skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Structural Insights into Maize Viviparous14, a Key Enzyme in the Biosynthesis of the Phytohormone Abscisic Acid W

Journal Article · · Plant Cell

The key regulatory step in the biosynthesis of abscisic acid (ABA), a hormone central to the regulation of several important processes in plants, is the oxidative cleavage of the 11,12 double bond of a 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid. The enzyme viviparous14 (VP14) performs this cleavage in maize (Zea mays), making it a target for the rational design of novel chemical agents and genetic modifications that improve plant behavior through the modulation of ABA levels. The structure of VP14, determined to 3.2-{angstrom} resolution, provides both insight into the determinants of regio- and stereospecificity of this enzyme and suggests a possible mechanism for oxidative cleavage. Furthermore, mutagenesis of the distantly related CCD1 of maize shows how the VP14 structure represents a template for all plant carotenoid cleavage dioxygenases (CCDs). In addition, the structure suggests how VP14 associates with the membrane as a way of gaining access to its membrane soluble substrate.

Research Organization:
Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). National Synchrotron Light Source
Sponsoring Organization:
DOE - OFFICE OF SCIENCE
DOE Contract Number:
DE-AC02-98CH10886
OSTI ID:
1020156
Report Number(s):
BNL-96006-2011-JA; TRN: US201116%%136
Journal Information:
Plant Cell, Vol. 22, Issue 9; ISSN 1040-4651
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English