Nonfluorescent chlorophyll catabolites (NCCs) were described as products of chlorophyll breakdown in Arabidopsis thaliana. NCCs are formyloxobilin-type catabolites derived from chlorophyll by oxygenolytic opening of the chlorin macrocycle. These linear tetrapyrroles are generated from their fluorescent chlorophyll catabolite (FCC) precursors by a nonenzymatic isomerization inside the vacuole of senescing cells. Here, we identified a group of distinct dioxobilin-type chlorophyll catabolites (DCCs) as the major breakdown products in wild-type Arabidopsis, representing more than 90% of the chlorophyll of green leaves. The molecular constitution of the most abundant nonfluorescent DCC (NDCC), At-NDCC-1, was determined. We further identified cytochrome P450 monooxygenase CYP89A9 as being responsible for NDCC accumulation in wild-type Arabidopsis; cyp89a9 mutants that are deficient in CYP89A9 function were devoid of NDCCs but accumulated proportionally higher amounts of NCCs. CYP89A9 localized outside the chloroplasts, implying that FCCs occurring in the cytosol might be its natural substrate. Using recombinant CYP89A9, we confirm FCC specificity and show that fluorescent DCCs are the products of the CYP89A9 reaction. Fluorescent DCCs, formed by this enzyme, isomerize to the respective NDCCs in weakly acidic medium, as found in vacuoles. We conclude that CYP89A9 is involved in the formation of dioxobilin-type catabolites of chlorophyll in Arabidopsis.

During leaf senescence, chlorophyll (Chl) is broken down to nonfluorescent chlorophyll catabolites (NCCs). These arise from intermediary fluorescent chlorophyll catabolites (FCCs) by an acid-catalyzed isomerization inside the vacuole. The chemical structures of NCCs from Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) indicate the presence of an enzyme activity that demethylates the C13 2 -carboxymethyl group present at the isocyclic ring of Chl. Here, we identified this activity as methylesterase family member 16 (MES16; At4g16690). During senescence, mes16 leaves exhibited a strong ultraviolet-excitable fluorescence, which resulted from large amounts of different FCCs accumulating in the mutants. As confirmed by mass spectrometry, these FCCs had an intact carboxymethyl group, which slowed down their isomerization to respective NCCs. Like a homologous protein cloned from radish (Raphanus sativus) and named pheophorbidase, MES16 catalyzed the demethylation of pheophorbide, an early intermediate of Chl breakdown, in vitro, but MES16 also demethylated an FCC. To determine the in vivo substrate of MES16, we analyzed pheophorbide a oxygenase1 (pao1), which is deficient in pheophorbide catabolism and accumulates pheophorbide in the chloroplast, and a mes16pao1 double mutant. In the pao1 background, we additionally mistargeted MES16 to the chloroplast. Normally, MES16 localizes to the cytosol, as shown by analysis of a MES16-green fluorescent protein fusion. Analysis of the accumulating pigments in these lines revealed that pheophorbide is only accessible for demethylation when MES16 is targeted to the chloroplast. Together, these data demonstrate that MES16 is an integral component of Chl breakdown in Arabidopsis and specifically demethylates Chl catabolites at the level of FCCs in the cytosol.

Diosgenin is a spiroketal steroidal natural product extracted from plants and used as the single most important precursor for the world steroid hormone industry. The sporadic occurrences of diosgenin in distantly related plants imply possible independent biosynthetic origins. The characteristic 5,6-spiroketal moiety in diosgenin is reminiscent of the spiroketal moiety present in anthelmintic avermectins isolated from actinomycete bacteria. How plants gained the ability to biosynthesize spiroketal natural products is unknown. Here, we report the diosgenin-biosynthetic pathways in himalayan paris ( Paris polyphylla ), a monocot medicinal plant with hemostatic and antibacterial properties, and fenugreek ( Trigonella foenum–graecum ), an eudicot culinary herb plant commonly used as a galactagogue. Both plants have independently recruited pairs of cytochromes P450 that catalyze oxidative 5,6-spiroketalization of cholesterol to produce diosgenin, with evolutionary progenitors traced to conserved phytohormone metabolism. This study paves the way for engineering the production of diosgenin and derived analogs in heterologous hosts.

