Prokaryotic Expression, Purification and Characterization of a Novel Rice Seed Lipoxygenase Gene OsLOX1

Lipoxygenase (LOX, EC1.13.11.12) is a key enzyme during the degradation of lipids in animals and even plants, and also the first key enzyme responsible for the biosynthesis of jasmonate. To purify and characterize the OsLOX1 gene from rice seeds, the entire coding region of the OsLOX1 gene was inserted into an expression vector pET30a(+) and transformed into Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). Expression of the fusion protein was successfully induced by isopropyl-beta-D-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) and the purified recombinant protein was obtained by His Bind (R) Kits. Further assay showed that the purified recombinant protein exhibited the LOX activity. The optimum pH was 4.8 (acetate buffer) and the optimum temperature was 30 degrees C for the above enzyme. Thus, the recombinant might confer an available usage for the synthesis of jasmonate in vitro, and also provides a possibility for elucidating the inter-relationship between the primary structure of the plant seed lipoxygenase protein and its physiological functions.