes, provides evidence that the whole pathway occurs in peroxisomes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA.
authors.forename: Anthony V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Qualley
authors.forename: Joshua R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Widhalm
authors.forename: Funmilayo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Adebesin
authors.forename: Christine M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Kish
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dudareva
mesh_terms: D000214:Acyl Coenzyme A / Q000737:chemistry; D019817:Benzoic Acid / Q000378:metabolism*; D053898:Biosynthetic Pathways / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D035264:Flowers / Q000378:metabolism*; D023281:Genomics; D007700:Kinetics; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D055432:Metabolomics; D015394:Molecular Structure; D009812:Odorants / Q000032:analysis*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010088:Oxidoreductases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D032306:Petunia / Q000378:metabolism*; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013053:Spectrophotometry
chemical_list: D000214:Acyl Coenzyme A; D017931:DNA Primers; C022903:cinnamoyl-coenzyme A; D019817:Benzoic Acid; D010088:Oxidoreductases