美國賓夕法尼亞大學(xué)的研究人員從番茄中鑒定出兩個新基因，它們在單萜生產(chǎn)中必不可少。單萜是一類化合物家族,，在植物中用于授粉,、抵御害蟲和防御疾病,。單萜還能賦予植物特有的味道,，一些葉子的香味，如薄荷和羅勒,，就來自于萜烯,。
科學(xué)家一直以為植物用一種特殊化合物geranyl diphosphate來生產(chǎn)單萜，而Robert Last及其同事發(fā)現(xiàn)番茄用neryl diphosphate作為底物,，他們鑒定出兩個新的酶：neryl diphosphate合酶1（NDPS1）和phellandrene合酶1(PHS1),。
科學(xué)家認為這一發(fā)現(xiàn)有助于在其他植物中尋找相似基因并發(fā)現(xiàn)合成單萜的新酶，這樣可能對植物抗蟲有幫助,。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原始出處：
PNAS June 30, 2009 vol. 106 no. 26 10865-10870
Monoterpenes in the glandular trichomes of tomato are synthesized from a neryl diphosphate precursor rather than geranyl diphosphate
Anthony L. Schilmillera,1, Ines Schauvinholdb,1, Matthew Larsonc, Richard Xub, Amanda L. Charbonneaua, Adam Schmidtb, Curtis Wilkersona,d, Robert L. Lasta,d and Eran Picherskyb,2
We identified a cis-prenyltransferase gene, neryl diphosphate synthase 1 (NDPS1), that is expressed in cultivated tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) cultivar M82 type VI glandular trichomes and encodes an enzyme that catalyzes the formation of neryl diphosphate from isopentenyl diphosphate and dimethylallyl diphosphate. mRNA for a terpene synthase gene, phellandrene synthase 1 (PHS1), was also identified in these glands. It encodes an enzyme that uses neryl diphosphate to produce β-phellandrene as the major product as well as a variety of other monoterpenes. The profile of monoterpenes produced by PHS1 is identical with the monoterpenes found in type VI glands. PHS1 and NDPS1 map to chromosome 8, and the presence of a segment of chromosome 8 derived from Solanum pennellii LA0716 causes conversion from the M82 gland monoterpene pattern to that characteristic of LA0716 plants. The data indicate that, contrary to the textbook view of geranyl diphosphate as the “universal” substrate of monoterpene synthases, in tomato glands neryl diphosphate serves as a precursor for the synthesis of monoterpenes.
