Descriptive and hedonic analyses of low-Phe food formulations containing corn (Zea mays) seedling roots: toward development of a dietary supplement for individuals with phenylketonuria.

BACKGROUND: Seedling roots of anthocyanin-rich corn (Zea mays) cultivars contain high levels of phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) activity. The development of a natural dietary supplement containing corn roots could provide the means to improve the restrictive diet of phenylketonuria (PKU) patients by increasing their tolerance to dietary phenylalanine (Phe). Therefore this research was undertaken to explore the sensory characteristics of roots of four corn cultivars as well as to develop and evaluate food products (cereal bar, beverage, jam-like spread) to which roots had been added. RESULTS: Sensory profiles of corn roots were investigated using ten trained judges. Roots of Japanese Striped corn seedlings were more bitter, pungent and astringent than those of white and yellow cultivars, while roots from the Blue Jade cultivar had a more pronounced earthy/mushroom aroma. Consumer research using 24 untrained panelists provided hedonic (degree-of-liking) assessments for products with and without roots (controls). The former had lower mean scores than the controls; however, the cereal bar had scores above 5 on the nine-point scale for all hedonic assessments compared with the other treated products. CONCLUSION: By evaluating low-Phe food products containing corn roots, this research ascertained that the root-containing low-Phe cereal bar was an acceptable 'natural' dietary supplement for PKU-affected individuals.

Preservation of high phenylalanine ammonia lyase activities in roots of Japanese Striped corn: a potential oral therapeutic to treat phenylketonuria.

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is an inherited metabolic disorder caused by deficient phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) activity, the enzyme responsible for the disposal of excess amounts of the essential amino acid phenylalanine (Phe). Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL, EC 4.3.1.5) has potential to serve as an enzyme substitution therapy for this human genetic disease. Using 7-day-old Japanese Striped corn seedlings (Japonica Striped maize, Zea mays L. cv. japonica) that contain high activities of PAL, we investigated a number of methods to preserve the roots as an intact food and for long-term storage. The cryoprotectant effects of maple syrup and other edible sugars (mono- and oligosaccharides) were evaluated. Following thawing, the preserved roots were then examined to determine whether the rigid plant cell walls could protect the PAL enzyme from proteolysis during simulated (in vitro) digestion comprised of gastric and intestinal phases. While several treatments led to retention of PAL activity during freezing, upon thawing and in vitro digestion, root tissues that had been previously frozen in the presence of maple syrup exhibited the highest residual PAL activities (∼50% of the initial enzyme activity), in marked contrast to all of the treatments using other edible sugars. The structural integrity of the root cells, and the stability of the functional PAL tetramer were also preserved with the maple syrup protocol. These results have significance for the formulation of oral enzyme/protein therapeutics. When plant tissues are adequately preserved, the rigid cell walls constitute a protective barrier even under harsh (e.g. gastrointestinal-like) conditions.

Increased plant volatile production affects oviposition, but not larval development, in the moth Helicoverpa armigera.

It is well established that herbivorous insects respond to changes in plant odour production, but little attention has been given to whether these responses relate to direct fitness costs of plant volatile production on insect growth and survival. Here, we use transgenic Nicotiana tabacum (tobacco) plants that produce relatively large amounts of the volatile (S)-linalool to study whether the responses of egg-laying herbivorous insects to linalool production relate directly to the growth and survival of offspring. In choice tests, fewer eggs were laid on transgenic plants compared with non-transformed controls, indicating that increased linalool emissions have a deterrent effect on Helicoverpa armigera oviposition. Larval survival and larval mass after feeding on transgenic leaves, however, was comparable to non-transformed controls. (S)-linalool, whether in volatile or sequestered form, does not appear to have a direct effect on offspring fitness in this moth. We discuss how the ecology of this polyphagous moth species may necessitate a high tolerance for certain volatiles and their related non-volatile compounds, and suggest that responses by adult female H. armigera moths towards increased linalool production may be context specific and relate to other indirect effects on fitness.

Characterization of a Vitis vinifera cv. Cabernet Sauvignon 3',5'-O-methyltransferase showing strong preference for anthocyanins and glycosylated flavonols.

