Studies on the Inhibition of Biotin-Containing Carboxylases by Acetyl-CoA Carboxylase Inhibitors

In higher plants the biosynthetic machinery of de novo fatty acid biosynthesis, measured as [14C]acetate incorporation into fatty acids, is predominantly located in plastids. A key enzyme in this pathway is the biotin-containing acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC , EC 6.4.1.2) which catalyzes the ATP-dependent carboxylation of acetyl-CoA to malonyl-CoA. The ACC from Poaceae is very efficiently blocked by two herbicide classes, the cyclohexane-1,3-diones (e.g. sethoxydim, cycloxydim) and the aryloxyphenoxy-propionic acids (e.g. diclofop, fluazifop). It is shown that within the Poaceae not only different species but also different varieties exist which exhibit an altered sensitivity and tolerance towards both herbicide classes, which points to a mutation of the target enzyme ACC. In purifying the ACC we extended our research to the possible presence of other biotin-containing plant enzymes. In protein preparations from maize, oat, barley, pea and lentil we were able to demonstrate the carboxylation of acetyl-CoA, propionyl-CoA and methylcrotonyl-CoA. The two herbicide classes not only block the ACC, but also the activity of the propionyl-CoA carboxylase (PCC ), whereas the methylcrotonyl- CoA carboxylase (MCC ), a distinct biotin-containing enzyme from mitochondria, is not affected. MCC may play a role in isoprenoid catabolism. Whether PCC is a separate plastid enzyme or only a side activity of ACC is under current investigation. The efficiency of the graminicides in sensitive Poaceae is then not only determined by the inhibition of ACC, malonyl-CoA and fatty acid biosynthesis, but also by the exclusion of the PCC-catalyzed metabolic pathways of the plant cell.