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Biochemistry and physiology of raffinose family oligosaccharides and galactosyl cyclitols in seeds

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 February 2007

Thomas Peterbauer  and
Andreas Richter
Thomas Peterbauer
Affiliation:
Chemical Physiology of Plants, Institute of Ecology, University of Vienna, A-1091 Vienna, Austria
Andreas Richter*
Affiliation:
Chemical Physiology of Plants, Institute of Ecology, University of Vienna, A-1091 Vienna, Austria
*
*Correspondence Fax: +43-1-4277-9542 Email: Andreas.Richter@univie.ac.at
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Abstract

Raffinose family oligosaccharides (RFOs) are of almost ubiquitous occurrence in plant seeds. They accumulate during seed development and disappear rapidly during germination. The biosynthesis of raffinose, the first member of the series, proceeds by addition of a galactosyl unit to sucrose. Galactinol, a galactosyl derivative of myo-inositol, acts as a galactosyl donor. It is synthesized from UDP-D-GALACTOSE AND MYO-INOSITOL. STACHYOSE, VERBASCOSE AND AJUGOSE, THE NEXT HIGHER RFOS, ARE EITHER SYNTHESIZED BY GALACTINOL-DEPENDENT GALACTOSYLTRANSFERASES OR BY TRANSFER OF GALACTOSYL UNITS BETWEEN TWO RFO MOLECULES. IN SEEDS, THE METABOLISM OF METHYLATED INOSITOLS, SUCH AS D-ononitol and D-pinitol, is linked with the RFO pathway. In contrast to myo-inositol, these cyclitols are galactosylated by transfer of galactosyl residues from galactinol and not from UDP-D-galactose. However, the resulting galactosyl cyclitols can replace galactinol as galactosyl donors for the biosynthesis of stachyose. These recently discovered branches of the RFO pathway are active in seeds of a range of crop species, especially in legumes. We focus here on the biochemistry and molecular biology of the enzymes of RFO and galactosyl cyclitol biosynthesis. The metabolic control and hormonal regulation of the pathway during seed development and germination is discussed. The controversial role of α-galactosidases, which are believed to hydrolyse RFOs during germination, is reviewed critically.

Keywords

cyclitolsdevelopmentα-galactosidasegerminationraffinoseseedsstachyose
Type
Invited Review
Information
Seed Science Research , Volume 11 , Issue 3 , September 2001 , pp. 185 - 197
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2001

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