Abstract

Two phenylpropanoid O-methyltransferase isoforms were purified to homogeneity from young cabbage leaves. They catalyzed the meta-O-methylation of caffeic and 5-hydroxyferulic acids to ferulic and sinapic acids, respectively. Both isoforms I and II exhibited different elution patterns from a Mono Q column, distinct apparent pIs on chromatofocusing, different product ratios, and stability on adenosine–agarose affinity column. On the other hand, both isoforms had similar apparent molecular masses (42 kilodaltons) and a pH optimum of 7.6. They exhibited no requirement for divalent cations and were both irreversibly inhibited by iodoacetate. Substrate interaction kinetics of the more stable isoform I, using the 5-hydroxyferulic acid and S-adenosyl-L-methionine, gave converging lines. Product inhibition studies showed competitive inhibition between S-adenosyl-L-methionine and S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine and non-competitive inhibition between the phenylpropanoid substrate and its methylated product. The kinetic patterns are consistent with an ordered bi bi mechanism, where S-adenosyl-L-methionine is the first substrate to bind and S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine is the last product released.