Functional conservation of the capacity for ent-kaurene biosynthesis and an associated operon in certain rhizobia.

ABSTRACT: Bacterial interactions with plants are accompanied by complex signal exchange processes. Previously, the nitrogen-fixing symbiotic (rhizo)bacterium Bradyrhizobium japonicum was found to carry adjacent genes encoding two sequentially acting diterpene cyclases that together transform geranylgeranyl diphosphate to ent-kaurene, the olefin precursor to the gibberellin plant hormones. Species from the three other major genera of rhizobia were found to have homologous terpene synthase genes. Cloning and functional characterization of a representative set of these enzymes confirmed the capacity of each genus to produce ent-kaurene. Moreover, comparison of their genomic context revealed that these diterpene synthases are found in a conserved operon which includes an adjacent isoprenyl diphosphate s

SUBMITTER: Hershey DM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3911121 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature