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Isolation and functional characterization of a methyl jasmonate-responsive 3-carene synthase from Lavandula x intermedia

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A methyl jasmonate responsive 3-carene synthase (Li3CARS) gene was isolated from Lavandula x intermedia and functionally characterized in vitro.

Abstract

Lavenders produce essential oils consisting mainly of monoterpenes, including the potent antimicrobial and insecticidal monoterpene 3-carene. In this study we isolated and functionally characterized a leaf-specific, methyl jasmonate (MeJA)-responsive monoterpene synthase (Li3CARS) from Lavandula x intermedia. The ORF excluding transit peptides encoded a 64.9 kDa protein that was expressed in E. coli, and purified with Ni–NTA agarose affinity chromatography. The recombinant Li3CARS converted GPP into 3-carene as the major product, with K m and k cat of 3.69 ± 1.17 µM and 2.01 s−1 respectively. Li3CARS also accepted NPP as a substrate to produce multiple products including a small amount of 3-carene. The catalytic efficiency of Li3CARS to produce 3-carene was over ten fold higher for GPP (k cat /K m = 0.56 µM−1s−1) than NPP (k cat /K m = 0.044 µM−1s−1). Production of distinct end product profiles from different substrates (GPP versus NPP) by Li3CARS indicates that monoterpene metabolism may be controlled in part through substrate availability. Li3CARS transcripts were found to be highly abundant in leaves (16-fold) as compared to flower tissues. The transcriptional activity of Li3CARS correlated with 3-carene production, and was up-regulated (1.18- to 3.8-fold) with MeJA 8–72 h post-treatment. The results suggest that Li3CARS may have a defensive role in Lavandula.

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Abbreviations

BPPS:

Bornyl pyrophosphate synthase

EO:

Essential oil

GPP:

Geranyl pyrophosphate

MeJA:

Methyl jasmonate

mTPS:

Monoterpene synthase

Li3CARS:

L. x intermedia 3-carene synthase

NPP:

Neryl pyrophosphate

qPCR:

Quantitative real-time PCR

TPS:

Terpene synthase

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported through grants and/or in-kind contributions to SSM by UBC, Genome British Columbia, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the BC Ministry of Agriculture (through programs delivered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC).

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  1. Department of Biology, University of British Columbia, 1177 Research Rd, Kelowna, BC. V1V 1V7, Canada

    Ayelign M. Adal, Lukman S. Sarker, Ashley D. Lemke & Soheil S. Mahmoud

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  1. Ayelign M. Adal
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Correspondence to Soheil S. Mahmoud.

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Adal, A.M., Sarker, L.S., Lemke, A.D. et al. Isolation and functional characterization of a methyl jasmonate-responsive 3-carene synthase from Lavandula x intermedia . Plant Mol Biol 93, 641–657 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11103-017-0588-6

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