Cabbage and Enzymes (IMAGE)

Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology

Cabbage and Enzymes

Caption

Plants of the mustard family, such as cabbage, produce glucosinolates that help to fend off herbivorous insects by reacting as part of "mustard oil bombs." Inserted into the photo is a three-dimensional model of the enzyme IPMS, which is involved in the formation not of glucosinolates, but of the amino acid leucine. In the course of evolution the enzyme IPMS was converted to MAM: 120 amino acids disappeared - represented as pale-colored in the picture -- and two mutations in the active site of the molecule occurred. Since then, MAM's role has been to synthesize precursors of glucosinolates.

Credit

MPI for Chemical Ecology/A. Schneider; enzyme model based on Koon, PNAS 101, 2004

Usage Restrictions

None

License

Licensed content

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.