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The ‘mustard oil bomb’: not so easy to assemble?! Localization, expression and distribution of the components of the myrosinase enzyme system

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Abstract

Glucosinolates are plant secondary metabolites that are hydrolysed by the action of myrosinases into various products (isothiocyanates, thiocyanates, epithionitriles, nitriles, oxazolidines). Massive hydrolysis of glucosinolates occurs only upon tissue damage but there is also evidence indicating metabolism of glucosinolates in intact plant tissues. It was originally believed that the glucosinolate–myrosinase system in intact plants was stable due to a spatial separation of the components. This has been coined as the ‘mustard oil bomb’ theory. Proteins that form complexes with myrosinases have been described: myrosinase-binding proteins (MBPs) and myrosinase-associated proteins (MyAPs/ESM). The roles of these proteins and their biological relevance are not yet completely known. Other proteins of the myrosinase enzyme system are the epithiospecifier protein (ESP) and the thiocyanate-forming protein (TFP) that divert the glucosinolate hydrolysis from isothiocyanate production to nitrile/epithionitrile or thiocyanate production. Some glucosinolate hydrolysis products act as plant defence compounds against insects and pathogens or have beneficial health effects on humans. In this review, we survey and critically assess the available information concerning the localization, both at the tissular/cellular and subcellular level, of the different components of the myrosinase enzyme system. Data from the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana is compared to that from other glucosinolate-producing Brassicaceae in order to show common as well as divergent features of the ‘mustard oil bomb’ among these species.

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Abbreviations

CaMV35S:

35S promoter of the cauliflower mosaic virus

EM:

Electron microscopy

ER:

Endoplasmic reticulum

ESM:

Epithiospecifier modifier

ESP:

Epithiospecifier protein

GFP:

Green fluorescent protein

GUS:

β-glucuronidase

iMyAP:

Inducible myrosinase-associated protein

MBP:

Myrosinase-binding protein

MBPRP:

Myrosinase-binding protein-related protein

MyAP:

Myrosinase-associated protein

TEM:

Transmission electron microscope

TGG:

Thioglucoside glucohydrolase

TFP:

Thiocyanate-forming protein

Myrosin grain:

Myrosin cell protein body

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Biotechnology and Functional genomics (FUGE) programmes of the Norwegian Research Council and ERA-PG through grants NFR 182897, 185173 and 175691.

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Correspondence to Atle M. Bones.

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Kissen, R., Rossiter, J.T. & Bones, A.M. The ‘mustard oil bomb’: not so easy to assemble?! Localization, expression and distribution of the components of the myrosinase enzyme system. Phytochem Rev 8, 69–86 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11101-008-9109-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11101-008-9109-1

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