RESUMO
Recombinant phytoene desaturase (PDS-His6) from rice was purified to near-homogeneity and shown to be enzymatically active in a biphasic, liposome-based assay system. The protein contains FAD as the sole protein-bound redox-cofactor. Benzoquinones, not replaceable by molecular oxygen, serve as a final electron acceptor defining PDS as a 15-cis-phytoene (donor):plastoquinone oxidoreductase. The herbicidal PDS-inhibitor norflurazon is capable of arresting the reaction by stabilizing the intermediary FAD(red), while an excess of the quinone acceptor relieves this blockage, indicating competition. The enzyme requires its homo-oligomeric association for activity. The sum of data collected through gel permeation chromatography, non-denaturing polyacrylamide electrophoresis, chemical cross-linking, mass spectrometry and electron microscopy techniques indicate that the high-order oligomers formed in solution are the basis for an active preparation. Of these, a tetramer consisting of dimers represents the active unit. This is corroborated by our preliminary X-ray structural analysis that also revealed similarities of the protein fold with the sequence-inhomologous bacterial phytoene desaturase CRTI and other oxidoreductases of the GR2-family of flavoproteins. This points to an evolutionary relatedness of CRTI and PDS yielding different carotene desaturation sequences based on homologous protein folds.