The three aromatic amino acids phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan are synthesized in the plastids of higher plants. There is, however, biochemical evidence that a cytosolic isoform exists of the enzyme catalysing the first step of that branch of the pathway which is specific for the synthesis of phenylalanine and tyrosine, i.e. chorismate mutase (CM). We now report on the isolation of a cDNA clone encoding a cytosolic CM isozyme from Arabidopsis thaliana that was identified by complementing a CM-deficient Escherichia coli strain. The deduced amino acid sequence of this isozyme was 50% identical to that of a previously isolated plastidic CM, and 41% identical to that of yeast CM. The organ-specific expression patterns of the two CM genes were rather similar, but only the gene encoding the plastidic isozyme was elicitor- and pathogen-inducible. The plastidic CM expressed in E. coli was activated by tryptophan and inhibited by phenylalanine and tyrosine, whereas the cytosolic isozyme was insensitive. The existence of a cytosolic CM isozyme implies that either a cytosolic pathway (partial or complete) for the biosynthesis of phenylalanine and tyrosine exists, or that prephenate, originating from chorismate in the cytosol, is utilized for the synthesis of metabolites other than these two aromatic amino acids.

Chorismate mutase (EC 5.4.99.5) catalyzes the first step in the branch of the shikimate pathway which leads to the aromatic amino acids, phenylalanine and tyrosine. We have isolated a cDNA for this enzyme from the higher plant, Arabidopsis thaliana, by complementing a yeast strain (aro7) with a cDNA library from A. thaliana. This is the first chorismate mutase cDNA isolated from a plant. It encodes a protein of 334 amino acids. The identity of the deduced amino acid sequence is 41% to the chorismate mutase sequence from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The N-terminal portion of the deduced amino acid sequence has no homology to the S. eerevisiae sequence but resembles known plastid-specific transit peptides. The A. thaliana chorismate mutase expressed in yeast revealed allosteric control by the three aromatic amino acids, as previously described for plastidic chorismate mutase isozymes.

A cDNA coding for chorismate mutase was isolated from tomato by complementing a chorismate mutase-deficient Escherichia coli strain with a cDNA library. Southern blot analysis suggests the existence of a single gene of this chorismate mutase type per haploid tomato genome. The abundance of the corresponding transcripts was highest in roots, lower in stems and cotyledons, and even lower in flowers and leaves. The activity of the protein expressed in E. coli was not regulated by the three aromatic amino acids. Characteristics of the sequence and of the enzymatic activity suggest that the identified cDNA encodes a cytosolic, unregulated CM-2 type chorismate mutase.

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