Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) performs a major role in the biosynthesis of polyphenolic compounds, which are involved in the defense mechanism in harsh environments related to different stimuli. The present study was carried out to detect the activity of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase in different plant parts of Anacardium occidentale such as flower, young leaves, shoot tip, mature leaves, raw...

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is a metabolic disorder, in which loss of phenylalanine hydroxylase activity results in neurotoxic levels of phenylalanine. We used the Pah(enu2/enu2) PKU mouse model in short- and long-term studies of enzyme substitution therapy with PEGylated phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PEG-PAL conjugates) from 4 different species. The most therapeutically effective PAL (Av, Anabaena va...

Scape bending disorder is the most important factor affecting postharvest loss of gerbera cut flowers. One of the ultimate reasons for gerbera stem bending is lignin, with deformation structural functions and defensive mechanisms. This postharvest experiment was conducted to evaluate the role of phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) and peroxidase (POD) enzymes activity in stem bending of two gerbe...

L-Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase has been purified from elicitortreated alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) cell suspension cultures using two protocols based on different sequences of chromatofocusing and hydrophobic interaction chromatography. Three distinct forms of the intact enzyme were separated on the basis of affinity for Octyl-Sepharose, with isoelectric points in the range pH 5.1 to 5.4. The na...

L-3,4-Dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA) is a known allelochemical exuded from the roots of velvet bean (Mucuna pruriens L. Fabaceae). In the current work, we analyzed the effects of L-DOPA on the growth, the activities of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), tyrosine ammonia-lyase (TAL), and peroxidase (POD), and the contents of phenylalanine, tyrosine, and lignin in maize (Zea mays) roots. Three-d...

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv Fremont) grown in hydroponic culture under 24-hour continuous irradiation at 560 to 580 micromoles per square meter per second from either metalhalide (MH), high pressure sodium (HPS), or low pressure sodium (LPS) lamps reached maturity in 70 days. Grain yields were similar under all three lamps, although LPS-grown plants lodged at maturity. Phenylalanine ammoni...

A cDNA clone coding phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) was isolated from a cDNA library prepared from asparagus spears (Asparagus officinalis L. cv. Welcome) using the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The partial cDNA clone encoded an mRNA of 527 bp and the derived amino acid sequence was found highly homologous to PAL from rice, maize and barley. Northern blot analysis ...

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder in which mutations in the phenylalanine-4-hydroxylase (PAH) gene result in an inactive enzyme (PAH, EC 1.14.16.1). The effect is an inability to metabolize phenylalanine (Phe), translating into elevated levels of Phe in the bloodstream (hyperphenylalaninemia). If therapy is not implemented at birth, mental retardation can occur. P...

Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, which irreversibly deaminates phenylalanine and tyrosine, markedly inhibited the growth of human leukemic and murine L5178Y lymphoblasts in vitro but had a negligible effect on resting (nondividing) normal lymphocytes. These studies also demonstrated that phenylalanine ammonia-lyase inhibited DNA synthesis in leukemic cells at least as effectively as did asparaginas...

Phenylketonuria (PKU), with its associated hyperphenylalaninemia (HPA) and mental retardation, is a classic genetic disease and the first to have an identified chemical cause of impaired cognitive development. Treatment from birth with a low phenylalanine diet largely prevents the deviant cognitive phenotype by ameliorating HPA and is recognized as one of the first effective treatments of a gen...