Geraniol synthases from perilla and their taxonomical significance

• Published in: Phytochemistry (Oxford) 2007-02, Vol.68 (4), p.446-453
• Main Authors: Ito, Michiho, Honda, Gisho
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: alkenes; Amino Acid Sequence; amino acid sequences; Amphidiploid; Biological and medical sciences; Biosynthetic pathway; chemotaxonomy; Cloning, Molecular; complementary DNA; Conserved Sequence; DNA, Complementary - genetics; DNA, Plant - genetics; elsholtziaketone; Enzymes; Essential oil; essential oils; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Furylalkene; furylalkenes; gene expression; geraniol; Geraniol synthase; Labiatae; Lamiaceae; lyases; Metabolism; Molecular cloning; Molecular Sequence Data; monoterpenoids; Peptide Synthases - classification; Peptide Synthases - isolation & purification; Peptide Synthases - metabolism; Perilla; Perilla - enzymology; Perilla citriodora; Perilla frutescens; Perilla frutescens - enzymology; perillaketone; perillene; Plant cytology, morphology, systematics, chorology and evolution; Plant physiology and development; Plant Proteins - classification; Plant Proteins - genetics; Plant Proteins - isolation & purification; Plant Proteins - metabolism; Recombinant Proteins - metabolism; sequence analysis; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; Spermatophyta; Systematics (diagnosis, chromosome numbers); Terpenes - metabolism
• ISSN: 0031-9422; 1873-3700
• DOI: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2006.11.006

Geraniol synthases were isolated from citral, elsholtziaketone, perillaketone, and perillene types of Perilla spp. The synthases from Perilla citriodora and Perilla frutescens turned out to be almost identical in sequence, which indicates that P. frutescens was formed as an amphidiploid of P. citriodora and an unknown wild species. Geraniol synthases were isolated from five pure strains of Perilla citriodora and Perilla frutescens which vary in essential oil type, the main compounds of which were citral, elsholtziaketone, perillaketone, and perillene, respectively. This result supports the putative biosynthetic pathways of these three furylalkenes which are all produced by way of citral. Nucleotide sequences of geraniol synthases from three oil types of P. citriodora were identical, and almost the same as the sequence from P. frutescens, a species with twice the chromosome number of P. citriodora. This identity in sequence between P. citriodora and P. frutescens, together with other previous results, indicates that P. frutescens was formed as an amphidiploid of P. citriodora and an unknown wild species.