Cinnamoyl alcohol dehydrogenase

L-Phenylalanine,which is derived via the shikimic acid pathway,is an important precursor for aromatic aroma components. This amino acid can be transformed into phe-nylpyruvate by transamination and by subsequent decarboxylation to 2-phenylacetyl-CoA in an analogous reaction as discussed for leucine and valine. 2-Phenylacetyl-CoA is converted into esters of a variety of alcohols or reduced to 2-phenylethanol and transformed into 2-phenyl-ethyl esters. The end products of phenylalanine catabolism are fumaric acid and acetoacetate which are further metabolized by the TCA-cycle. Phenylalanine ammonia lyase converts the amino acid into cinnamic acid, the key intermediate of phenylpropanoid metabolism. By a series of enzymes (cinnamate-4-hydroxylase, p-coumarate 3-hydroxylase, catechol O-methyltransferase and ferulate 5-hydroxylase) cinnamic acid is transformed into p-couma-ric-, caffeic-, ferulic-, 5-hydroxyferulic- and sinapic acids,which act as precursors for flavor components and are important intermediates in the biosynthesis of fla-vonoides, lignins, etc. Reduction of cinnamic acids to aldehydes and alcohols by cinnamoyl-CoA NADPH-oxido-reductase and cinnamoyl-alcohol-dehydrogenase form important flavor compounds such as cinnamic aldehyde, cin-namyl alcohol and esters. Further reduction of cinnamyl alcohols lead to propenyl- and allylphenols such as... 

Cinnamate Co A ligase, p-coumarate CoA ligase 2 cinnamoyl CoA reductase 3 cinnamoyl alcohol dehydrogenase... 

Figure 3-9. Biosynthesis of monolignols. The enzymes involved in this pathway are ( ) hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA shikimate/quinate hydroxy-cinnamoyl transferase, (b) p-coumaroyl-CoA 3 -hydroxylase (E.C. 1.14.14.1), (c) caffeoyl-CoA O-methy 1 Iranslerasc (E.C. 2.1.1.104), (d) cinnamoyl-CoA reductase (E.C. 1.2.1.44) (e) cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase (E.C. 1.1.1.195), (f) coniferyl aldehyde/coniferyl alcohol 5-hydroxylase (E.C. 1.14.13), (g) coniferaldehyde/coniferyl alcohol O-methyltransferase (E.C. 2.1.1.68).

O Connell, A., Holt, K., Piquemal, J., Grima-Pettenati, J., Boudet, A., Pollet, B., Lapierre, C., Petit-Conil, M., Schuch, W., and Halpin, C. 2002, Improved paper pulp from plants with suppressed cinnamoyl-CoA reductase or cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase, Transgen. Res. 11 495-503. 

Figure 4.7 Monolignol biosynthesis. Enzymes involved are cinnamoyl-CoAiNADPH oxidoreductase (CCR (1)), cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD (2)), UDP-glucose cinnamyl alcohol 4-0-glucosyltransferase (3), cinnamyl alcohol 4-0-glucoside glucosidase (4).

J Ralph, RD Hatfield, J Piquemal, N Yahiaoui, M Pean, C Lapierre, A-M Boudet. NMR characterization of altered lignins extracted from tobacco plants down-regulated for lignification enzymes cinnamyl-alcohol dehydrogenase and cinnamoyl-CoA reductase. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 95 12803-12808, 1998. 

Figure 4 Current view of the phenylpropanoid pathway to the monolignols 19-23. 4CL, 4-hydroxycinnamate coenzyme Aligases pC3H , p-coumarate 3-hydroxylase C4H, cinnamate 4-hydroxylase CAD, cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenases CCOMT, hydroxycinnamoyl CoA O-methyltransferases CCR, cinnamoyl-CoA oxidoreductases COMT, caffeic acid O-methyltransferases F5H , ferulate 5-hydroxylase HCT, hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA shikimate hydroxycinnamoyltransferase HOT, hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA quinate hydroxycinnamoyltransferase PAL, phenylalanine ammonia lyase TAL, tyrosine ammonia lyase.

Figure 3.1 Primary flux of carbon through phenylpropanoid pathway in Arabidopsis. PAL, phenylalanine ammonia-lyase 4CL, 4-(hydroxy)cinnamoyl CoA ligase C4H, cinnamate 4-hydroxylase HCT, hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA shikimate/quinate hydroxycinnamoyltransferase C3 H, /7-coumaroylshikimate 3 -hydroxylase CCoAOMT, caffeoyl CoA O-methyltransferase F5H, ferulate 5-hydroxylase COMT, caffeic acid/5-hydroxyferulic acid o-methyltransferase CCR, cinnamoyl CoA reductase CAD, cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase. Not depicted is the HCT catalyzed synthesis of/r-coumaroyl quinate.

Cinnamic (1), p-coumaric (2), and related acids may be activated by conversion to CoA esters by CoA ligases [e.g., 4-coumarate CoA ligase (EC 6.2.1.12)] in much the same way that fatty acids are activated. The reduction of the CoA esters of cinnamic acids to cinnamyl alcohols involves two enz)mies cinnamoyl-CoA oxidoreductase (which forms the aldehydes) and cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase (Grisebach, 1981). Phenylpropanoids appear to be synthesized from the CoA esters of this series of acids by conversion to the corresponding aldehydes, then to the alcohols, and finally, by elimination of a phosphate group, to allyl and propenyl compounds. In many plants, mixtures of all t3q>es co-occur (Fig. 8.7) (Gross, 1981 Mann, 1987). Reduction of the side chain to produce dihydrocinnamic acids and related compounds is also known to occur in nature. 

Figure 1. Proposed biosynthetic pathway to monolignols, and related metabolites, a. Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, b. Tyrosine ammonia-lyase, c. Cinnamate-4-hydroxylase, d. p-Coumarate-3-hydroxylase, e. O-Methyltransferase, f. Ferulate-5-hydroxylase, g. Hydroxycinnamate-CoA ligase, h. Cinnamoyl-CoA NADP oxidoreductase, i. Cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase. ( Note plus acetate pathway for both flavonoids and suberin)...

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