At ripening initiation in red grapevine (Vitis vinifera) berries, the exocarp turns color from green to red and then to purple due to the accumulation and extent of methylation of anthocyanins. The accumulation of transcripts encoding an O-methyltransferase was recently shown to be closely correlated with the onset of ripening and the degree of blue/purple pigmentation in grapevine berries; however, the biochemical function of this gene has remained uncharacterized. In this study, an O-methyltransferase cDNA that showed a distinct expression pattern when compared to closely related sequences was expressed in Escherichia coli and enzyme assays were carried out with a broad array of anthocyanin and other flavonoid substrates. We demonstrate that this enzyme carries out 3',5'-O-methylation of anthocyanins and flavonol compounds in vitro, which are known to be present in grape berries, with a preference for glycosylated substrates. The highest relative specific activity for the enzyme was found with delphinidin 3-O-glucoside as substrate. The enzyme is not able to methylate flavan type skeletons with chiral centers, such as either catechins or dihydroquercetin. The enzyme showed negligible specific activity for caffeoyl-CoA, compared to flavonol and anthocyanin substrates. Phylogenetic analysis of the O-methyltransferase suggests that it may be a member of a distinct subclass of Type 2 bivalent metal-dependent S-adenosyl-methionine O-methyltransferases.

Generation of a predicted protein database from EST data and application to iTRAQ analyses in grape (Vitis vinifera cv. Cabernet Sauvignon) berries at ripening initiation.

BACKGROUND: iTRAQ is a proteomics technique that uses isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation of tryptic peptides. In proteomics experiments, the detection and high confidence annotation of proteins and the significance of corresponding expression differences can depend on the quality and the species specificity of the tryptic peptide map database used for analysis of the data. For species for which finished genome sequence data are not available, identification of proteins relies on similarity to proteins from other species using comprehensive peptide map databases such as the MSDB. RESULTS: We were interested in characterizing ripening initiation ('veraison') in grape berries at the protein level in order to better define the molecular control of this important process for grape growers and wine makers. We developed a bioinformatic pipeline for processing EST data in order to produce a predicted tryptic peptide database specifically targeted to the wine grape cultivar, Vitis vinifera cv. Cabernet Sauvignon, and lacking truncated N- and C-terminal fragments. By searching iTRAQ MS/MS data generated from berry exocarp and mesocarp samples at ripening initiation, we determined that implementation of the custom database afforded a large improvement in high confidence peptide annotation in comparison to the MSDB. We used iTRAQ MS/MS in conjunction with custom peptide db searches to quantitatively characterize several important pathway components for berry ripening previously described at the transcriptional level and confirmed expression patterns for these at the protein level. CONCLUSION: We determined that a predicted peptide database for MS/MS applications can be derived from EST data using advanced clustering and trimming approaches and successfully implemented for quantitative proteome profiling. Quantitative shotgun proteome profiling holds great promise for characterizing biological processes such as fruit ripening initiation and may be further improved by employing preparative techniques and/or analytical equipment that increase peptide detection sensitivity via a shotgun approach.

Vitis vinifera terpenoid cyclases: functional identification of two sesquiterpene synthase cDNAs encoding (+)-valencene synthase and (-)-germacrene D synthase and expression of mono- and sesquiterpene synthases in grapevine flowers and berries.

Valencene is a volatile sesquiterpene emitted from flowers of grapevine, Vitis vinifera L. A full-length cDNA from the cultivar Gewürztraminer was functionally expressed in Escherichia coli and found to encode valencene synthase (VvVal). The two major products formed by recombinant VvVal enzyme activity with farnesyl diphosphate (FPP) as substrate are (+)-valencene and (-)-7-epi-alpha-selinene. Grapevine valencene synthase is closely related to a second sesquiterpene synthase from this species, (-)-germacrene D synthase (VvGerD). VvVal and VvGerD cDNA probes revealed strong signals in Northern hybridizations with RNA isolated from grapevine flower buds. Transcript levels were lower in open pre-anthesis flowers, flowers after anthesis, or at early onset of fruit development. Similar results were obtained using a third probe, (-)-alpha-terpineol synthase, a monoterpenol synthase. Sesquiterpene synthase and monoterpene synthase transcripts were not detected in the mesocarp and exocarp during early stages of fruit development, but transcripts hybridizing with VvVal appeared during late ripening of the berries. Sesquiterpene synthase transcripts were also detected in young seeds.

Metabolic engineering of monoterpene biosynthesis: two-step production of (+)-trans-isopiperitenol by tobacco.

Monoterpenoid biosynthesis in tobacco was modified by introducing two subsequent enzymatic activities targeted to different cell compartments. A limonene-3-hydroxylase (lim3h) cDNA was isolated from Mentha spicata L. 'Crispa'. This cDNA was used to re-transform a transgenic Nicotiana tabacum'Petit Havana' SR1 (tobacco) line expressing three Citrus limon L. Burm. f. (lemon) monoterpene synthases producing (+)-limonene, gamma-terpinene and (-)-beta-pinene as their main products. The targeting sequences of these synthases indicate that they are probably localized in the plastids, whereas the sequence information of the P450 hydroxylase indicates targeting to the endoplasmatic reticulum. Despite the different location of the enzymes, the introduced P450 hydroxylase proved to be functional in the transgenic plants as it hydroxylated (+)-limonene, resulting in the emission of (+)-trans-isopiperitenol. Some further modifications of the (+)-trans-isopiperitenol were also detected, resulting in the additional emission of 1,3,8-p-menthatriene, 1,5,8-p-menthatriene, p-cymene and isopiperitenone.

