Apocarotenoids are allosteric effectors of a dimeric plant glycosyltransferase involved in defense and lignin formation

Guangxin Sun, Jieren Liao, Elisabeth Kurze, Timothy D. Hoffmann, Wieland Steinchen, Kate McGraphery, Ruth Habegger, Ludwig Marek, Dragana A.M. Catici, Christina Ludwig, Tingting Jing, Thomas Hoffmann, Chuankui Song, Wilfried Schwab

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

Glycosyltransferases are nature's versatile tools to tailor the functionalities of proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, and small molecules by transferring sugars. Prominent substrates are hydroxycoumarins such as scopoletin, which serve as natural plant protection agents. Similarly, C13-apocarotenoids, which are oxidative degradation products of carotenoids/xanthophylls, protect plants by repelling pests and attracting pest predators. We show that C13-apocarotenoids interact with the plant glycosyltransferase NbUGT72AY1 and induce conformational changes in the enzyme catalytic center ultimately reducing its inherent UDP-α-d-glucose glucohydrolase activity and increasing its catalytic activity for productive hydroxycoumarin substrates. By contrast, C13-apocarotenoids show no effect on the catalytic activity toward monolignol lignin precursors, which are competitive substrates. In vivo studies in tobacco plants (Nicotiana benthamiana) confirmed increased glycosylation activity upon apocarotenoid supplementation. Thus, hydroxycoumarins and apocarotenoids represent specialized damage-associated molecular patterns, as they each provide precise information about the plant compartments damaged by pathogen attack. The molecular basis for the C13-apocarotenoid-mediated interplay of two plant protective mechanisms and their function as allosteric enhancers opens up potential applications of the natural products in agriculture and pharmaceutical industry.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2080-2098
Number of pages19
JournalNew Phytologist
Volume238
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2023

Keywords

  • apocarotenoids
  • effector
  • glycosyltransferase
  • ionol
  • lignin
  • phytoalexin

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