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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Metabolism and Chemodiversity
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1497345

Insights into the functional mechanisms of three terpene synthases from Lavandula angustifolia (Lavender)

Provisionally accepted
Dafeng Liu Dafeng Liu 1*Hongying Song Hongying Song 2Huashui Deng Huashui Deng 2Ablikim Abdiriyim Ablikim Abdiriyim 1Lvxia Zhang Lvxia Zhang 1Ziwei Jiao Ziwei Jiao 1Xueru Li Xueru Li 1Lu Liu Lu Liu 1Shuangqin Bai Shuangqin Bai 1
  • 1 Yili Normal University, Yili, China
  • 2 Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Lavender species are of significant economic value, being cultivated extensively worldwide for their essential oils (EOs), which include terpenes that play crucial roles in the cosmetic, personal care, and pharmaceutical industries. The terpene synthases in lavender, such as Lavandula angustifolia linalool synthase (LaLINS), limonene synthase (LaLIMS), and bergamotene synthase (LaBERS), are key enzymes in terpene biosynthesis. However, the functional mechanisms underlying these enzymes remain poorly understood. Here, we used AlphaFold2 to predict the three-dimensional structures of LaLINS, LaLIMS, and LaBERS. The hydrodynamic radius of LaLINS, LaLIMS and LaBERS were 5.7 ± 0.2 nm, 6.2 ± 0.3 nm, and 5.4 ± 0.2 nm, respectively. Mutations D320A or D324A led to a complete loss of activity in LaLINS compared to the wild-type (WT) enzyme; similarly, mutations D356A or D360A abolished activity in LaLIMS, and D291A or D295A eliminated activity in LaBERS. Furthermore, the genes LaLINS, LaLIMS, and LaBERS exhibited significantly higher expression levels 2/22

    Keywords: lavender, Lavandula angustifolia, terpene synthases, Gene Expression, Enzymatic activity assay

    Received: 19 Sep 2024; Accepted: 11 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Liu, Song, Deng, Abdiriyim, Zhang, Jiao, Li, Liu and Bai. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Dafeng Liu, Yili Normal University, Yili, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.