Publications

• The path from beta-carotene to carlactone, a strigolactone-like plant hormone.

  Alder A., Jamil M., Marzorati M., Bruno M., Vermathen M., Bigler P., Ghisla S., Bouwmeester H., Beyer P., Al-Babili S.

  Strigolactones, phytohormones with diverse signaling activities, have a common structure consisting of two lactones connected by an enol-ether bridge. Strigolactones derive from carotenoids via a pathway involving the carotenoid cleavage dioxygenases 7 and 8 (CCD7 and CCD8) and the iron-binding pr ... >> More

  Strigolactones, phytohormones with diverse signaling activities, have a common structure consisting of two lactones connected by an enol-ether bridge. Strigolactones derive from carotenoids via a pathway involving the carotenoid cleavage dioxygenases 7 and 8 (CCD7 and CCD8) and the iron-binding protein D27. We show that D27 is a β-carotene isomerase that converts all-trans-β-carotene into 9-cis-β-carotene, which is cleaved by CCD7 into a 9-cis-configured aldehyde. CCD8 incorporates three oxygens into 9-cis-β-apo-10'-carotenal and performs molecular rearrangement, linking carotenoids with strigolactones and producing carlactone, a compound with strigolactone-like biological activities. Knowledge of the structure of carlactone will be crucial for understanding the biology of strigolactones and may have applications in combating parasitic weeds. << Less

  Science 335:1348-1351(2012) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

  This publication is cited by 3 other entries.

• MAX3/CCD7 is a carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase required for the synthesis of a novel plant signaling molecule.

  Booker J., Auldridge M., Wills S., McCarty D., Klee H., Leyser O.

  <h4>Background</h4>Plant development is exquisitely environmentally sensitive, with plant hormones acting as long-range signals that integrate developmental, genetic, and environmental inputs to regulate development. A good example of this is in the control of shoot branching, where wide variation ... >> More

  <h4>Background</h4>Plant development is exquisitely environmentally sensitive, with plant hormones acting as long-range signals that integrate developmental, genetic, and environmental inputs to regulate development. A good example of this is in the control of shoot branching, where wide variation in plant form can be generated in a single genotype in response to environmental and developmental cues.<h4>Results</h4>Here we present evidence for a novel plant signaling molecule involved in the regulation of shoot branching. We show that the MAX3 gene of Arabidopsis is required for the production of a graft-transmissible, highly active branch inhibitor that is distinct from any of the previously characterized branch-inhibiting hormones. Consistent with its proposed function in the synthesis of a novel signaling molecule, we show that MAX3 encodes a plastidic dioxygenase that can cleave multiple carotenoids.<h4>Conclusions</h4>We conclude that MAX3 is required for the synthesis of a novel carotenoid-derived long-range signal that regulates shoot branching. << Less

  Curr. Biol. 14:1232-1238(2004) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]