A simple in vitro assay to measure the activity of geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase and other short-chain prenyltransferases

M. Victoria Barja, Manuel Rodríguez-Concepción*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Most carotenoids are C40 metabolites produced from C20 geranylgeranyl diphosphate (GGPP). The enzymes that produce this precursor, GGPP synthases (GGPPS), are members of the short-chain prenyltransferase (SC-PT) family. SC-PTs are enzymes that catalyze the sequential head-to-tail addition of one or more C5 molecules of isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP) to dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP) with the concomitant release of pyrophosphate (PPi). SC-PTs produce linear isoprenyl diphosphates of up to C20 (GGPP) that serve as precursors for many groups of isoprenoids with a wide range of essential biological functions in Eucarya, Bacteria, and Archaea. Enzymatic analysis of SC-PT activity normally requires complex, laborious and expensive methods such as radioactivity-based assays or liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Here we describe a fast and inexpensive spectrophotometric protocol for determining the kinetic parameters of SC-PTs in purified enzyme preparations, using an adapted assay for PPi quantification. We developed the method using the Arabidopsis thaliana GGPPS11 enzyme, which produces geranylgeranyl diphosphate for the synthesis of carotenoids in the chloroplast.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationPlant and food carotenoids
Subtitle of host publicationmethods and protocols
EditorsManuel Rodrıguez-Concepcion, Ralf Welsch
Place of PublicationNew York, NY
PublisherSpringer, Springer Nature
Chapter2
Pages27-38
Number of pages12
ISBN (Electronic)9781493999521
ISBN (Print)9781493999514
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2020
Externally publishedYes

Publication series

NameMethods in molecular biology
PublisherHumana Press
Volume2083
ISSN (Print)1064-3745

Keywords

  • Carotenoids
  • EnzChek kit
  • Enzymatic activity
  • Geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase
  • GGPP
  • Isoprenoids
  • Isoprenyl diphosphate synthases
  • Kinetic parameters
  • Short-chain prenyltransferases

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