ORCID IDs: 0000-0002-0044-0490 (M.H.); 0000-0002-7598-3609 (S.A.) Chlorophyll degradation is the most obvious hallmark of leaf senescence. Phyllobilins, linear tetrapyrroles that are derived from opening of the chlorin macrocycle by the Rieske-type oxygenase PHEOPHORBIDE a OXYGENASE (PAO), are the end products of chlorophyll degradation. Phyllobilins carry defined modifications at several peripheral positions within the tetrapyrrole backbone. While most of these modifications are species-specific, hydroxylation at the C3 2 position is commonly found in all species analyzed to date. We demonstrate that this hydroxylation occurs in senescent chloroplasts of Arabidopsis thaliana. Using bell pepper (Capsicum annuum) chromoplasts, we establish that phyllobilin hydroxylation is catalyzed by a membrane-bound, molecular oxygen-dependent, and ferredoxin-dependent activity. As these features resemble the requirements of PAO, we considered membrane-bound Rieske-type oxygenases as potential candidates. Analysis of mutants of the two Arabidopsis Rieske-type oxygenases (besides PAO) uncovered that phyllobilin hydroxylation depends on TRANSLOCON AT THE INNER CHLOROPLAST ENVELOPE55 (TIC55). Our work demonstrates a catalytic activity for TIC55, which in the past has been considered as a redox sensor of protein import into plastids. Given the wide evolutionary distribution of both PAO and TIC55, we consider that chlorophyll degradation likely coevolved with land plants.

Chlorophyll breakdown is the most obvious sign of leaf senescence and fruit ripening. A multistep pathway has been elucidated in recent years that can be divided into two major parts. In the first phase, which commonly is active in higher plants, chlorophyll is converted via several photoreactive intermediates to a primary colorless breakdown product within the chloroplast. The second part of chlorophyll breakdown takes place in the cytosol and the vacuole. During this phase, the primary colorless intermediate is modified in largely species-specific reactions to a number of similar, yet structurally different, linear tetrapyrrolic products that finally are stored within the vacuole of senescing cells. To date, most of the biochemical reactions of the first phase of chlorophyll breakdown have been elucidated and genes have been identified. By contrast, mechanisms of catabolite transport and modification during the second phase are largely unknown. This review summarizes the current knowledge on the biochemical reactions involved in chlorophyll breakdown, with a special focus on the second-phase reactions and the fate of by-products that are released from chlorophyll during its breakdown. Chlorophyll breakdown is the most obvious sign of leaf senescence and fruit ripening. A multi-step pathway has 12 been elucidated in recent years that can be divided into two major parts. In the first phase that is commonly 63Taken together, these data suggest that NYC1 and NOL do not participate actively to Chl a/b ratio regulation 81There are strong evidences that the first step of Chl b degradation is its conversion to Chl a. The main argument 82 is that PAO is specific for the "a" form of Pheide (Hörtensteiner et al. 1995;Pružinská et al. 2003 210The enzymatic activities responsible for opening of the Pheide macrocycle and production of pFCC were 211 originally detected in isolated intact gerontoplasts and were shown to be promoted by the supply of glucose-6-212 phosphate or ATP (Schellenberg et al. 1990;Matile et al. 1992). Later, pFCC production from Pheide was shown 213 to be possible in vitro by using isolated thylakoid membranes and reduced ferredoxin (Schellenberg et al. 1993; 214 Ginsburg et al. 1994). Partial purification of this activity from Brassica napus revealed its dependency on a 215 stromal fraction, senescence inducibility and specificity towards Pheide a, i. e. Pheide b not being a substrate (Hörtensteiner et al. 1995). Dependency of the activity on a stromal fraction was explained by the finding that (Fig. 2). Chl degradation starts in the chloroplast and ends in the vacuole (Fig. 2). Therefore, two translocation systems During leaf senescence, one mole of degraded Chl leads to the production of one mole of colorless catabolites. 216 426Within the chloroplast this leads to the release of magnesium and phytol as by-products (Fig. 1). Magnesium is 427 thought to be reallocated to growing tissues together with other metal ions set free during the degradation of 428 thylakoid components...

