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Occurrence of theobromine synthase genes in purine alkaloid-free species of Camellia plants

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Abstract

Caffeine (1,3,7-trimethylxanthine) and theobromine (3,7-dimethylxanthine) are purine alkaloids that are present in high concentrations in plants of some species of Camellia. However, most members of the genus Camellia contain no purine alkaloids. Tracer experiments using [8-14C]adenine and [8-14C]theobromine showed that the purine alkaloid pathway is not fully functional in leaves of purine alkaloid-free species. In five species of purine alkaloid-free Camellia plants, sufficient evidence was obtained to show the occurrence of genes that are homologous to caffeine synthase. Recombinant enzymes derived from purine alkaloid-free species showed only theobromine synthase activity. Unlike the caffeine synthase gene, these genes were expressed more strongly in mature tissue than in young tissue.

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Abbreviations

NMT:

N-Methyltransferase

PCR:

Polymerase chain reaction

RACE:

Rapid amplification of cDNA ends

RT:

Reverse transcription

SAM:

S-Adenosyl-l-methionine

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Botanical Gardens, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo for suppling C. chrysantha. We also thank Ms. Y. Yoshida (Tokyo Metropolitan Agriculture and Forestry Research Center) for supplying C. sinensis. This work is supported by a Sasagawa Scientific Research Grant from the Japan Science Society (M.I.).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Humanities and Sciences, Ochanomizu University, Otsuka, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 112-8610, Japan

    Mariko Ishida & Misako Kato

  2. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Ochanomizu University, Otsuka, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 112-8610, Japan

    Naoko Kitao & Misako Kato

  3. Faculty of Bioresource of Science, Akita Prefectural University, Akita City, Akita, 010-0195, Japan

    Kouichi Mizuno

  4. National Institute of Floricultural Science, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8519, Japan

    Natsu Tanikawa

Authors
  1. Mariko Ishida
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  2. Naoko Kitao
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  3. Kouichi Mizuno
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  4. Natsu Tanikawa
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  5. Misako Kato
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Misako Kato.

Additional information

The nucleotide sequence data reported here have been deposited in the GenBank database under the accession numbers AB297451 (CjCS1), AB362882 (CgCS1), AB362883 (CgCS2), AB362884 (CkCS1), AB362885 (ClCS1), and AB362886 (CcCS2).

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Ishida, M., Kitao, N., Mizuno, K. et al. Occurrence of theobromine synthase genes in purine alkaloid-free species of Camellia plants. Planta 229, 559–568 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-008-0847-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-008-0847-5

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