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Structure, function, and evolution of plant O-methyltransferases

Title:

Structure, function, and evolution of plant O-methyltransferases

Lam, Kevin C., Ibrahim, Ragai K., Behdad, Bahareh and Dayanandan, Selvadurai (2007) Structure, function, and evolution of plant O-methyltransferases. Genome, 50 (11). pp. 1001-1013. ISSN 0831-2796

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/G07-077

Abstract

Plant O-methyltransferases (OMTs) constitute a large family of enzymes that methylate the oxygen atom of a variety of secondary metabolites including phenylpropanoids, flavonoids, and alkaloids. O-Methylation plays a key role in lignin biosynthesis, stress tolerance, and disease resistance in plants. To gain insights into the evolution of the extraordinary diversity of plant O-methyltransferases, and to develop a framework phylogenetic tree for improved prediction of the putative function of newly identified OMT-like gene sequences, we performed a comparative and phylogenetic analysis of 61 biochemically characterized plant OMT protein sequences. The resulting phylogenetic tree revealed two major groups. One of the groups included two sister clades, one comprising the caffeoyl CoA OMTs (CCoA OMTs) that methylate phenolic hydroxyl groups of hydroxycinnamoyl CoA esters, and the other containing the carboxylic acid OMTs that methylate aliphatic carboxyl groups. The other group comprised the remaining OMTs, which act on a diverse group of metabolites including hydroxycinnamic acids, flavonoids, and alkaloids. The results suggest that some OMTs may have undergone convergent evolution, while others show divergent evolution. The high number of unique conserved regions within the CCoA OMTs and carboxylic acid OMTs provide an opportunity to design oligonucleotide primers to selectively amplify and characterize similar OMT genes from many plant species.

Divisions:Concordia University > Faculty of Arts and Science > Biology
Item Type:Article
Refereed:Yes
Authors:Lam, Kevin C. and Ibrahim, Ragai K. and Behdad, Bahareh and Dayanandan, Selvadurai
Journal or Publication:Genome
Date:2007
Funders:
  • Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):10.1139/G07-077
Keywords:methylation, flavonoids, enzyme evolution, methyltransferase, caffeoyl CoA
ID Code:6701
Deposited By: Danielle Dennie
Deposited On:08 Jun 2010 21:06
Last Modified:18 Jan 2018 17:29

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