Part:BBa_K5443009
ComT-ara (caffeic acid o-methyltransferase, COMT variants)
This enzyme from Arabidopsis thaliana methylates caffeic acid to produce ferulic acid, which is the third step in the vanillin biosynthesis pathway. This methylation step is crucial for forming the characteristic methoxy group of vanillin. This part builds on the work of earlier iGEM teams, who contributed C3H Parts as follows: BBa_I742107 BBa_K1129041. This enzyme is especially interesting because has a broad substrate range and can also make other methoxylated compounds e.g. melatonin, see here: BBa_K2276004. We showed that the Arabidopsis COMT enzyme was functional in E.coli as part of a vanillin biosynthetic pathway, as evidenced by production of caffeic acid from p-coumaric acid (see LC-MS data from one clone pMQ3C-11).
Sequence and Features
- 10COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[10]
- 12COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[12]
- 21COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[21]
- 23COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[23]
- 25INCOMPATIBLE WITH RFC[25]Illegal AgeI site found at 30
Illegal AgeI site found at 213 - 1000COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[1000]
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