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Functional specialization of one copy of glutamine phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate amidotransferase in ureide production from symbiotically fixed nitrogen in Phaseolus vulgaris
Author(s) -
Coleto Inmaculada,
Trenas Almudena T.,
Erban Alexander,
Kopka Joachim,
Pineda Manuel,
Alamillo Josefa M.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
plant, cell and environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.646
H-Index - 200
eISSN - 1365-3040
pISSN - 0140-7791
DOI - 10.1111/pce.12743
Subject(s) - phaseolus , glutamine amidotransferase , purine metabolism , biochemistry , pyrimidine metabolism , purine , biology , glutamine , nitrogen fixation , glutamine synthetase , root nodule , gene , chemistry , enzyme , genetics , botany , amino acid , bacteria
Purines are essential molecules formed in a highly regulated pathway in all organisms. In tropical legumes, the nitrogen fixed in the nodules is used to generate ureides through the oxidation of de novo synthesized purines. Glutamine phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate amidotransferase (PRAT) catalyses the first committed step of de novo purine synthesis. In Phaseolus vulgaris there are three genes coding for PRAT. The three full‐length sequences, which are intron‐less genes, were cloned, and their expression levels were determined under conditions that affect the synthesis of purines. One of the three genes, PvPRAT3 , is highly expressed in nodules and protein amount and enzymatic activity in these tissues correlate with nitrogen fixation activity. Inhibition of PvPRAT3 gene expression by RNAi‐silencing and subsequent metabolomic analysis of the transformed roots shows that PvPRAT3 is essential for the synthesis of ureides in P . vulgaris nodules.