Three novel mutations in α-galactosidase gene involving in galactomannan degradation in endosperm of curd coconut.

The deficiency of α-galactosidase activity in coconut endosperm has been reported to cause a disability to hydrolyze oligogalactomannan in endosperm resulting in curd coconut phenotype. However, neither the α-galactosidase encoding gene in coconut nor the mutation type has been identified and characterized in normal and curd coconuts. In this study, cDNA and genomic DNA encoding α-galactosidase gene alleles from a normal and two curd coconuts were successfully cloned and characterized. The deduced amino acid of wild type α-galactosidase contains 398 amino acid residues with a 17 N-terminal amino acids signal peptide sequence. Three mutant alleles, the first 19-amino acids from 67 to 85 (ADALVSTGLARLGYQYVNL) deletion with S137R and the second R216T, were identified from curd coconut plant no.1 while the third P250R was identified from curd coconut plant no. 10. All mutations of α-galactosidase gene were confirmed by the analysis of parental genomic DNA from normal and curd coconuts. Heterologous expression in Komagataella phaffii (Pichia pastoris) indicated that recombinant P250R, R216T and 19-amino acids deletion-S137R mutant proteins showed no α-galactosidase activity. Only the recombinant wild-type protein was able to detect for α-galactosidase activity. These results are in accordance with the no detection of α-galactosidase activity in developing curd coconut endosperms by tissue staining. While, the accumulation of enzyme activity was present in the solid endosperm of normal coconut. The full-length cDNA and parental genomic DNA sequences encoding α-galactosidase in normal coconut as well as identified curd coconut mutant alleles are reported in Genbank accession no. KJ957156 and KM001681-3. Transcription level of the α-galactosidase gene in mature curd coconut endosperm was at least 20 times higher than normal. In conclusion, absence of α-galactosidase activity caused by gene mutations associates with an accumulation of oligogalactomannan in endosperms, resulting in curd coconut phenotype.

Chebulin: Terminalia chebula Retz. fruit-derived peptide with angiotensin-I-converting enzyme inhibitory activity.

Angiotensin-I-converting enzyme (ACE) plays an important role in blood pressure regulation. In this study, an ACE-hexapeptide inhibitor (Asp-Glu-Asn-Ser-Lys-Phe) designated as chebulin was produced from the fruit protein of Terminalia chebula Retz. by pepsin digestion, ultrafiltrated through a 3 KDa cut-off membrane, a reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, and nano-liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry analysis. Chebulin was found to inhibit ACE in a noncompetitive manner, as supported by the structural model. It bounds to ACE by the hydrogen bond, hydrophobic and ionic interactions via the interactions of C-terminal Phe (Phe-6), and N-terminal residues (Asp-1 and Glu-2) with the amino acid residues on noncatalytic sites of the ACE. The results showed that chebulin derived from fruits of T. chebula Retz. is a potential ACE-peptide inhibitor that could be used as a functional food additive for the prevention of hypertension and as an alternative to ACE inhibitor drug.

beta-Glucosidase catalyzing specific hydrolysis of an iridoid beta-glucoside from Plumeria obtusa.

An iridoid beta-glucoside, namely plumieride coumarate glucoside, was isolated from the Plumeria obtusa (white frangipani) flower. A beta-glucosidase, purified to homogeneity from P. obtusa, could hydrolyze plumieride coumarate glucoside to its corresponding 13-O-coumarylplumieride. Plumeria beta-glucosidase is a monomeric glycoprotein with a molecular weight of 60.6 kDa and an isoelectric point of 4.90. The purified beta-glucosidase had an optimum pH of 5.5 for p-nitrophenol (pNP)-beta-D-glucoside and for its natural substrate. The Km values for pNP-beta-D-glucoside and Plumeria beta-glucoside were 5.04+/-0.36 mM and 1.02+/-0.06 mM, respectively. The enzyme had higher hydrolytic activity towards pNP-beta-D-fucoside than pNP-beta-D-glucoside. No activity was found for other pNP-glycosides. Interestingly, the enzyme showed a high specificity for the glucosyl group attached to the C-7' position of the coumaryl moiety of plumieride coumarate glucoside. The enzyme showed poor hydrolysis of 4-methylumbelliferyl-beta-glucoside and esculin, and did not hydrolyze alkyl-beta-glucosides, glucobioses, cyanogenic-beta-glucosides, steroid beta-glucosides, nor other iridoid beta-glucosides. In conclusion, the Plumeria beta-glucosidase shows high specificity for its natural substrate, plumieride coumarate glucoside.