A key enzyme of animal steroidogenesis can function in plants enhancing their immunity and accelerating the processes of growth and development

BMC Plant Biology

Research

Ekaterina N. Baranova¹  Marat R. Khaliluev²  Alexander V. Kilchevsky³  Olga G. Babak³  Svetlana V. Kubrak³  Svetlana G. Spivak⁴  Irina N. Berdichevets⁵  Elena K. Shematorova⁶  Dmitry G. Shpakovski⁶  Andrey V. Aralov⁶  Ivan Yu. Slovokhotov⁶  George V. Shpakovski⁶ 

[1] All-Russia Research Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology, Moscow, Russia;All-Russia Research Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology, Moscow, Russia;Russian State Agrarian University – Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy, Moscow, Russia;Institute of Genetics and Cytology, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Minsk, Belarus;Institute of Genetics and Cytology, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Minsk, Belarus;Belarusian State Medical University, Minsk, Belarus;Institute of Genetics and Cytology, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Minsk, Belarus;Timiryazev Institute of Plant Physiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia;Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia;

关键词: Transgenic plants;    Cytochrome P450 (CYP11A1);    Tobacco;    Botrytis cinerea;    Progesterone;    Mitochondria;    Tomato;    Abiotic stresses;    Steroid hormones;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12870-017-1123-2

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe initial stage of the biosynthesis of steroid hormones in animals occurs in the mitochondria of steroidogenic tissues, where cytochrome P450SCC (CYP11A1) encoded by the CYP11A1 gene catalyzes the conversion of cholesterol into pregnenolone – the general precursor of all the steroid hormones, starting with progesterone. This stage is missing in plants where mitochondrial cytochromes P450 (the mito CYP clan) have not been found. Generating transgenic plants with a mitochondrial type P450 from animals would offer an interesting option to verify whether plant mitochondria could serve as another site of P450 monooxygenase reaction for the steroid hormones biosynthesis.ResultsFor a more detailed comparison of steroidogenic systems of Plantae and Animalia, we have created and studied transgenic tobacco and tomato plants efficiently expressing mammalian CYP11A1 cDNA. The detailed phenotypic characterization of plants obtained has shown that through four generations studied, the transgenic tobacco plants have reduced a period of vegetative development (early flowering and maturation of bolls), enlarged biomass and increased productivity (quantity and quality of seeds) as compared to the only empty-vector containing or wild type plants. Moreover, the CYP11A1 transgenic plants show resistance to such fungal pathogen as Botrytis cinerea. Similar valuable phenotypes (the accelerated course of ontogenesis and/or stress resistance) are also visible in two clearly distinct transgenic tomato lines expressing CYP11A1 cDNA: one line (No. 4) has an accelerated rate of vegetative development, while the other (No. 7) has enhanced immunity to abiotic and biotic stresses. The progesterone level in transgenic tobacco and tomato leaves is 3–5 times higher than in the control plants of the wild type.ConclusionsFor the first time, we could show the compatibility in vivo of even the most specific components of the systems of biosynthesis of steroid hormones in Plantae and Animalia. The hypothesis is proposed and substantiated that the formation of the above-noted special phenotypes of transgenic plants expressing mammalian CYP11A1 cDNA is due to the increased biosynthesis of progesterone that can be considered as a very ancient bioregulator of plant cells and the first real hormone common to plants and animals.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2017