Abstract
Wax esters are neutral lipids composed of aliphatic alcohols and acids, with both moieties usually long-chain (C(16) and C(18)) or very-long-chain (C(20) and longer) carbon structures. They have diverse biological functions in bacteria, insects, mammals, and terrestrial plants and are also important substrates for a variety of industrial applications. In plants, wax esters are mostly found in the cuticles coating the primary shoot surfaces, but they also accumulate to high concentrations in the seed oils of a few plant species, including jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis), a desert shrub that is the major commercial source of these compounds. Here, we report the identification and characterization of WSD1, a member of the bifunctional wax ester synthase/diacylglycerol acyltransferase gene family, which plays a key role in wax ester synthesis in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) stems, as first evidenced by severely reduced wax ester levels of in the stem wax of wsd1 mutants. In vitro assays using protein extracts from Escherichia coli expressing WSD1 showed that this enzyme has a high level of wax synthase activity and approximately 10-fold lower level of diacylglycerol acyltransferase activity. Expression of the WSD1 gene in Saccharomyces cerevisiae resulted in the accumulation of wax esters, but not triacylglycerol, indicating that WSD1 predominantly functions as a wax synthase. Analyses of WSD1 expression revealed that this gene is transcribed in flowers, top parts of stems, and leaves. Fully functional yellow fluorescent protein-tagged WSD1 protein was localized to the endoplasmic reticulum, demonstrating that biosynthesis of wax esters, the final products of the alcohol-forming pathway, occurs in this subcellular compartment.
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Claims 7
Claim · model-written summary
wsd1 mutants had severely reduced stem wax esters.
- Taxon
- Arabidopsis
Arabidopsist0 - Material
- wsd1 mutantse0
- Organ / stage
- steme0
- Outcome
- wax ester levelse0
- Direction
- severely reducede0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“severely reduced wax ester levels of in the stem wax of wsd1 mutants”
t0“Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) stems”
Claim · model-written summary
WSD1 extracts showed high wax synthase activity.
- Taxon
- ArabidopsisArabidopsist0
- Gene
- WSD1t1
- Outcome
- wax synthase activitye0
- Direction
- high levele0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“this enzyme has a high level of wax synthase activity”
t0“Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) stems”
t1“Escherichia coli expressing WSD1”
Claim · model-written summary
WSD1 extracts showed approximately tenfold lower diacylglycerol acyltransferase activity.
- Taxon
- ArabidopsisArabidopsist0
- Gene
- WSD1t1
- Outcome
- diacylglycerol acyltransferase activitye0
- Direction
- lowere0
- Value
- 10-folde0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“approximately 10-fold lower level of diacylglycerol acyltransferase activity”
t0“Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) stems”
t1“Escherichia coli expressing WSD1”
Claim · model-written summary
WSD1 expression in yeast caused wax ester accumulation.
- Taxon
- ArabidopsisArabidopsist0
- Treatment
- Expression of the WSD1 gene in Saccharomyces cerevisiaee0
- Gene
- WSD1e0
- Outcome
- wax esterse0
- Direction
- accumulatione0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Expression of the WSD1 gene in Saccharomyces cerevisiae resulted in the accumulation of wax esters”
t0“Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) stems”
Claim · model-written summary
WSD1 expression in yeast did not accumulate triacylglycerol.
- Taxon
- ArabidopsisArabidopsist0
- Treatment
- Expression of the WSD1 gene in Saccharomyces cerevisiaet1
- Gene
- WSD1t1
- Outcome
- triacylglycerole0
- Direction
- note0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“but not triacylglycerol”
t0“Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) stems”
t1“Expression of the WSD1 gene in Saccharomyces cerevisiae”
Claim · model-written summary
WSD1 was transcribed in flowers, upper stems and leaves.
- Taxon
- ArabidopsisArabidopsist0
- Organ / stage
- flowers, top parts of stems, and leavese0
- Gene
- WSD1t1
- Outcome
- transcribede0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“this gene is transcribed in flowers, top parts of stems, and leaves”
t0“Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) stems”
t1“WSD1 expression”
Claim · model-written summary
Functional tagged WSD1 localized to the endoplasmic reticulum.
- Taxon
- ArabidopsisArabidopsist0
- Gene
- WSD1e0
- Outcome
- localized to the endoplasmic reticulume0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Fully functional yellow fluorescent protein-tagged WSD1 protein was localized to the endoplasmic reticulum”
t0“Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) stems”
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