Journal of Oil Palm Research (Special Issue), p. 81-87
ISOLATION OF cDNA CLONE ENCODING AN ACYL-ACYL CARRIER PROTEIN THIOESTERASE FROM THE MESOCARP OF OIL PALM (Elaeis guineensis)
A 1450 base pair (bp) cDNA encoding an acyl-ACP thioesterase was isolated from a developing mesocarp cDNA library. The cDNA sequence corresponding to the mature protein is 66% identical to Cuphea hookeriana Ch FatB1, and 35% identical to Garcinia mangostana Garm FatA1, indicating that this clone belongs to the FatB type of acyl-ACP thioesterases. Although the sequence showed the cDNA to be incomplete, lacking the 5′ untranslated region and most of the transit peptide, the mature protein is intact and will be expressed in Escherichia coli to investigate the substrate specificity of the acyl-ACP thioesterase.
KEYWORDS:* Palm Oil Research Institute of Malaysia,
P.O. Box 10620, 50720 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
** School of Biological Sciences,
University of Bristol, Woodland Road,
bristol BS8 1UG, U.K.