This family is named after Bet v 1, the major birch pollen allergen. This protein belongs to family 10 of plant pathogenesis-related proteins (PR-10), cytoplasmic proteins of 15-17 kd that are wide-spread among dicotyledonous plants [1]. In recent ye ...
This family is named after Bet v 1, the major birch pollen allergen. This protein belongs to family 10 of plant pathogenesis-related proteins (PR-10), cytoplasmic proteins of 15-17 kd that are wide-spread among dicotyledonous plants [1]. In recent years, a number of diverse plant proteins with low sequence similarity to Bet v 1 was identified. A classification by sequence similarity yielded several subfamilies related to PR-10 [2]: - Pathogenesis-related proteins PR-10: These proteins were identified as major tree pollen allergens in birch and related species (hazel, alder), as plant food allergens expressed in high levels in fruits, vegetables and seeds (apple, celery, hazelnut), and as pathogenesis-related proteins whose expression is induced by pathogen infection, wounding, or abiotic stress. Hyp-1 (Swiss:Q8H1L1), an enzyme involved in the synthesis of the bioactive naphthodianthrone hypericin in St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) also belongs to this family. Most of these proteins were found in dicotyledonous plants. In addition, related sequences were identified in monocots and conifers. - Cytokinin-specific binding proteins: These legume proteins bind cytokinin plant hormones [3]. - (S)-Norcoclaurine synthases are enzymes catalysing the condensation of dopamine and 4-hydroxyphenylacetaldehyde to (S)-norcoclaurine, the first committed step in the biosynthesis of benzylisoquinoline alkaloids such as morphine [4]. -Major latex proteins and ripening-related proteins are proteins of unknown biological function that were first discovered in the latex of opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) and later found to be upregulated during ripening of fruits such as strawberry and cucumber [4]. The occurrence of Bet v 1-related proteins is confined to seed plants with the exception of a cytokinin-binding protein from the moss Physcomitrella patens (Swiss:Q9AXI3).
