Abstract
In plants, the mevalonic acid (MVA) pathway provides precursors for the formation of triterpenes, sesquiterpenes, phytosterols and primary metabolites important for cell integrity. Here, we have cloned the cDNA encoding enzymes catalysing the final three steps of the MVA pathway from Madagascar periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus), mevalonate kinase (MVK), 5-phosphomevalonate kinase (PMK) and mevalonate 5-diphosphate decarboxylase (MVD). These cDNA were shown to functionally complement MVA pathway deletion mutants in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Transient transformations of C. roseus cells with yellow fluorescent protein (YFP)-fused constructs reveal that PMK and MVD are localised to the peroxisomes, while MVK was cytosolic. These compartmentalisation results were confirmed using the Arabidopsis thaliana MVK, PMK and MVD sequences fused to YFP. Based on these observations and the arguments raised here we conclude that the final steps of the plant MVA pathway are localised to the peroxisome.
Publication types
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
MeSH terms
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Amino Acid Sequence
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Arabidopsis / genetics
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Arabidopsis / metabolism
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Catharanthus / enzymology*
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Catharanthus / genetics
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Cloning, Molecular
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Cytosol / metabolism
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DNA, Complementary / genetics
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DNA, Complementary / metabolism
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Gene Expression Regulation, Plant
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Genetic Complementation Test
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Luminescent Proteins / metabolism
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Mevalonic Acid / analogs & derivatives*
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Mevalonic Acid / metabolism
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Molecular Sequence Data
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Peroxisomes / metabolism*
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Phosphotransferases (Alcohol Group Acceptor) / genetics
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Phosphotransferases (Alcohol Group Acceptor) / metabolism
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Phosphotransferases (Phosphate Group Acceptor) / genetics
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Phosphotransferases (Phosphate Group Acceptor) / metabolism
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RNA, Plant / genetics
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Saccharomyces cerevisiae / genetics
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Saccharomyces cerevisiae / metabolism
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Transformation, Genetic
Substances
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DNA, Complementary
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Luminescent Proteins
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RNA, Plant
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5-diphosphomevalonic acid
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Phosphotransferases (Alcohol Group Acceptor)
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mevalonate kinase
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Phosphotransferases (Phosphate Group Acceptor)
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phosphomevalonate kinase
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Mevalonic Acid