Abstract
Nepenthesins are aspartic proteases (APs) categorized under the A1B subfamily. Due to nepenthesin-specific sequence features, the A1B subfamily is also named nepenthesin-type aspartic proteases (NEPs). Nepenthesins are mostly known from the pitcher fluid of the carnivorous plant Nepenthes, where they are availed for the hydrolyzation of insect protein required for the assimilation of insect nitrogen resources. However, nepenthesins are widely distributed within the plant kingdom and play significant roles in plant species other than Nepenthes. Although they have received limited attention when compared to other members of the subfamily, current data indicates that they have exceptional molecular and biochemical properties and new potentials as fungal-resistance genes. In the current review, we provide insights into the current knowledge on the molecular and biochemical properties of plant nepenthesins and highlights that future focus on them may have strong potentials for industrial applications and crop trait improvement.
Highlights
Aspartic proteases (APs, EC 3.4.23) comprise the second largest family of plant proteases.Plant aspartic proteases (APs) have been identified from a wide range of plant species and tissues as extensively reviewed in Simões and Faro [1]
Nepenthesins provide better platforms for gluten intolerance therapy as (1) they are isolated from plants, (2) they are easy to isolate or produce, (3) they have very high substrate catalytic efficiency, (4) they hydrolyze gluten proteins into small and harmless peptides, and (5) they can be prepared as tablets or other formulations to use as food additives in gluten intolerance therapy [63]
Despite their extensive occurrence in plants, research on nepenthesins lags behind compared to other members of the A1B subfamily
Summary
Aspartic proteases (APs, EC 3.4.23) comprise the second largest family of plant proteases. Plant APs have been identified from a wide range of plant species and tissues as extensively reviewed in Simões and Faro [1]. Nepenthesin (EC 3.4.23.12), named after the carnivorous plant Nepenthes, represents a distinct group of proteases from the A1B subfamily. They are primarily reported from the pitcher fluid of Nepenthes plants [17,18] and account for the majority of the fluid protease activity [19]. They found expression in various tissues, including leaves, stems, seeds and pods This could indicate that nepenthesins involve in multiple physiological processes both in the vegetative and reproductive stages. The information highlighted in this review will improve our understanding on the roles of nepenthesins in plant development and defense
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