Reaction: ATP + jasmonate + an L-amino acid = AMP + diphosphate + a jasmonoyl-L-amino acid
Other name(s): JAR1 (gene name); JAR4 (gene name); JAR6 (gene name); jasmonoyl—L-amino acid synthetase
Systematic name: jasmonate:L-amino acid ligase
Comments: Two jasmonoyl-L-amino acid synthetases have been described from Nicotiana attenuata [3] and one from Arabidopsis thaliana [1]. The N. attenuata enzymes generate jasmonoyl-L-isoleucine, jasmonoyl-L-leucine, and jasmonoyl-L-valine. The enzyme from A. thaliana could catalyse the addition of many different amino acids to jasmonate in vitro [1,4,5]. While the abundant form of jasmonate in plants is (–)-jasmonate, the active form of jasmonoyl-L-isoleucine is (+)-7-iso-jasmonoyl-L-isoleucine.
Links to other databases: BRENDA, EXPASY, KEGG, MetaCyc, PDB, CAS registry number:
References:
1. Staswick, P.E. and Tiryaki, I. The oxylipin signal jasmonic acid is activated by an enzyme that conjugates it to isoleucine in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell 16 (2004) 2117-2127. [PMID: 15258265]
2. Kang, J.H., Wang, L., Giri, A. and Baldwin, I.T. Silencing threonine deaminase and JAR4 in Nicotiana attenuata impairs jasmonic acid-isoleucine-mediated defenses against Manduca sexta. Plant Cell 18 (2006) 3303-3320. [PMID: 17085687]
3. Wang, L., Halitschke, R., Kang, J.H., Berg, A., Harnisch, F. and Baldwin, I.T. Independently silencing two JAR family members impairs levels of trypsin proteinase inhibitors but not nicotine. Planta 226 (2007) 159-167. [PMID: 17273867]
4. Guranowski, A., Miersch, O., Staswick, P.E., Suza, W. and Wasternack, C. Substrate specificity and products of side-reactions catalyzed by jasmonate:amino acid synthetase (JAR1). FEBS Lett. 581 (2007) 815-820. [PMID: 17291501]
5. Suza, W.P. and Staswick, P.E. The role of JAR1 in jasmonoyl-L-isoleucine production during Arabidopsis wound response. Planta 227 (2008) 1221-1232. [PMID: 18247047]