Molecular basis of very-long-chain fatty acid elongation by the CER6-GL2 enzyme complex in plant wax biosynthesis.

ABSTRACT: Plant cuticular waxes, crucial hydrophobic barriers, are primarily composed of aliphatics derived from very-long-chain fatty acids (VLCFAs; >C28) synthesized by the endoplasmic reticulum fatty acid elongase complex. The core catalytic subunit, CER6 (KCS6), requires interaction with the BAHD protein GL2 to elongate acyl chains beyond C28. We determined the cryo-electron microscopy structure of the maize CER6-GL2 (ZmCER6-ZmGL2) heterotetramer bound to coenzyme A (CoA) and malonyl-CoA, revealing a membrane-anchored ZmCER6 homodimer, with each cytosolic catalytic domain having a substrate tunnel. Structural and biochemical analyses suggest that ZmGL2's amino terminus binds ZmCER6 and remodels its substrate tunnel into a continuous hydrophobic channel at their interface, enabling acyl-chain elo

SUBMITTER: Liu Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12674111 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature