Yoram Eyal

Harnessing yeast subcellular compartments for the production of plant terpenoids

The biologically and commercially important terpenoids are a large and diverse class of natural products that are targets of metabolic engineering. However, in the context of metabolic engineering, the otherwise well-documented spatial subcellular arrangement of metabolic enzyme complexes has been largely overlooked. To boost production of plant sesquiterpenes in yeast, we enhanced flux in the mevalonic acid pathway toward farnesyl diphosphate (FDP) accumulation, and evaluated the possibility of harnessing the mitochondria as an alternative to the cytosol for metabolic engineering. Overall, we achieved 8- and 20-fold improvement in the production of valencene and amorphadiene, respectively, in yeast co-engineered with a truncated and deregulated HMG1, mitochondrion-targeted heterologous FDP synthase and a mitochondrion-targeted sesquiterpene synthase, i.e. valencene or amorphadiene synthase. The prospect of harnessing different subcellular compartments opens new and intriguing possibilities for the metabolic engineering of pathways leading to valuable natural compounds.

Peroxisomal Localization of Arabidopsis Isopentenyl Diphosphate Isomerases Suggests That Part of the Plant Isoprenoid Mevalonic Acid Pathway Is Compartmentalized to Peroxisomes

Isoprenoids, the largest family of natural products, play numerous vital roles in basic plant processes, including photosynthesis, growth and development, reproduction, plant defense, and adaptation to environmental conditions ([Gershenzon and Kreis, 1999][1]; [Rodriguez-Concepcion and Boronat, 2002

Chlorophyllase Is a Rate-Limiting Enzyme in Chlorophyll Catabolism and Is Posttranslationally Regulated

Chlorophyll is a central player in harvesting light energy for photosynthesis, yet the rate-limiting steps of chlorophyll catabolism and the regulation of the catabolic enzymes remain unresolved. To study the role and regulation of chlorophyllase (Chlase), the first enzyme of the chlorophyll catabolic pathway, we expressed precursor and mature versions of citrus (Citrus sinensis) Chlase in two heterologous plant systems: (1) squash (Cucurbita pepo) plants using a viral vector expression system; and (2) transiently transformed tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) protoplasts. Expression of full-length citrus Chlase resulted in limited chlorophyll breakdown in protoplasts and no visible leaf phenotype in whole plants, whereas expression of a Chlase version lacking the N-terminal 21 amino acids (ChlaseΔN), which corresponds to the mature protein, led to extensive chlorophyll breakdown in both tobacco protoplasts and squash leaves. ChlaseΔN-expressing squash leaves displayed a dramatic chlorotic phenotype in plants grown under low-intensity light, whereas under natural light a lesion-mimic phenotype occurred, which was demonstrated to follow the accumulation of chlorophyllide, a photodynamic chlorophyll breakdown product. Full-length and mature citrus Chlase versions were localized to the chloroplast membrane fraction in expressing tobacco protoplasts, where processing of the N-terminal 21 amino acids appears to occur. Results obtained in both plant systems suggest that Chlase functions as a rate-limiting enzyme in chlorophyll catabolism controlled via posttranslational regulation.

Citrus Chlorophyllase Dynamics at Ethylene-Induced Fruit Color-Break: A Study of Chlorophyllase Expression, Posttranslational Processing Kinetics, and in Situ Intracellular Localization

Fruit color-break is the visual manifestation of the developmentally regulated transition of chloroplasts to chromoplasts during fruit ripening and often involves biosynthesis of copious amounts of carotenoids concomitant with massive breakdown of chlorophyll. Regulation of chlorophyll breakdown at different physiological and developmental stages of the plant life cycle, particularly at fruit color-break, is still not well understood. Here, we present the dynamics of native chlorophyllase (Chlase) and chlorophyll breakdown in lemon (Citrus limon) fruit during ethylene-induced color-break. We show, using in situ immunofluorescence on ethylene-treated fruit peel (flavedo) tissue, that citrus Chlase is located in the plastid, in contrast to recent reports suggesting cytoplasmic localization of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) Chlases. At the intra-organellar level, Chlase signal was found to overlap mostly with chlorophyll fluorescence, suggesting association of most of the Chlase protein with the photosynthetic membranes. Confocal microscopy analysis showed that the kinetics of chlorophyll breakdown was not uniform in the flavedo cells. Chlorophyll quantity at the cellular level was negatively correlated with plastid Chlase accumulation; plastids with reduced chlorophyll content were found by in situ immunofluorescence to contain significant levels of Chlase, while plastids containing still-intact chlorophyll lacked any Chlase signal. Immunoblot and protein-mass spectrometry analyses were used to demonstrate that citrus Chlase initially accumulates as an approximately 35-kD precursor, which is subsequently N-terminally processed to approximately 33-kD mature forms by cleavage at either of three consecutive amino acid positions. Chlase plastid localization, expression kinetics, and the negative correlation with chlorophyll levels support the central role of the enzyme in chlorophyll breakdown during citrus fruit color-break.

