title: Divergence in the enzymatic activities of a tomato and Solanum pennellii alcohol acyltransferase impacts fruit volatile ester composition.
abstract: Tomato fruits accumulate a diverse set of volatiles including multiple esters. The content of ester volatiles is relatively low in tomato fruits (Solanum lycopersicum) and far more abundant in the closely related species Solanum pennellii. There are also qualitative variations in ester content between the two species. We have previously shown that high expression of a non-specific esterase is critical for the low overall ester content of S. lycopersicum fruit relative to S. pennellii fruit. Here, we show that qualitative differences in ester composition are the consequence of divergence in enzymatic activity of a ripening-related alcohol acyltransferase (AAT1). The S. pennellii AAT1 is more efficient than the tomato AAT1 for all the alcohols tested. The two enzymes have differences in their substrate preferences that explain the variations observed in the volatiles. The results illustrate how two related species have evolved to precisely adjust their volatile content by modulating the balance of the synthesis and degradation of esters.
authors.affiliation: Département de Phytologie, Université Laval, Québec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada.
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Goulet
authors.affiliation: Horticultural Sciences Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-0690, USA.
authors.forename: Yusuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kamiyoshihara
authors.affiliation: Horticultural Sciences Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-0690, USA.
authors.forename: Nghi B
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.affiliation: Département de Phytologie, Université Laval, Québec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada.
authors.forename: Théo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Richard
authors.affiliation: Horticultural Sciences Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-0690, USA.
authors.forename: Mark G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.affiliation: Horticultural Sciences Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-0690, USA.
authors.forename: Denise M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Tieman
authors.affiliation: Horticultural Sciences Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-0690, USA. Electronic address: hjklee@ufl.edu.
authors.forename: Harry J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Klee
mesh_terms: D005638:Fruit / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism; D018551:Solanum lycopersicum / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011506:Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D032322:Solanum / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D011506:Proteins; C079238:alcohol O-acetyltransferase
keywords: SlAAT1; Solanum lycopersicum; SpAAT1; evolution; volatiles