• Journal of Plant Biology
• /
• v.38 no.3
• /
• pp.219-225
• /
• 1995

Five kinds of 4-demethylsterol were isolated from suspension cultured cells of a liverworth, Marchantia polymorpha. Four 4-demethylsterols among them were analyzed by a capillary gas chromatography-massspectrometry and 500 MHz 1H-NMR, and characterized to be avenasterol, 24-methylene-cholesterol, stigmasterol, and campesterol. And the fifth 4-demethylsterol was characterized to be sitosterol by a capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The concentration of the 4-demethylsterols in the cell decreased in order of avenasterol>stigmasterol>24-methylene-cholesterol>campesterol>sitosterol. When carbon skeleton and the oxidation state was compared with those of brassinosteroids, these 4-demethylsterols may be potent biosynthetic procusors of brassinosteroids in the cells.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
• /
• v.33 no.1
• /
• pp.65-73
• /
• 2006

Regulatory mechanism for endogenous levels of castasterone (CS) and its biosynthetic precursors in shoots of maize was investigated by the use of enzyme solution prepared from the plant tissue. When [$^2H_0$]- and [$^2H_6$]-CS was used as substrates, [$^2H_0$]-26-norCS and [$^2H_3$]-28-norCS were identified as products, indicating that [$^2H_0$]- and [$^2H_6$]-CS are differently metabolized into [$^2H_0$]-26-norCS and [$^2H_3$]-28-norCS by C-26 and C-28 demethylation, respectively. This suggests that both C-26 and C-28 demethylation can be involved in CS catabolism. In fact that C-28 demethylation only occurred when isotope labeled substrate was used, however, C-26 demethylation is thought be a natural reaction occurred in the maize shoots. When 6-deoxoteasterone (6-deoxoTE) was used, 6-deoxo-26-norTE and 3-dehydro-6-deoxo-26-norTE as well as 6-deoxo-3-dehydroTE and 6-deoxotyphasterol (6-deoxoTY) were identified as enzyme products. When 6-deoxoTY was added, 6-deoxo-26-norTY as well as 6-deoxo-3-dehydroTE and 6-deoxoTE was identified as products. These indicate that C-26 demethylation of 6-deoxoTE, 6-deoxo-3-dehydroTE and 6-deoxoTY as well as a reversible C-3 epimerization from 6-deoxoTE to 6-deoxoTY intermediated by 6-deoxo-3-dehydroTE are operative in the maize shoots, demonstrating that endogenous levels of biosynthetic precursors of CS are also controlled by C-26 demethylation. Therefore, it is thought that C-26 demethylation is an important and a common deactivation process which functions to maintain steady state levels of endogenous brassinosteroids in the maize shoots.