Biochemical characteristics of AtFAR2, a fatty acid reductase from Arabidopsis thaliana that reduces fatty acyl-CoA and -ACP substrates into fatty alcohols.
Fatty alcohols and derivatives are important for proper deposition of a functional pollen wall. Mutations in specific genes encoding fatty acid reductases (FAR) responsible for fatty alcohol production cause abnormal development of pollen. A disrupted AtFAR2 (MS2) gene in Arabidopsis thaliana results in pollen developing an abnormal exine layer and a reduced fertility phenotype. AtFAR2 has been shown to be targeted to chloroplasts and in a purified form to be specific for acyl-ACP substrates. Here, we present data on the in vitro and in planta characterizations of AtFAR2 from A. thaliana and show that this enzyme has the ability to use both, C16:0-ACP and C16:0-CoA, as substrates to produce C16:0-alcohol. Our results further show that AtFAR2 is highly similar in properties and substrate specificity to AtFAR6 for which in vitro data has been published, and which is also a chloroplast localized enzyme. This suggests that although AtFAR2 is the major enzyme responsible for exine layer functionality, AtFAR6 might provide functional redundancy to AtFAR2.
Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Nong Lam University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Thuy T P
TT
Doan
Department of Plant Breeding, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 101, 230 53 Alnarp, Sweden.
Anders S
AS
Carlsson
Department of Plant Breeding, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 101, 230 53 Alnarp, Sweden.
Sten
S
Stymne
Department of Plant Breeding, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 101, 230 53 Alnarp, Sweden.
Per
P
Hofvander
D000213:Acyl Carrier Protein / Q000737:chemistry; D000214:Acyl Coenzyme A / Q000737:chemistry*; D000445:Aldehyde Oxidoreductases / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000201:enzymology*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D005233:Fatty Alcohols / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007700:Kinetics; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000201:enzymology; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D014026:Nicotiana
D000213:Acyl Carrier Protein; D000214:Acyl Coenzyme A; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D005233:Fatty Alcohols; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine; D000445:Aldehyde Oxidoreductases; C000613586:FAR2 protein, Arabidopsis