Detoxification of the Fusarium mycotoxin deoxynivalenol by a UDP-glucosyltransferase from Arabidopsis thaliana

J Biol Chem. 2003 Nov 28;278(48):47905-14. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M307552200. Epub 2003 Sep 11.

Abstract

Plant pathogenic fungi of the genus Fusarium cause agriculturally important diseases of small grain cereals and maize. Trichothecenes are a class of mycotoxins produced by different Fusarium species that inhibit eukaryotic protein biosynthesis and presumably interfere with the expression of genes induced during the defense response of the plants. One of its members, deoxynivalenol, most likely acts as a virulence factor during fungal pathogenesis and frequently accumulates in grain to levels posing a threat to human and animal health. We report the isolation and characterization of a gene from Arabidopsis thaliana encoding a UDP-glycosyltransferase that is able to detoxify deoxynivalenol. The enzyme, previously assigned the identifier UGT73C5, catalyzes the transfer of glucose from UDP-glucose to the hydroxyl group at carbon 3 of deoxynivalenol. Using a wheat germ extract-coupled transcription/translation system we have shown that this enzymatic reaction inactivates the mycotoxin. This deoxynivalenol-glucosyltransferase (DOGT1) was also found to detoxify the acetylated derivative 15-acetyl-deoxynivalenol, whereas no protective activity was observed against the structurally similar nivalenol. Expression of the glucosyltransferase is developmentally regulated and induced by deoxynivalenol as well as salicylic acid, ethylene, and jasmonic acid. Constitutive overexpression in Arabidopsis leads to enhanced tolerance against deoxynivalenol.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Arabidopsis / enzymology*
  • Arabidopsis / microbiology
  • Arabidopsis Proteins
  • Carbon / chemistry
  • Cloning, Molecular
  • DNA, Complementary / metabolism
  • Escherichia coli / metabolism
  • Fusarium / metabolism*
  • Fusarium / pathogenicity
  • Gene Library
  • Genetic Vectors
  • Glucosyltransferases / chemistry*
  • Glucosyltransferases / metabolism*
  • Glutathione Transferase / metabolism
  • Glycosylation
  • Mass Spectrometry
  • Models, Chemical
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Mycotoxins / metabolism*
  • Phenotype
  • Promoter Regions, Genetic
  • Protein Conformation
  • RNA, Messenger / metabolism
  • Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Ribosomes / metabolism
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Transgenes
  • Trichothecenes / metabolism*
  • Uridine Diphosphate Glucose / metabolism

Substances

  • Arabidopsis Proteins
  • DNA, Complementary
  • Mycotoxins
  • RNA, Messenger
  • Trichothecenes
  • Carbon
  • Dogt1 protein, Arabidopsis
  • Glucosyltransferases
  • Glutathione Transferase
  • deoxynivalenol
  • Uridine Diphosphate Glucose