The complete functional characterisation of the terpene synthase family in tomato.

Fei Zhou,Eran Pichersky

doi:10.1111/nph.16431

Abstract

Summary Analysis of the updated reference tomato genome found 34 full‐length TPS genes and 18 TPS pseudogenes.Biochemical analysis has now identified the catalytic activities of all enzymes encoded by the 34 TPS genes: one isoprene synthase, 10 exclusively or predominantly monoterpene synthases, 17 sesquiterpene synthases and six diterpene synthases. Among the monoterpene and sesquiterpene and diterpene synthases, some use trans‐prenyl diphosphates, some use cis‐prenyl diphosphates and some use both. The isoprene synthase is cytosolic; six monoterpene synthases are plastidic, and four are cytosolic; the sesquiterpene synthases are almost all cytosolic, with the exception of one found in the mitochondria; and three diterpene synthases are found in the plastids, one in the cytosol and two in the mitochondria.New trans‐prenyltransferases (TPTs) were characterised; together with previously characterised TPTs and cis‐prenyltransferases (CPTs), tomato plants can make all cis and trans C10, C15 and C20 prenyl diphosphates. Every type of plant tissue examined expresses some TPS genes and some TPTs and CPTs.Phylogenetic comparison of the TPS genes from tomato and Arabidopsis shows expansions in each clade of the TPS gene family in each lineage (and inferred losses), accompanied by changes in subcellular localisations and substrate specificities.

Highlights

Terpenoids are a class of compounds, made of isoprene building blocks, that are found in all living organisms (Gershenzon & Dudareva, 2007)
SL3.0), we report that the tomato genome contains 34 functional terpene synthase/cyclases (TPSs) genes, and we have successfully determined the catalytic activities, gene expression patterns and subcellular localisations of this entire group of enzymes
The results indicated that TPS47, TPS48, TPS51 and TPS52 encoded potentially functional TPSs, with protein lengths of 562, 560, 550 and 551 amino acids, respectively (Table S3)

Summary

Introduction

Terpenoids are a class of compounds, made of isoprene building blocks, that are found in all living organisms (Gershenzon & Dudareva, 2007). The majority of terpenoids in plants identified by far are those that evolved in different lineages as adaptations for specific ecological niches and are defined as specialised terpenoid metabolites. Such metabolites serve in attracting pollinators and seed dispersers, in defence against pathogens and herbivores, and in attracting useful soil microorganism (Gershenzon & Dudareva, 2007; Pichersky & Raguso, 2018). Biosynthesis of specialised terpenes in plants is usually restricted to specific tissues or cell types, such as flowers (Dudareva et al, 1998, 2003; Chen et al, 2003; Tholl et al, 2004), roots (Chen et al, 2004; Vaughan et al, 2013) or glandular trichomes found at the surface of leaves, stems and fruits (Iijima et al, 2004; Schilmiller et al, 2009; Booth et al, 2017).

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