Purification and biochemical characterization of recombinant rice UDP-arabinopyranose mutase generated in insect cells

Abstract

Plants utilize UDP-arabinofuranose (UDP-Araf) in the biosynthesis of Araf-containing complex carbohydrates. UDP-Araf is synthesized from UDP-arabinopyr-anose by UDP-arabinopyranose mutases (UAMs). Here we describe the heterologous expression of rice (Oryza sativa) UAM genes in insect cells and report some of their enzymatic properties. Recombinant UAMs might serve as useful tools for the biosynthesis of UDP-Araf and might be better than chemical synthesis.