Uncovering the regulation of ethylene production through the formation of MACC in tomato
Description: The gaseous plant hormone ethylene regulates many important plant developmental processes, such as germination, climacteric fruit ripening, organ senescence and abscission. Also in the event of (a)biotic stress, ethylene formation is indispensable. There is still a huge missing link in our knowledge on how plants regulate their ethylene production level. An important, but not yet unraveled, regulatory step is the derivatization of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC), the precursor of ethylene synthesis. An increasing body of evidence also revealed that ACC itself can act as a signaling molecule independent of ethylene. Collectively, this underlines the importance of unraveling the mechanism of ACC conjugation in plants. Here we investigate the most abundant ACC derivative in tomato, namely malonyl-ACC (MACC). MACC is formed by the enigmatic enzyme ACC-N-malonyl transferase (AMT). Surprisingly, to date, the AMT gene and protein sequence remain unknown, masking our insight on how MACC formation influences the ACC pool and controls ethylene production. In this project, we will first identify the sequence of the gene coding for AMT using column chromatography, proteomics and transcriptomics. Next, we will perform a characterization of the AMT enzyme(s) and investigate its biological function in plants using biochemical, molecular and genetic approaches. Altogether, our project will finally reveal the long-sought-for missing link in the ethylene biosynthesis pathway.
Funder: Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek
Funding type: fellowship
Funder scheme: FWO fellowships
Start date: 2021-11-01
End date: 2023-10-31
Investigators: Jolien Pattyn, Bram Van de Poel
Institution: FWO
Funded outputs count: 5
Funder award ID: 1150822N
OpenAlex ID: G2932016807