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A rubber transferase activator is necessary for natural rubber biosynthesis in dandelion

Nature Plants volume 1, Article number: 15048 (2015) Cite this article

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Abstract

High-molecular-mass natural rubber is a valuable plant-derived poly(cis-1,4-isoprene) with many industrial and medical applications. It is synthesized by a rubber cis-prenyltransferase (CPT) complex on the surface of rubber particles in specialized latex-producing cells known as laticifers. Here we show that Taraxacum brevicorniculatum rubber transferase activator (TbRTA), a dandelion homologue of the human Nogo-B receptor, is an essential component of the rubber transferase complex which interacts with rubber CPTs on the surface of rubber particles. The knockdown of TbRTA by RNA interference eliminated rubber biosynthesis, without affecting dolichol accumulation or protein glycosylation in the latex. We also found that TbRTA is localized on the endoplasmic reticulum membrane, supporting the current favoured model of rubber particle biogenesis. We therefore propose that TbRTA acts as a rubber CPT-binding protein that is necessary for the formation of an active rubber transferase complex.

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Figure 1: Characterization of TbRTA.
Figure 2: TbRTA localizes to the endoplasmic reticulum.
Figure 3: TbRTA interacts with TbCPT1–3.
Figure 4: Influence of TbRTA knockdown on rubber biosynthesis.
Figure 5: Influence of TbRTA knockdown on TbCPT/SRPP-expression, glycosylation status and dolichol content.
Figure 6: Proposed model of rubber transferase complexes on rubber particles.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the technical assistance of Daniela Ahlert, Ursula Malkus (Westphalian Wilhelms-University of Münster) and Christine Schwarz (Technische Universität München). We also thank William C. Sessa and Kariona Grabinska for providing the yeast strains. This work was supported by the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU, 13255) and the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (22002212).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, Westphalian Wilhelms-University of Münster, Schlossplatz 8, Münster, 48143, Germany

    Janina Epping, Nicole van Deenen, Eva Niephaus, Anna Stolze, Julia Fricke & Dirk Prüfer

  2. Department of Biochemistry, Technische Universität München, Garching, 85747, Germany

    Claudia Huber & Wolfgang Eisenreich

  3. TRM Ltd, PO Box 93, York, YO43 3WE, UK

    Richard M. Twyman

  4. Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology (IME), Schlossplatz 8, Münster, 48143, Germany

    Dirk Prüfer & Christian Schulze Gronover

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  1. Janina Epping
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Contributions

J.E., N.vD., J.F. and C.S.G. conceived and designed the experiments. J.E., J.F., N.vD., E.N., A.S. and C.S.G performed the experiments. C.S.G., R.T. and D.P. analysed the data. W.E. and C.H. contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools. J.E., N.vD., C.S.G. and R.T. wrote the paper.

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Correspondence to Christian Schulze Gronover.

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Epping, J., van Deenen, N., Niephaus, E. et al. A rubber transferase activator is necessary for natural rubber biosynthesis in dandelion. Nature Plants 1, 15048 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nplants.2015.48

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