Affiliation:
1. Department of Biological Sciences, Ochanomizu University, Tokyo, 112-8610 Japan
Abstract
The comparative analysis of two Phytolacca americana DOPA dioxygenases (PaDOD1 and PaDOD2) that may be involved in betalain biosynthesis was carried out. The recombinant protein of PaDOD1 catalyzed the conversion of DOPA to betalamic acid, whereas DOD activity was not detected in PaDOD2 in vitro. The role of DOD genes is discussed in the evolutionary context using phylogenetic analysis, suggesting that DOD might have been duplicated early in evolution and that accumulation of base substitutions could have led to the different characteristics of DODs within the betalain-producing Caryophyllales.
Subject
Complementary and alternative medicine,Plant Science,Drug Discovery,Pharmacology,General Medicine