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Cloning and characterization of a novel gene that encodes (S)-β-bisabolene synthase from ginger, Zingiber officinale

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An Erratum to this article was published on 07 April 2010

Abstract

Ginger, Zingiber officinale Roscoe, contains a fragrant oil mainly composed of sesquiterpenes and monoterpenes. We isolated a cDNA that codes for a sesquiterpene synthase from young rhizomes of ginger, Z. officinale Roscoe, Japanese cultivar “Kintoki”. The cDNA, designated ZoTps1, potentially encoded a protein that comprised 550 amino acid residues and exhibited 49–53% identity with those of the sesquiterpene synthases already isolated from the genus Zingiber. Recombinant Escherichia coli cells, in which ZoTps1 was coexpressed along with genes for d-mevalonate utilization, resulted in the production of a sesquiterpene (S)-β-bisabolene exclusively with a d-mevalonolactone supplement. This result indicated that ZoTps1 was the (S)-β-bisabolene synthase gene in ginger. ZoTPS1 was suggested to catalyze (S)-β-bisabolene formation with the conversion of farnesyl diphosphate to nerolidyl diphosphate followed by the cyclization between position 1 and 6 carbons. The ZoTps1 transcript was detected in young rhizomes, but not in leaves, roots and mature rhizomes of the ginger “Kintoki”.

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Abbreviations

FPP:

Farnesyl diphosphate

MVA:

Mevalonate

OPP:

Diphosphate moiety

ORF:

Open reading frame

RACE:

Rapid amplification of cDNA ends

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Acknowledgments

The authors express their sincere thanks to Mr. Hirofumi Kiyotou, Sakata Co. Ltd. (Kochi, Japan) for kindly providing seed rhizomes of the ginger “Kintoki” and for advice about plant cultivation. The authors are grateful to Dr. Yasuo Tanaka and Mr. Souta Hirase, Taiyo Corporation (Osaka, Japan) for giving advice on the identification of products. This work was supported in part by the Research and Development Program for New Bio-industry Initiatives (2006–2010) from the Bio-oriented Technology Research Advancement Institution (BRAIN) of Japan.

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Author notes

  1. Norihiko Misawa

    Present address: Research Institute for Bioresources and Biotechnology, Ishikawa Prefectural University, Nonoichi, Ishikawa, 921-8836, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Central Laboratories for Frontier Technology, Kirin Holdings Co. Ltd., i-BIRD, 3-570, Suematsu, Nonoichi, Ishikawa, 921-8836, Japan

    Masaki Fujisawa, Hisashi Harada & Norihiko Misawa

  2. Institute of Pharmacognosy, Tokushima Bunri University, Yamashiro, Tokushima, 770-8514, Japan

    Hiromichi Kenmoku

  3. Central Laboratories for Frontier Technology, Kirin Holdings Co. Ltd., 1-13-5, Fukuura, Kanazawa, Yokohama, 236-0004, Japan

    Satoru Mizutani

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  1. Masaki Fujisawa
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  2. Hisashi Harada
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  3. Hiromichi Kenmoku
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Correspondence to Norihiko Misawa.

Additional information

Accession number of the nucleotide sequence of ZoTps1 cDNA in this study is AB511914.

An erratum to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00425-010-1161-6

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Fujisawa, M., Harada, H., Kenmoku, H. et al. Cloning and characterization of a novel gene that encodes (S)-β-bisabolene synthase from ginger, Zingiber officinale . Planta 232, 121–130 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-010-1137-6

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