LAUSR

Salicylic acid (SA) is known to trigger a number of plant defense responses upon pathogen attack. It is well known that apple (Malus domestica) plants respond to pathogen invasion by synthesizing SA, but its biosynthesis is not well understood. In this study, we report salicylaldehyde synthase (SAS) activity from Venturia inaequalis elicitor (VIE)-treated cell suspension cultures of apple (Malus domestica 'Florina'). SAS catalyzes non-oxidative C2-side chain cleavage of 2-coumaric acid to form salicylaldehyde (SALD) in the presence of a reducing agent such as cysteine. The side chain cleavage mechanism was found to be very similar to that of salicylaldehyde synthase activity from tobacco and 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde synthase activity from Vanilla planifolia and Daucus carota. A basal SAS activity was observed in the non-elicited cell cultures, and a 7-fold increase in SAS activity was observed upon elicitation. In parallel to SAS activity, the level of total SA accumulation increased by 5.6-fold after elicitation compared to the untreated control cells. Elicitor treatment further resulted in an 8.7-fold increase in the activity of the phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) enzyme that preceded the peak of SAS activity and total SA accumulation, suggesting the involvement of the phenylpropanoid pathway in SA metabolism. The preferred substrate for SAS was 2-coumaric acid (Km = 0.35 mM), with cysteine being the preferred reducing agent. In addition, a 1.8-fold enhancement in the SA content and 0.7-fold enhancement in the SALD content was observed when elicited cell cultures were fed with 2-coumaric acid. These observations suggest the involvement of SAS in SALD biosynthesis.