Colorless nonfluorescent chlorophyll (Chl) catabolites (NCCs) are formyloxobilin-type phyllobilins, which are considered the typical products of Chl breakdown in senescent leaves. However, in degreened leaves of some plants, dioxobilin-type Chl catabolites (DCCs) predominate, which lack the formyl group of the NCCs, and which arise from Chl catabolites by oxidative removal of the formyl group by a P450 enzyme. Here a structural investigation of the DCCs in the methylesterase16 mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana is reported. Eight new DCCs were identified and characterized structurally. Strikingly, three of these DCCs carry stereospecifically added hydroxymethyl groups, and represent bilin-type linear tetrapyrroles with an unprecedented modification. Indeed, DCCs show a remarkable structural parallel, otherwise, to the bilins from heme breakdown.

Chlorophyll breakdown occurs in different green plant tissues (e.g. during leaf senescence and in ripening fruits). For different plant species, the PHEOPHORBIDE A OXYGENASE (PAO)/phyllobilin pathway has been described to be the major chlorophyll catabolic pathway. In this pathway, pheophorbide (i.e. magnesium-and phytol-free chlorophyll) occurs as a core intermediate. Most of the enzymes involved in the PAO/phyllobilin pathway are known; however, the mechanism of dephytylation remains uncertain. During Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) leaf senescence, phytol hydrolysis is catalyzed by PHEOPHYTINASE (PPH), which is specific for pheophytin (i.e. magnesium-free chlorophyll). By contrast, in fruits of different Citrus spp., chlorophyllase, hydrolyzing phytol from chlorophyll, was shown to be active. Here, we enlighten the process of chlorophyll breakdown in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), both in leaves and fruits. We demonstrate the activity of the PAO/phyllobilin pathway and identify tomato PPH (SlPPH), which, like its Arabidopsis ortholog, was specifically active on pheophytin. SlPPH localized to chloroplasts and was transcriptionally up-regulated during leaf senescence and fruit ripening. SlPPH-silencing tomato lines were impaired in chlorophyll breakdown and accumulated pheophytin during leaf senescence. However, although pheophytin transiently accumulated in ripening fruits of SlPPH-silencing lines, ultimately these fruits were able to degrade chlorophyll like the wild type. We conclude that PPH is the core phytol-hydrolytic enzyme during leaf senescence in different plant species; however, fruit ripening involves other hydrolases, which are active in parallel to PPH or are the core hydrolases in fruits. These hydrolases remain unidentified, and we discuss the question of whether chlorophyllases might be involved.

1‐Formyl‐19‐oxobilin‐type tetrapyrroles are characteristic, abundant products of chlorophyll breakdown in senescent leaves. However, in some leaves, 1,19‐dioxobilin‐type chlorophyll catabolites (DCCs) lacking the formyl group accumulate instead. A P450 enzyme was identified in in vitro studies that removed the formyl group of a primary fluorescent chlorophyll catabolite (pFCC) and generated fluorescent DCCs. These DCCs are precursors of isomeric nonfluorescent DCCs (NDCCs). Here, we report a structural investigation of the NDCCs in senescent leaves of wild‐type Arabidopsis thaliana. Four new NDCCs were characterized, two of which carried a stereoselectively added hydroxymethyl group. Such formal DCC hydroxymethylations were previously found in DCCs in leaves of a mutant of A. thaliana. They are now indicated to be a feature of chlorophyll breakdown in A. thaliana, associated with the specific in vivo deformylation of pFCC en route to NDCCs.