Full text
| |
| Author(s): |
Juliana Almeida Barros da Silva
Total Authors: 1
|
| Document type: | Doctoral Thesis |
| Press: | São Paulo. |
| Institution: | Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Biociências (IBIOC/SB) |
| Defense date: | 2015-08-28 |
| Examining board members: |
Maria Magdalena Rossi;
Paulo Cavalcanti Gomes Ferreira;
Marcia Maria Auxiliadora Naschenveng Pinheiro Margis;
Maria Lucia Carneiro Vieira
|
| Advisor: | Maria Magdalena Rossi |
| Abstract | |
Tocopherols, compounds with vitamin E activity, are lipid-soluble antioxidants exclusively synthesized by photosynthetic organisms. The formation of tocopherol involves the condensation of a chromanol group with an isoprenoid chain, derived from two possible metabolic pathways: from the de novo biosynthesis or from chlorophyll phytol tail recycling, which depends on phytol kinase (VTE5) activity. Understanding the mechanisms underlying synthesis and accumulation of vitamin E in crops is of great interest because of its implications for plant physiology and human health. Tomato fruit and its derivatives constitute a significant dietary source of VTE for humans. Beyond the nutritional value, tomato emerges as an interesting study model of the regulatory mechanisms underlying tocopherol biosynthesis, since fruit couples an active de novo synthesis of isoprenoids together with chlorophyll degradation along ripening. In a previous work, quantitative trait loci (QTL) for VTE content were identified in ripe fruits by tocopherol determination of α, β, μ and δ isoform levels in a population of Solanum pennellii introgression lines (IL). Candidate genes within QTL intervals were proposed, including some related to chlorophyll dephytylation and phytol metabolism, a CHLOROPHYLLASE (CLH) and a VTE5 homolog, named FARNESOL KINASE (FOLK). In this context, this work presents contributions to understanding the regulation of VTE biosynthesis in tomato. For this, different approachs were taken including: an initial characterization of transcriptional regulation of the genes involved in tocopherol biosynthesis along tomato development; the exploitation of genetic determinants involved in QTL for tocopherol from the transcriptional profile analyses of ILs; the integrated analyses of tocopherols metabolism changes and other isoprenoids in ripening impaired and chlorophyll degraded tomato mutants; and, finally, the detailed study of phytol metabolism by means of functional characterization of the genes encoding for VTE5, FOLK and CLH(1). Our results provide valuable insights into the mechanisms that control the VTE accumulation and also expose several cross-talks between the tocopherol metabolism and other metabolic pathways that, ultimately, impact on tomato physiology (AU) | |