Biosynthesis of malonylated flavonoid glycosides on the basis of malonyltransferase activity in the petals of Clitoria ternatea.

The crude malonyltransferase from the petals of Clitoria ternatea was characterized enzymatically to investigate its role on the biosynthetic pathways of anthocyanins and flavonol glycosides. In C. ternatea, a blue flower cultivars (DB) and mauve flower variety (WM) accumulate polyacylated anthocyanins (ternatins) and delphinidin 3-O-(6''-O-malonyl)-beta-glucoside which is one of the precursors of ternatins, respectively. Moreover, WM accumulates minor delphinidin glycosides - 3-O-beta-glucoside, 3-O-(2''-O-alpha-rhamnosyl)-beta-glucoside, 3-O-(2''-O-alpha-rhamnosyl-6''-O-malonyl)-beta-glucoside of delphinidin. These glycosidic patterns for minor anthocyanins in WM are also found among the minor flavonol glycosides in all the varieties including a white flower variety (WW) although the major flavonol glycosides are 3-O-(2''-O-alpha-rhamnosyl)-beta-glucoside, 3-O-(6''-O-alpha-rhamnosyl)-beta-glucoside, 3-O-(2'',6''-di-O-alpha-rhamnosyl)-beta-glucoside of kaempferol, quercetin, and myricetin. How do the enzymatic characteristics affect the variety of glycosidic patterns in the flavonoid glycoside biosynthesis among these varieties? While the enzyme from DB highly preferred delphinidin 3-O-beta-glucoside in the presence of malonyl-CoA, it also has a preference for other anthocyanidin 3-O-beta-glucosides. It could use flavonol 3-O-beta-glucosides in much lower specific activities than anthocyanins; however, it could not utilize 3-O-(2''-O-alpha-rhamnosyl)-beta-glucosides of anthocyanins and flavonols, and 3,3'-di- and 3,3',5'-tri-O-beta-glucoside of delphinidin - other possible precursors in ternatins biosynthesis. It highly preferred malonyl-CoA as an acyl donor in the presence of delphinidin 3-O-beta-glucoside. The crude enzymes prepared from WM and WW had the same enzymatic characteristics. These results suggested that 3-O-(2''-O-alpha-rhamnosyl-6''-O-malonyl)-beta-glucosides of flavonoids were synthesized via 3-O-(6''-O-malonyl)-beta-glucosides rather than via 3-O-(2''-O-alpha-rhamnosyl)-beta-glucosides, and that malonylation proceeded prior to glucosylation at the B-ring of delphinidin in the early biosynthetic steps towards ternatins. It seemed that the substrate specificities largely affected the difference in the accumulated amount of malonylated glycosides between anthocyanins and flavonols although they are not simply proportional to the accumulation ratio. This enzyme might join in the production of both malonylanthocyanins and flavonol malonylglycosides as a result of broad substrate specificities towards flavonoid 3-O-beta-glucosides.

Identification of delphinidin 3-O-(6''-O-malonyl)-beta-glucoside-3'-O-beta-glucoside, a postulated intermediate in the biosynthesis of ternatin C5 in the blue petals of Clitoria ternatea (butterfly pea).

Ternatins are blue anthocyanins found in the petals of Clitoria ternata (butterfly pea). Among them, ternatin C5 (delphinidin 3-O-(6''-O-malonyl)-beta-glucoside-3',5'-di-O-beta-glucoside; 2) has the structure common to all the ternatins, which is characterized by its glucosylation pattern: a 3,3',5'-triglucosylated anthocyanidin. In the course of studying biosynthetic pathways of ternatins, the key enzymatic activities to produce ternatin C5 were discovered in a crude enzyme preparation from the petals of a blue petal line of C. ternatea. When this preparation was tested for activity against several delphinidin glycosides, delphinidin 3-O-(6''-O-malonyl)-beta-glucoside-3'-O-beta-glucoside (6), a postulated intermediate, was found in the reaction mixture, together with three known anthocyanins, which were spectroscopically structurally identified. As a result of structural identification, the following enzymatic activities were identified: UDP-glucose :delphinidin 3-O-(6''-O-malonyl)-beta-glucoside-3'-O-beta-glucoside 5'-O-glucosyltransferase (5'GT), UDP-glucose :delphinidin 3-O-(6''-O-malonyl)-beta-glucoside 3'-O-glucosyltransferase (3'GT), UDP-glucose :delphinidin 3-O-glucosyltransferase, and malonyl-CoA :delphinidin 3-O-beta-glucoside 6''-malonyltransferase. In a mauve petal line, which did not accumulate ternatins but delphinidin 3-O-(6''-O-malonyl)-beta-glucoside in its petal, there were neither 5'GT nor 3'GT activities. Thus, the early biosynthetic pathway of ternatins may be characterized by the stepwise transfer of two glucose residues to 3'- and 5'-position of delphinidin 3-O-(6''-O-malonyl)-beta-glucoside (1; Scheme) from UDP-glucose.

Purification and characterization of UDP-glucose: anthocyanin 3',5'-O-glucosyltransferase from Clitoria ternatea.

A UDP-glucose: anthocyanin 3',5'-O-glucosyltransferase (UA3'5'GT) (EC 2.4.1.-) was purified from the petals of Clitoria ternatea L. (Phaseoleae), which accumulate polyacylated anthocyanins named ternatins. In the biosynthesis of ternatins, delphinidin 3-O-(6''-O-malonyl)-beta-glucoside (1) is first converted to delphinidin 3-O-(6''-O-malonyl)-beta-glucoside-3'-O-beta-glucoside (2). Then 2 is converted to ternatin C5 (3), which is delphinidin 3-O-(6''-O-malonyl)-beta-glucoside-3',5'-di-O-beta-glucoside. UA3'5'GT is responsible for these two steps by transferring two glucosyl groups in a stepwise manner. Its substrate specificity revealed the regioselectivity to the anthocyanin's 3'- or 5'-OH groups. Its kinetic properties showed comparable k (cat) values for 1 and 2, suggesting the subequality of these anthocyanins as substrates. However, the apparent Km value for 1 (3.89 x 10(-5) M), which is lower than that for 2 (1.38 x 10(-4) M), renders the k(cat)/Km value for 1 smaller, making 1 catalytically more efficient than 2. Although the apparent Km value for UDP-glucose (6.18 x 10(-3) M) with saturated 2 is larger than that for UDP-glucose (1.49 x 10(-3) M) with saturated 1, the k(cat) values are almost the same, suggesting the UDP-glucose binding inhibition by 2 as a product. UA3'5'GT turns the product 2 into a substrate possibly by reversing the B-ring of 2 along the C2-C1' single bond axis so that the 5'-OH group of 2 can point toward the catalytic center.