The aphid sex pheromone cyclopentanoids: synthesis in the elucidation of structure and biosynthetic pathways.

Identification of a range of aphid sex pheromones as comprising the cyclopentanoids (4aS,7S,7aR)-nepetalactone, (1R,4aS,7S,7aR)-nepetalactol and the (1S)- and (1R,4aR,7S,7aS)-nepetalactols required samples authenticated by 1H and 13C NMR. These and related compounds were provided by small scale synthesis and extraction from plants in the genus Nepeta (Lamiaceae). The subsequent discovery that the synthetic sex pheromones could attract males, and also parasitic wasps that attack aphids, has created a need for large scale syntheses of the cyclopentanoids. This is afforded by cyclisation of the 8-oxo-1-enamine of citronellal as originally developed by Schreiber and co-workers (1986). Investigation into the biosynthesis of the cyclopentanoids by plants for exploiting aphid sex pheromones in crop protection by means of molecular biology required synthesis of putative biosynthetic intermediates, some with radioactive isotopic labelling, particularly 8-oxidised monoterpene alcohols and aldehydes.

Purification and characterization of an acyclic monoterpene primary alcohol:NADP+ oxidoreductase from catmint (Nepeta racemosa).

A soluble monoterpene primary alcohol:NADP+ oxidoreductase has been purified to apparent homogeneity from leaves of the catmint, Nepeta racemosa. The purified enzyme consisted of two polypeptides, with molecular masses of 42,000 and 40,000 Da, and contained zinc ions. A number of monoterpene alcohols (geraniol, nerol, citronellol, and their hydroxylated derivatives) were substrates, but the enzyme was inactive toward ethanol. The enzyme required NADP(H) as cofactor, with NAD(H) ineffective. Gas chromatographic and coupled mass spectrometric analysis of the reaction products showed that 10-hydroxygeraniol and 10-hydroxynerol were oxidized by the enzyme in the presence of NADP+, at both C-1 and C-10. These results are consistent with a role for this enzyme in the biosynthesis of iridoid monoterpenes.

Cytochrome P-450-catalysed monoterpenoid oxidation in catmint (Nepeta racemosa) and avocado (Persea americana); evidence for related enzymes with different activities.

A cytochrome P-450 present in ripening avocado (Persea americana) fruit mesocarp (CYP71A1) had previously been shown to metabolize the monoterpenoids nerol and geraniol (Hallahan et al. (1992) Plant Physiol. 98, 1290-1297). Using DNA encoding CYP71A1 as a hybridization probe, we have shown by Southern analysis that a related gene is present in the catmint, Nepeta racemosa. RNA blot analysis, together with Western analysis of catmint leaf polypeptides using avocado cyt P-450 antiserum, showed that a closely related gene is expressed in catmint leaves. Cytochrome P-450 in catmint microsomes catalysed the specific hydroxylation of nerol and geraniol at C-10, whereas avocado CYP71A1, in either avocado microsomes or heterologously expressed in yeast, catalysed 2,3- or 6,7-epoxidation of these substrates. These results suggest that orthologous genes of the CYP71 family are expressed in these two plant species, but catalyse dissimilar reactions with monoterpenoid substrates.

Interactions of Avocado (Persea americana) Cytochrome P-450 with Monoterpenoids.

The microsomal fraction of avocado (Persea americana) mesocarp is a rich source of cytochrome P-450 active in the demethylation of xenobiotics. Cytochrome P-450 from this tissue has been purified and well characterized at the molecular level (DP O'Keefe, KJ Leto [1989] Plant Physiol 89: 1141-1149; KR Bozak, H Yu, R Sirevag, RE Christoffersen [1990] Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 87: 3904-3908). Despite this extensive characterization, the role of the enzyme in vivo was not established. Optical and electron paramagnetic resonance binding studies described here suggest that the monoterpenoids, nerol and geraniol, are substrates of avocado cytochrome P-450 (spectral dissociation constant of 7.2 and 35 micromolar, respectively). Avocado microsomes have been shown to catalyze the hydroxylation of these monoterpenoids, and both nerol and geraniol have been shown to inhibit the activity of avocado cytochrome P-450 toward the artificial substrate 7-ethoxycoumarin, with nerol a competitive inhibitor of this activity.

Identification and extraction of Pasteurella haemolytica membrane proteins.

The inner and outer membranes of Pasteurella haemolytica were separated by sucrose density gradient centrifugation after plasmolysis of the cells in 20% sucrose and fragmentation in a French pressure cell. Assays of the two membrane fractions for 2-keto-3-deoxyoctonate, succinate dehydrogenase, and NADH dehydrogenase and by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis indicated that each of the two membrane fractions was purified fivefold relative to the other. The outer membrane fraction contained two major proteins of molecular weights 30,000 and 42,000 (30K and 42K proteins), and the inner membrane fraction contained five proteins in approximately equal amounts. Intact bacteria as well as membrane fractions were extracted by procedures used by others for vaccine preparation to determine whether the outer membrane proteins were released. Extraction of the isolated membranes with 0.5 M potassium thiocyanate in 0.425 M NaCl with or without EDTA or with M sodium salicylate failed to release more than traces of the outer membrane proteins. Sodium dodecyl sulfate extracted essentially all of the proteins of both membranes, but the products of this procedure were of low solubility and presumably denatured. The inner membrane proteins were extracted with 0.5% Sarkosyl in 0.02 M sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.5). The 42K outer membrane protein, most of the lipopolysaccharide, and some of the 30K outer membrane protein were extracted with 1% Zwittergent 3-16 in 0.25 M NaCl (pH 8), and the remaining 30K outer membrane protein was extracted with 1% deoxycholate in 0.25% NaCl (pH 8). Extraction of membranes in this sequence yielded partially purified membrane proteins that were soluble in dilute buffers.

Survey of taurine uptake and metabolism in Staphylococcus aureus.

Taurine has been reported to be a component of the capsular polysaccharide of the encapsulated M strain of Staphylococcus aureus. This led to a study of the uptake and metabolism of [1,2-14C]taurine in a variety of encapsulated and unencapsulated S. aureus strains. Taurine was taken up by all strains studied. A discrepancy between uptake measured as depletion of radioactivity from growth medium and as cell-associated radioactivity suggested that taurine may be catabolized to CO2 in some strains. In most strains, cell-associated radioactivity was located mainly in cold TCA-soluble (pool metabolites) fractions. About 90% of the cell-associated radioactivity was present in the pool metabolites fraction in the M strain, and about 10% in hot TCA-soluble (nucleic acid-teichoic acid-capsular polysaccharide) fraction. Radioactivity in spent medium and the capsular polysaccharide-containing fraction appeared to be present as taurine in this strain. Radioactivity in the pool metabolites fraction of three of the strains examined did not chromatograph as taurine, indicating that taurine was converted into other cell metabolites. One strain incorporated radioactivity from taurine into cellular macromolecules, thus revealing a heterogeneity of staphylococcal taurine metabolism.