Increased and altered fragrance of tobacco plants after metabolic engineering using three monoterpene synthases from lemon.

Wild-type tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) plants emit low levels of terpenoids, particularly from the flowers. By genetic modification of tobacco cv Petit Havana SR1 using three different monoterpene synthases from lemon (Citrus limon L. Burm. f.) and the subsequent combination of these three into one plant by crossings, we show that it is possible to increase the amount and alter the composition of the blend of monoterpenoids produced in tobacco plants. The transgenic tobacco plant line with the three introduced monoterpene synthases is emitting beta-pinene, limonene, and gamma-terpinene and a number of side products of the introduced monoterpene synthases, from its leaves and flowers, in addition to the terpenoids emitted by wild-type plants. The results show that there is a sufficiently high level of substrate accessible for the introduced enzymes.

The influence of monoterpene synthase transformation on the odour of tobacco.

Monoterpenes are an important class of terpenoids that are commonly present in plant essential oils. These can be extracted from plants and are used in the flavouring and perfumery industry. Monoterpene synthases are the key enzymes in monoterpene biosynthesis, as they catalyse the cyclisation of the ubiquitous geranyl diphosphate (GDP) to the specific monoterpene skeletons. Tobacco is one of the most studied model plants, it can easily and efficiently be transformed, and is a suitable model to study the release of plant volatiles. Thus, we have isolated monoterpene synthases from lemon, transformed tobacco with these cDNAs and have used human panelists to study the change in fragrance of the transgenic in comparison to the wild type plants. In a triangle test, we found that subjects were capable of smelling significant differences between leaf samples. However, as a result of variability in panel ratings, no significant difference between two sets of transgenic flowers and the wild type tobacco flowers was found for the generated attributes in a descriptive test.

Domain swapping of Citrus limon monoterpene synthases: impact on enzymatic activity and product specificity.

Monoterpene cyclases are the key enzymes in the monoterpene biosynthetic pathway, as they catalyze the cyclization of the ubiquitous geranyl diphosphate (GDP) to the specific monoterpene skeletons. From Citrus limon, four monoterpene synthase-encoding cDNAs for a beta-pinene synthase named Cl(-)betaPINS, a gamma-terpinene synthase named ClgammaTS, and two limonene synthases named Cl(+)LIMS1 and Cl(+)LIMS2 were recently isolated [J. Lücker et al., Eur. J. Biochem. 269 (2002) 3160]. The aim of our work in this study was to identify domains within these monoterpene synthase enzymes determining the product specificity. Domain swapping experiments between Cl(-)betaPINS and ClgammaTS and between Cl(+)LIMS2 and ClgammaTS were conducted. We found that within the C-terminal domain of these monoterpene synthases, a region comprising 200 amino acids, of which 41 are different between Cl(-)betaPINS and ClgammaTS, determines the specificity for the formation of beta-pinene or gamma-terpinene, respectively, while another region localized further downstream is required for a chimeric enzyme to yield products in the same ratio as in the wild-type ClgammaTS. For Cl(+)LIMS2, the two domains together appear to be sufficient for its enzyme specificity, but many chimeras were inactive probably due to the low homology with ClgammaTS. Molecular modeling was used to further pinpoint the amino acids responsible for the differences in product specificity of ClgammaTS and Cl(-)betaPINS.

Monoterpene biosynthesis in lemon (Citrus limon). cDNA isolation and functional analysis of four monoterpene synthases.

Citrus limon possesses a high content and large variety of monoterpenoids, especially in the glands of the fruit flavedo. The genes responsible for the production of these monoterpenes have never been isolated. By applying a random sequencing approach to a cDNA library from mRNA isolated from the peel of young developing fruit, four monoterpene synthase cDNAs were isolated that appear to be new members of the previously reported tpsb family. Based on sequence homology and phylogenetic analysis, these sequences cluster in two separate groups. All four cDNAs could be functionally expressed in Escherichia coli after removal of their plastid targeting signals. The main products of the enzymes in assays with geranyl diphosphate as substrate were (+)-limonene (two cDNAs) (-)-beta-pinene and gamma-terpinene. All enzymes exhibited a pH optimum around 7; addition of Mn(2+) as bivalent metal ion cofactor resulted in higher activity than Mg(2+), with an optimum concentration of 0.6 mm. K(m) values ranged from 0.7 to 3.1 microm. The four enzymes account for the production of 10 out of the 17 monoterpene skeletons commonly observed in lemon peel oil, corresponding to more than 90% of the main components present.