Isolation of a glucosyltransferase from Arabidopsis thaliana active in the metabolism of the persistent pollutant 3,4-dichloroaniline

Plant J. 2003 May;34(4):485-93. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-313x.2003.01742.x.

Abstract

The pollutant 3,4-dichloroaniline (DCA) was rapidly detoxified by glucosylation in Arabidopsis thaliana root cultures, with the N-beta-d-glucopyranosyl-DCA exported into the medium. The N-glucosyltransferase (N-GT) responsible for this activity was purified from Arabidopsis suspension cultures and the resulting 50 kDa polypeptide analysed by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) following tryptic digestion. The protein was identified as GT72B1. The GT was cloned and the purified recombinant enzyme shown to be highly active in conjugating DCA and 2,4,5-trichlorophenol, as well as several other chlorinated phenols and anilines, demonstrating both N-GT and O-GT activity. GT72B1 showed little activity towards natural products with the exception of the tyrosine catabolite 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvic acid. Both O-GT and N-GT activities were enhanced in both plants and cultures treated with herbicide safeners, demonstrating the chemical inducibility of this detoxification system in Arabidopsis.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Aniline Compounds / metabolism*
  • Arabidopsis / enzymology*
  • Arabidopsis / genetics
  • Cloning, Molecular
  • Environmental Pollutants / metabolism*
  • Glycosyltransferases / chemistry
  • Glycosyltransferases / genetics
  • Glycosyltransferases / isolation & purification*
  • Glycosyltransferases / metabolism*
  • In Vitro Techniques
  • Inactivation, Metabolic
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Plant Roots / metabolism
  • Substrate Specificity

Substances

  • Aniline Compounds
  • Environmental Pollutants
  • 3,4-dichloroaniline
  • Glycosyltransferases

Associated data

  • RefSeq/NM_116337