Wax esters are neutral lipids composed of aliphatic alcohols and acids, with both moietiesusually long-chain (C16 and C18) or very-long-chain (C20 and longer) carbon structures. Theyhave diverse biological functions in bacteria, insects, mammals and terrestrial plants, and are alsoimportant substrates for a variety of industrial applications. In plants, wax esters are mostlyfound in the cuticles coating the primary shoot surfaces, but they also accumulate to highconcentrations in the seed oils of a few plant species, including jojoba, a desert shrub which isthe major commercial source of these compounds. Here we report the identification andcharacterization of WSD1, a member of the bifunctional wax ester synthase/diacylglycerolacyltransferase gene family, which plays a key role in wax ester synthesis in Arabidopsis stems,as first evidenced by severely reduced wax ester levels of in the stem wax of wsd1 mutants. Invitro assays using protein extracts from E. coli expressing WSD1 showed that this enzyme has ahigh level of WS activity, and approximately tenfold lower level of DGAT activity. Expressionof the WSD1 gene in Saccharomyces cerevisiae resulted in the accumulation of wax esters, butnot triacylglycerol, indicating that WSD1 predominantly functions as a wax synthase. Analysesof WSD1 expression revealed that this gene is transcribed in flowers, top parts of stems andleaves. Fully functional yellow fluorescent protein-tagged WSD1 protein was localized to theendoplasmic reticulum, demonstrating that biosynthesis of wax esters, the final products of thealcohol-forming pathway, occurs in this subcellular compartment.
Wax esters are neutral lipids composed of aliphatic alcohols and acids, with both moieties<br>usually long-chain (C16 and C18) or very-long-chain (C20 and longer) carbon structures. They<br>have diverse biological functions in bacteria, insects, mammals and terrestrial plants, and are also<br>important substrates for a variety of industrial applications. In plants, wax esters are mostly<br>found in the cuticles coating the primary shoot surfaces, but they also accumulate to high<br>concentrations in the seed oils of a few plant species, including jojoba, a desert shrub which is<br>the major commercial source of these compounds. Here we report the identification and<br>characterization of WSD1, a member of the bifunctional wax ester synthase/diacylglycerol<br>acyltransferase gene family, which plays a key role in wax ester synthesis in Arabidopsis stems,<br>as first evidenced by severely reduced wax ester levels of in the stem wax of wsd1 mutants. In<br>vitro assays using protein extracts from E. coli expressing WSD1 showed that this enzyme has a<br>high level of WS activity, and approximately tenfold lower level of DGAT activity. Expression<br>of the WSD1 gene in Saccharomyces cerevisiae resulted in the accumulation of wax esters, but<br>not triacylglycerol, indicating that WSD1 predominantly functions as a wax synthase. Analyses<br>of WSD1 expression revealed that this gene is transcribed in flowers, top parts of stems and<br>leaves. Fully functional yellow fluorescent protein-tagged WSD1 protein was localized to the<br>endoplasmic reticulum, demonstrating that biosynthesis of wax esters, the final products of the<br>alcohol-forming pathway, occurs in this subcellular compartment.
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