TY - JOUR

T1 - Localization of the glucosinolate biosynthetic enzymes reveals distinct spatial patterns for the biosynthesis of indole and aliphatic glucosinolates

AU - Nintemann, Sebastian

AU - Hunziker, Pascal

AU - Andersen, Tonni Grube

AU - Schulz, Alexander

AU - Burow, Meike

AU - Halkier, Barbara Ann

N1 - © 2017 Scandinavian Plant Physiology Society.

PY - 2018

Y1 - 2018

N2 - Glucosinolates constitute the primary defense metabolites in Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis). Indole and aliphatic glucosinolates, biosynthesized from tryptophan and methionine, respectively, are known to serve distinct biological functions. Although all genes in the biosynthetic pathways are identified, and it is known where glucosinolates are stored, it has remained elusive where glucosinolates are produced at the cellular and tissue level. To understand how the spatial organization of the different glucosinolate biosynthetic pathways contributes to their distinct biological functions, we investigated the localization of enzymes of the pathways under constitutive conditions and, for indole glucosinolates, also under induced conditions, by analyzing the spatial distribution of several fluorophore-tagged enzymes at the whole plant and the cellular level. We show that key steps in the biosynthesis of the different types of glucosinolates are localized in distinct cells in separate as well as overlapping vascular tissues. The presence of glucosinolate biosynthetic enzymes in parenchyma cells of the vasculature may assign new defense-related functions to these cell types. The knowledge gained in this study is an important prerequisite for understanding the orchestration of chemical defenses from site of synthesis to site of storage and potential (re)mobilization upon attack.

AB - Glucosinolates constitute the primary defense metabolites in Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis). Indole and aliphatic glucosinolates, biosynthesized from tryptophan and methionine, respectively, are known to serve distinct biological functions. Although all genes in the biosynthetic pathways are identified, and it is known where glucosinolates are stored, it has remained elusive where glucosinolates are produced at the cellular and tissue level. To understand how the spatial organization of the different glucosinolate biosynthetic pathways contributes to their distinct biological functions, we investigated the localization of enzymes of the pathways under constitutive conditions and, for indole glucosinolates, also under induced conditions, by analyzing the spatial distribution of several fluorophore-tagged enzymes at the whole plant and the cellular level. We show that key steps in the biosynthesis of the different types of glucosinolates are localized in distinct cells in separate as well as overlapping vascular tissues. The presence of glucosinolate biosynthetic enzymes in parenchyma cells of the vasculature may assign new defense-related functions to these cell types. The knowledge gained in this study is an important prerequisite for understanding the orchestration of chemical defenses from site of synthesis to site of storage and potential (re)mobilization upon attack.

U2 - 10.1111/ppl.12672

DO - 10.1111/ppl.12672

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 29194649

VL - 163

SP - 138

EP - 154

JO - Physiologia Plantarum

JF - Physiologia Plantarum

SN - 0031-9317

IS - 2

ER -