Cytochrome P450 93G1 Is a Flavone Synthase II That Channels Flavanones to the Biosynthesis of Tricin O-Linked Conjugates in Rice

Pui Ying Lam; Fu-Yuan Zhu; Wai Lung Chan; Hongjia Liu; Clive Lo

doi:10.1104/pp.114.239723

Cytochrome P450 93G1 Is a Flavone Synthase II That Channels Flavanones to the Biosynthesis of Tricin O-Linked Conjugates in Rice

Plant Physiol. 2014 Jul;165(3):1315-1327. doi: 10.1104/pp.114.239723. Epub 2014 May 19.

Authors

Pui Ying Lam¹, Fu-Yuan Zhu¹, Wai Lung Chan¹, Hongjia Liu¹, Clive Lo²

Affiliations

¹ School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China (P.Y.L., F.-Y.Z., W.L.C., C.L.); andState Key Laboratory Breeding Base for Zhejiang Sustainable Pest and Disease Control, Institute of Crops and Nuclear Technology Utilization, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310021, China (H.L.).
² School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China (P.Y.L., F.-Y.Z., W.L.C., C.L.); andState Key Laboratory Breeding Base for Zhejiang Sustainable Pest and Disease Control, Institute of Crops and Nuclear Technology Utilization, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310021, China (H.L.) clivelo@hku.hk.

Abstract

Flavones are a major class of flavonoids with a wide range of physiological functions in plants. They are constitutively accumulated as C-glycosides and O-linked conjugates in vegetative tissues of grasses. It has long been presumed that the two structural modifications of flavones occur through independent metabolic routes. Previously, we reported that cytochrome P450 93G2 (CYP93G2) functions as a flavanone 2-hydroxylase (F2H) that provides 2-hydroxyflavanones for C-glycosylation in rice (Oryza sativa). Flavone C-glycosides are subsequently formed by dehydratase activity on 2-hydroxyflavanone C-glycosides. On the other hand, O-linked modifications were proposed to proceed after the flavone nucleus is generated. In this study, we demonstrate that CYP93G1, the closest homolog of CYP93G2 in rice, is a bona fide flavone synthase II (FNSII) that catalyzes the direct conversion of flavanones to flavones. In recombinant enzyme assays, CYP93G1 desaturated naringenin and eriodictyol to apigenin and luteolin, respectively. Consistently, transgenic expression of CYP93G1 in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) resulted in the accumulation of different flavone O-glycosides, which are not naturally present in cruciferous plants. Metabolite analysis of a rice CYP93G1 insertion mutant further demonstrated the preferential depletion of tricin O-linked flavanolignans and glycosides. By contrast, redirection of metabolic flow to the biosynthesis of flavone C-glycosides was observed. Our findings established that CYP93G1 is a key branch point enzyme channeling flavanones to the biosynthesis of tricin O-linked conjugates in rice. Functional diversification of F2H and FNSII in the cytochrome P450 CYP93G subfamily may represent a lineage-specific event leading to the prevalent cooccurrence of flavone C- and O-linked derivatives in grasses today.