Identification, separation, and characterization of acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenases involved in mitochondrial beta-oxidation in higher plants
PLANT PHYSIOLOGY
Authors: Bode, K; Hooks, MA; Couee, I
Abstract
The existence in higher plants of an additional beta-oxidation system in mitochondria, besides the well-characterized peroxisomal system, is often considered controversial. Unequivocal demonstration of beta-oxidation activity in mitochondria should rely on identification of the enzymes specific to mitochondrial beta-oxidation. Acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase (ACAD) (EC 1.3.99.2,3) activity was detected in purified mitochondria from maize (Zea mays L.) root tips and from embryonic axes of early-germinating sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) seeds, using as the enzyme assay the reduction of 2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol, with phenazine methosulfate as the intermediate electron carrier. Subcellular fractionation showed that this ACAD activity was associated with mitochondrial fractions. Comparison of ACAD activity in mitochondria and acylcoenzyme A oxidase activity in peroxisomes showed differences of substrate specificities. Embryonic axes of sunflower seeds were used as starting material for the purification of ACADs. Two distinct ACADs, with medium-chain and long-chain substrate specificities, respectively, were separated by their chromatographic behavior, which was similar to that of mammalian ACADs. The characterization of these ACADs is discussed in relation to the identification of expressed sequenced tags corresponding to ACADs in cDNA sequence analysis projects and with the potential roles of mitochondrial P-oxidation in higher plants.
Clinical relevance of short-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (SCAD) deficiency: Exploring the role of new variants including the first SCAD-disease-causing allele carrying a synonymous mutation
BBA CLINICAL
Authors: Tonin, Rodolfo; Caciotti, Anna; Funghini, Silvia; Pasquini, Elisabetta; Mooney, Sean D.; Cai, Binghuang; Proncopio, Elena; Donati, Maria Alice; Baronio, Federico; Bettocchi, Ilaria; Cassio, Alessandra; Biasucci, Giacomo; Bordugo, Andrea; la Marca, Giancarlo; Guerrini, Renzo; Morrone, Amelia
Abstract
Short-chain acyl-coA dehydrogenase deficiency (SCADD) is an autosomal recessive inborn error of mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation caused by ACADS gene alterations. SCADD is a heterogeneous condition, sometimes considered to be solely a biochemical condition given that it has been associated with variable clinical phenotypes ranging from no symptoms or signs to metabolic decompensation occurring early in life. A reason for this variability is due to SCAD alterations, such as the common p.Gly209Ser, that confer a disease susceptibility state but require a complex multifactorial/polygenic condition to manifest clinically. Our study focuses on 12 SCADD patients carrying 11 new ACADS variants, with the purpose of defining genotype-phenotype correlations based on clinical data, metabolite evaluation, molecular analyses, and in silico functional analyses. Interestingly, we identified a synonymous variant, c.765GNT (p.Gly255Gly) that influences ACADS mRNA splicing accuracy. mRNA characterisation demonstrated that this variant leads to an aberrant splicing product, harbouring a premature stop codon. Molecular analysis and in silico tools are able to characterise ACADS variants, identifying the severe mutations and consequently indicating which patients could benefit from a long term follow-up. We also emphasise that synonymous mutations can be relevant features and potentially associated with SCADD. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.