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9-cis-β-Apo-10ʹ-carotenal is the precursor of strigolactones in planta

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Abstract

Main conclusion

13C-isotope feeding experiments demonstrate that the apocarotenoid 9-cis-β-apo-10ʹ-carotenal is the precursor of several strigolactones in rice, providing a direct, in planta evidence for its role in strigolactone biosynthesis.

Abstract

Strigolactones (SLs) are plant hormone that regulates plant architecture and mediates rhizospheric communications. Previous in vitro studies using heterogously produced enzymes unraveled the conversion of all-trans-β-carotene via the intermediate 9-cis-β-apo-10ʹ-carotenal into the SL precursor carlactone. However, a direct evidence for the formation of SLs from 9-cis-β-apo-10ʹ-carotenal is still missing. To provide this evidence, we supplied rice seedlings with 13C-labeled 9-cis-β-apo-10ʹ-carotenal and analyzed their SLs by LC–MS. Our results show that 9-cis-β-apo-10ʹ-carotenal is the SL precursor in planta and reveal, for the first time, the application of labeled long-chain apocarotenoids as a promising approach to investigate apocarotenoid metabolism and the genesis of carotenoid-derived growth regulators and signaling molecules.

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All data needed to evaluate the conclusions in the paper are present in the paper and/or the Supplementary Materials.

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Acknowledgements

We sincerely thank the support from the members of KAUST Analytical Core Lab and the Bioactives lab. This work was supported by baseline funding given to S. A-B from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). We thank Dr. Abdel Gabbar Babiker for providing Striga hermonthica seeds.

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Author notes

  1. Guan-Ting Erica Chen and Jian You Wang contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The BioActives Lab, Center for Desert Agriculture, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia

    Guan-Ting Erica Chen, Jian You Wang, Muhammad Jamil, Justine Braguy & Salim Al-Babili

  2. The Plant Science Program, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia

    Guan-Ting Erica Chen & Salim Al-Babili

Authors
  1. Guan-Ting Erica Chen
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  2. Jian You Wang
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  3. Muhammad Jamil
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  4. Justine Braguy
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  5. Salim Al-Babili
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Correspondence to Salim Al-Babili.

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Communicated by Anastasios Melis.

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Chen, GT.E., Wang, J.Y., Jamil, M. et al. 9-cis-β-Apo-10ʹ-carotenal is the precursor of strigolactones in planta. Planta 256, 88 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-022-03999-9

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