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Molecular Characterization of a Recombinant Zea mays Phenylalanine Ammonia-Lyase (ZmPAL2) and Its Application in trans-Cinnamic Acid Production from l-Phenylalanine

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Abstract

Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) is one of the most extensively studied enzymes with its crucial role in secondary phenylpropanoid metabolism of plants. Recently, its demand has been increased for aromatic chemical production, but its applications in trans-cinnamic acid production were not much explored. In the present study, a putative PAL gene from Zea mays designated as ZmPAL2 was expressed and characterized in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). The recombinant ZmPAL2 exhibited a high PAL activity (7.14 U/mg) and a weak tyrosine ammonia-lyase activity. The optimal temperature of ZmPAL2 was 55 °C, and the thermal stability results showed that about 50 % of enzyme activity remained after a treatment at 60 °C for 6 h. The recombinant ZmPAL2 is a good candidate for the production of trans-cinnamic acid. The vitro conversion indicated that the recombinant ZmPAL2 could effectively catalyze the l-phenylalanine to trans-cinnamic acid, and the trans-cinnamic acid concentration can reach up to 5 g/l.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31200443), Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (NCET-11-0988), and Excellent Youth Foundation of Jiangsu Province of China (BK2012038). The authors are also grateful to National Science and Technology Support Program (2012BAD32B06) and PAPD for partial funding of this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Forestry, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, People’s Republic of China

    Ying Zang

  2. College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, People’s Republic of China

    Ting Jiang, Ying Cong, Zhaojuan Zheng & Jia Ouyang

  3. Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Biomass-based Green Fuels and Chemicals, Nanjing, 210037, People’s Republic of China

    Jia Ouyang

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Correspondence to Jia Ouyang.

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Zang, Y., Jiang, T., Cong, Y. et al. Molecular Characterization of a Recombinant Zea mays Phenylalanine Ammonia-Lyase (ZmPAL2) and Its Application in trans-Cinnamic Acid Production from l-Phenylalanine. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 176, 924–937 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-015-1620-4

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