13 research outputs found
Two highly divergent alcohol dehydrogenases of melon exhibit fruit ripening-specific expression and distinct biochemical characteristics
Alcohol dehydrogenases (ADH) participate in
the biosynthetic pathway of aroma volatiles in fruit by
interconverting aldehydes to alcohols and providing substrates
for the formation of esters. Two highly divergent
ADH genes (15% identity at the amino acid level) of
Cantaloupe Charentais melon (Cucumis melo var. Cantalupensis)
have been isolated. Cm-ADH1 belongs to the
medium-chain zinc-binding type of ADHs and is highly
similar to all ADH genes expressed in fruit isolated so far.
Cm-ADH2 belongs to the short-chain type of ADHs. The
two encoded proteins are enzymatically active upon
expression in yeast. Cm-ADH1 has strong preference for
NAPDH as a co-factor, whereas Cm-ADH2 preferentially
uses NADH. Both Cm-ADH proteins are much more active
as reductases with Kms 10–20 times lower for the conversion
of aldehydes to alcohols than for the dehydrogenation
of alcohols to aldehydes. They both show strong preference
for aliphatic aldehydes but Cm-ADH1 is capable of
reducing branched aldehydes such as 3-methylbutyraldehyde,
whereas Cm-ADH2 cannot. Both Cm-ADH genes are
expressed specifically in fruit and up-regulated during
ripening. Gene expression as well as total ADH activity are
strongly inhibited in antisense ACC oxidase melons and in
melon fruit treated with the ethylene antagonist 1-methylcyclopropene
(1-MCP), indicating a positive regulation by
ethylene. These data suggest that each of the Cm-ADH
protein plays a specific role in the regulation of aroma
biosynthesis in melon fruit
Induced responses to herbivory and jasmonate in three milkweed species
We studied constitutive and induced defensive traits (latex exudation, cardenolides, proteases, and C/N ratio) and resistance to monarch caterpillars (Danaus plexippus) in three closely related milkweed species (Asclepias angustifolia, A. barjoniifolia and A. fascicularis). All traits showed significant induction in at least one of the species. Jasmonate application only partially mimicked the effect of monarch feeding. We found some correspondence between latex and cardenolide content and reduced larval growth. Larvae fed cut leaves of A. angustifolia grew better than larvae fed intact plants. Addition of the cardenolide digitoxin to cut leaves reduced larval growth but ouabain (at the same concentration) had no effect. We, thus, confirm that latex and cardenolides are major defenses in milkweeds, effective against a specialist herbivore. Other traits such as proteases and C/N ratio additionally may be integrated in the defense scheme of those plants. Induction seems to play an important role in plants that have an intermediate level of defense, and we advocate incorporating induction as an additional axis of the plant defense syndrome hypothesis