Disease relevance of Coniferin

• Agrobacterium strains that were more tumorigenic on gymnosperms were more effectively induced by coniferin [1].

High impact information on Coniferin

• A new inducer, the phenylpropanoid glucoside coniferin, has now been isolated from Pseudotsuga menziesii (Douglas-fir) [1].
• Consistent with this hypothesis, roots of etiolated and soil-grown plants contain almost no soluble phenylpropanoids, but exposure to light leads to the accumulation of flavonoids, as well as high levels of coniferin and syringin (coniferyl and sinapyl-4-O-glycosides), compounds not previously reported to be accumulated in Arabidopsis [2].
• Coniferin beta-glucosidase was found only in the secondary cell wall [3].
• In Douglas fir needles, the major virulence region inducer is the glycoside coniferin (J. W. Morris and R. O. Morris, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 87:3612-3618, 1990) [4].
• Agrobacterium strains with high beta-glucosidase activity respond to coniferin and infect Douglas fir seedlings, whereas most strains with low beta-glucosidase activity fail to respond to coniferin and are avirulent on this host [4].

Biological context of Coniferin

• Various beta-glucosidase activities could be solubilized from these preparations by 0.5 M NaCl treatment and one of these could be shown to possess a high activity for the hydrolysis of coniferin [5].
• BGLU46 exhibited broader substrate specificity, cleaving salicin (100%), p-coumaryl glucoside (71%; K(m), 2.2mM), phenyl-beta-d-glucoside (62%), coniferin (8%), syringin (6%), and arbutin (6%) [6].

Associations of Coniferin with other chemical compounds

• Hydrolysis of the synthetic beta-glucosidase substrate p-nitrophenyl-beta-O-D-glucopyranoside was correlated with radial growth and lignification in the xylem of both conifers, but the relationship between lignification and the hydrolysis of coniferin by beta-glucosidase was not obvious [7].
• Formation of beta-peltatin-A methyl ether and coniferin by root cultures of Linum flavum [8].

Gene context of Coniferin

• Phylogenetic analysis of Arabidopsis thaliana GH Family 1 has revealed that At1g61810 (BGLU45), At1g61820 (BGLU46), and At4g21760 (BGLU47) cluster with Pinus contorta coniferin beta-glucosidase, leading to the hypothesis that their respective gene products may be involved in lignification by hydrolysing monolignol glucosides [6].

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of Coniferin

• The coniferin beta-glucosidase was purified to apparent homogeneity using anion exchange, hydrophobic interaction, and size-exclusion chromatography [9].
• The availability and stability of coniferin in the medium are the most likely factors limiting podophyllotoxin synthesis in coculture [10].

References