@article {2658,
	title = {Composition of secondary alcohols, ketones, alkanediols, and ketols in Arabidopsis thaliana cuticular waxes},
	journal = {Journal of Experimental Botany},
	volume = {60},
	number = {6},
	year = {2009},
	note = {ISI Document Delivery No.: 437ZCTimes Cited: 0Cited Reference Count: 25Wen, Miao Jetter, Reinhard},
	month = {Apr},
	pages = {1811-1821},
	type = {Article},
	abstract = {Arabidopsis wax components containing secondary functional groups were examined (i) to test the biosynthetic relationship between secondary alcohols and ketols and (ii) to determine the regiospecificity and substrate preference of the enzyme involved in ketol biosynthesis. The stem wax of Arabidopsis wild type contained homologous series of C-27 to C-31 secondary alcohols (2.4 mu g cm(-2)) and C-28 to C-30 ketones (6.0 mu g cm(-2)) dominated by C-29 homologues. In addition, compound classes containing two secondary functional groups were identified as C-29 diols (similar to 0.05 mu g cm(-2)) and ketols (similar to 0.16 mu g cm(-2)). All four compound classes showed characteristic isomer distributions, with functional groups located between C-14 and C-16. In the mah1 mutant stem wax, diols and ketols could not be detected, while the amounts of secondary alcohols and ketones were drastically reduced. In two MAH1-overexpressing lines, equal amounts of C-29 and C-31 secondary alcohols were detected. Based on the comparison of homologue and isomer compositions between the different genotypes, it can be concluded that biosynthetic pathways lead from alkanes to secondary alcohols, and via ketones or diols to ketols. It seems plausible that MAH1 is the hydroxylase enzyme involved in all these conversions in Arabidopsis thaliana.},
	keywords = {BRASSICA-OLERACEA, chain lengths, CHROMATOGRAPHY, cytochrome P450, ECERIFERUM MUTANTS, EPICUTICULAR WAXES, fatty acid derivatives, GAS, HYDROXYLATION, LEAF WAXES, LEAVES, MAH1, MASS SPECTROMETRY, neutral lipids, plant surface composition, RESISTANT, ULTRASTRUCTURE, wax},
	isbn = {0022-0957},
	url = {<Go to ISI>://000265524400023},
	author = {Wen, M. and Jetter, R.}
}
@article {2113,
	title = {Plant surface lipid biosynthetic pathways and their utility for metabolic engineering of waxes and hydrocarbon biofuels},
	journal = {Plant Journal},
	volume = {54},
	number = {4},
	year = {2008},
	note = {ISI Document Delivery No.: 299KRTimes Cited: 12Cited Reference Count: 122Jetter, Reinhard Kunst, Ljerka},
	month = {May},
	pages = {670-683},
	type = {Review},
	abstract = {Due to their unique physical properties, waxes are high-value materials that are used in a variety of industrial applications. They are generated by chemical synthesis, extracted from fossil sources, or harvested from a small number of plant and animal species. As a result, the diversity of chemical structures in commercial waxes is low and so are their yields. These limitations can be overcome by engineering of wax biosynthetic pathways in the seeds of high-yielding oil crops to produce designer waxes for specific industrial end uses. In this review, we first summarize the current knowledge regarding the genes and enzymes generating the chemical diversity of cuticular waxes that accumulate at the surfaces of primary plant organs. We then consider the potential of cuticle biosynthetic genes for biotechnological wax production, focusing on selected examples of wax ester chain lengths and isomers. Finally, we discuss the genes/enzymes of cuticular alkane biosynthesis and their potential in future metabolic engineering of plants for the production of renewable hydrocarbon fuels.},
	keywords = {ARABIDOPSIS-THALIANA, BRASSICA-OLERACEA, chain lengths, CONDENSING ENZYME, CUTICULAR WAX, cuticular waxes, ECERIFERUM MUTANTS, EPICUTICULAR WAX, ESTERS, fatty acid elongation, FATTY ACYL-COENZYME, HYDROCARBONS, industrial products, LEAVES PISUM-SATIVUM, MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION, SACCHAROMYCES-CEREVISIAE},
	isbn = {0960-7412},
	url = {<Go to ISI>://000255755000012},
	author = {Jetter, R. and Kunst, L.}
}
@article {1531,
	title = {CER4 encodes an alcohol-forming fatty acyl-coenzyme A reductase involved in cuticular wax production in Arabidopsis},
	journal = {Plant Physiology},
	volume = {142},
	number = {3},
	year = {2006},
	note = {ISI Document Delivery No.: 103NGTimes Cited: 40Cited Reference Count: 64Rowland, Owen Zheng, Huanquan Hepworth, Shelley R. Lam, Patricia Jetter, Reinhard Kunst, Ljerka},
	month = {Nov},
	pages = {866-877},
	type = {Article},
	abstract = {A waxy cuticle that serves as a protective barrier against uncontrolled water loss and environmental damage coats the aerial surfaces of land plants. It is composed of a cutin polymer matrix and waxes. Cuticular waxes are complex mixtures of very-long-chain fatty acids and their derivatives. We report here the molecular cloning and characterization of CER4, a wax biosynthetic gene from Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Arabidopsis cer4 mutants exhibit major decreases in stem primary alcohols and wax esters, and slightly elevated levels of aldehydes, alkanes, secondary alcohols, and ketones. This phenotype suggested that CER4 encoded an alcohol-forming fatty acyl-coenzyme A reductase (FAR). We identified eight FAR-like genes in Arabidopsis that are highly related to an alcohol-forming FAR expressed in seeds of jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis). Molecular characterization of CER4 alleles and genomic complementation revealed that one of these eight genes, At4g33790, encoded the FAR required for cuticular wax production. Expression of CER4 cDNA in yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) resulted in the accumulation of C24: 0 and C26: 0 primary alcohols. Fully functional green fluorescent protein-tagged CER4 protein was localized to the endoplasmic reticulum in yeast cells by confocal microscopy. Analysis of gene expression by reverse transcription-PCR indicated that CER4 was expressed in leaves, stems, flowers, siliques, and roots. Expression of a beta-glucuronidase reporter gene driven by the CER4 promoter in transgenic plants was detected in epidermal cells of leaves and stems, consistent with a dedicated role for CER4 in cuticular wax biosynthesis. CER4 was also expressed in all cell types in the elongation zone of young roots. These data indicate that CER4 is an alcohol-forming FAR that has specificity for very-long-chain fatty acids and is responsible for the synthesis of primary alcohols in the epidermal cells of aerial tissues and in roots.},
	keywords = {ACID ELONGASE, CELL-DIFFERENTIATION, CUTICLE DEVELOPMENT, ECERIFERUM MUTANTS, EPICUTICULAR WAXES, GENE-EXPRESSION MAP, NORMAL ACCUMULATION, PISUM-SATIVUM, POLLEN FERTILITY, TRANSCRIPTIONAL ACTIVITY},
	isbn = {0032-0889},
	url = {<Go to ISI>://000241892900007},
	author = {Rowland, O. and Zheng, H. Q. and Hepworth, S. R. and Lam, P. and Jetter, R. and Kunst, L.}
}