Dormancy in grape buds: isolation and characterization of catalase cDNA and analysis of its expression following chemical induction of bud dormancy release

The mechanism by which hydrogen cyanamide (HC) exerts its dormancy-breaking effect is not clear, but it has been shown to inactivate catalase in grape buds shortly after its application. Recently, we showed that some potential components in the process leading to dormancy release are induced at the level of gene expression following application of HC. Therefore, we inquired whether changes in catalase activity following HC application are also accompanied by changes in the expression of this gene. We report here the isolation of the first cDNA clone encoding a grape catalase and the characterization of its expression following artificial and natural induction of dormancy release. The sharp decline in the level of catalase transcript, following induction of dormancy release by HC, correlates with earlier findings showing a major decrease in catalase activity in the buds following HC application. This may suggest that HC exert its effect on catalase activity, at least partially, through regulation of catalase gene expression. On the other hand, the expression pattern of catalase in buds throughout the natural dormancy cycle was of a constitutive nature and did not correlate with earlier findings showing decreased activity towards dormancy release. The discrepancy between the data from artificial and natural induction systems is discussed.

Dual N- and C-Terminal Processing of Citrus Chlorophyllase Precursor Within the Plastid Membranes leads to the Mature Enzyme

Chl, the central player in harvesting light energy for photosynthesis, is enzymatically degraded during natural turnover, leaf senescence, fruit ripening or following biotic/abiotic stress induction. The photodynamic properties of Chl and its metabolites call for tight regulation of the catabolic pathway enzymes to avoid accumulation of intermediate breakdown products. Chlorophyllase, the Chl dephytilation enzyme, was previously demonstrated to be an initiator of Chl breakdown when transcriptionally induced to be expressed during ethylene-induced citrus fruit color break or when heterologously expressed in different plant systems. Citrus chlorophyllase was previously shown to be translated as a precursor protein, which is subsequently post-translationally processed to a mature form. We demonstrate that maturation of citrus chlorophyllase involves dual N- and C-terminal processing which appear to be rate-limiting post-translational events when chlorophyllase expression levels are high. The chlorophyllase precursor and intermediate forms were shown to be of transient nature, while the mature form accumulates over time, suggesting that processing may be involved in post-translational regulation of enzyme inxa0vivo function. This notion is further supported by the finding that neither N- nor C-terminal processed domains are essential for chloroplast targeting of the enzyme, and that both processing events occur within the chloroplast membranes. Studies on the processing of chlorophyllase versions truncated at the N- or C-termini or mutated to abolish C-terminal processing suggest that each of the processing events is independent. Dual N- and C-terminal processing, not involving an organellar targeting signal, has rarely been documented in plants and is unique for a plastid protein.

The relationship between chlorophyllase activity and chlorophyll degradation during the course of leaf senescence in various plant species

In the present study we compared the changes in chlorophyllase (Chlase) activity and chlorophyll content during leaf senescence in eleven plant species, using an improved Chlase activity assay. Parsley (Petroselinum sativum L.), vinca (Vinca rosea L.), squash (Cucurbita pepo L.), tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.), canola (Brassica napus L.), tobacco (Nicotiana glutinosa L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum vulgare L.), and sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) revealed a decline in Chlase activity corresponding to the descent in chlorophyll concentration. Melia (Melia azedarach L.) and nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus L.), on the other hand, retained high Chlase activity throughout senescence, even when most of the chlorophyll had disappeared. Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) showed an increase in Chlase activity upon senescence of young seedling leaves, but when leaves of older plants were senesced, Chlase activity declined in correlation with the disappearance of chlorophyll. High levels of chlorophyll were retained in de...

Chlorophyll metabolism in pollinated vs. parthenocarpic fig fruits throughout development and ripening

AbstractMain conclusionExpression of 13 genes encoding chlorophyll biosynthesis and degradation was evaluated. Chlorophyll degradation was differentially regulated in pollinated and parthenocarpic fig fruits, leading to earlier chlorophyll degradation in parthenocarpic fruits.n Varieties of the common fig typically yield a commercial summer crop that requires no pollination, although it can be pollinated. Fig fruit pollination results in larger fruit size, greener skin and darker interior inflorescence color, and slows the ripening process compared to non-pollinated fruits. We evaluated the effect of pollination on chlorophyll content and levels of transcripts encoding enzymes of the chlorophyll metabolism in fruits of the common fig ‘Brown Turkey’. We cloned and evaluated the expression of 13 different genes. All 13 genes showed high expression in the fruit skin, inflorescences and leaves, but extremely low expression in roots. Pollination delayed chlorophyll breakdown in the ripening fruit skin and inflorescences. This was correlated with the expression of genes encoding enzymes in the chlorophyll biosynthesis and degradation pathways. Expression of pheophorbide a oxygenase (PAO) was strongly negatively correlated with chlorophyll levels during ripening in pollinated fruits; along with its high expression levels in yellow leaves, this supports a pivotal role for PAO in chlorophyll degradation in figs. Normalizing expression levels of all chlorophyll metabolism genes in the pollinated and parthenocarpic fruit skin and inflorescences showed three synthesis (FcGluTR1, FcGluTR2 and FcCLS1) and three degradation (FcCLH1, FcCLH2 and FcRCCR1) genes with different temporal expression in the pollinated vs. parthenocarpic fruit skin and inflorescences. FcCAO also showed different expressions in the parthenocarpic fruit skin. Thus, chlorophyll degradation is differentially regulated in the pollinated and parthenocarpic fruit skin and inflorescences, leading to earlier and more sustained chlorophyll degradation in the parthenocarpic fruit.