InterPro domain: IPR033640

This entry represents the C-terminal domain of fatty acyl CoA reductases, a family of SDR-like proteins. SDRs or short-chain dehydrogenases/reductases are Rossmann-fold NAD(P)H-binding proteins. Many proteins with this domain may function as fatty acyl-CoA reductases (FARs), acting on medium and long chain fatty acids, and have been reported to be involved in diverse processes such as the biosynthesis of insect pheromones [ 1 , 2 , 3 ], plant cuticular wax production [ 4 ], and mammalian wax biosynthesis [ 5 ]. In Arabidopsis thaliana, proteins with this particular architecture have also been identified as the MALE STERILITY 2 (MS2) gene product, which is implicated in male gametogenesis. Mutations in MS2 inhibit the synthesis of exine (sporopollenin), rendering plants unable to reduce pollen wall fatty acids to corresponding alcohols [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]. The function of this C-terminal domain is unclear.

1. A fatty acyl-CoA reductase highly expressed in the head of honey bee (Apis mellifera) involves biosynthesis of a wide range of aliphatic fatty alcohols. Insect Biochem. Mol. Biol. 40, 641-9
2. Evolution of multicomponent pheromone signals in small ermine moths involves a single fatty-acyl reductase gene. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 107, 10955-60
3. Pheromone gland-specific fatty-acyl reductase of the silkmoth, Bombyx mori. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 100, 9156-61
4. CER4 encodes an alcohol-forming fatty acyl-coenzyme A reductase involved in cuticular wax production in Arabidopsis. Plant Physiol. 142, 866-77
5. Mammalian wax biosynthesis. I. Identification of two fatty acyl-Coenzyme A reductases with different substrate specificities and tissue distributions. J. Biol. Chem. 279, 37789-97
6. Functional expression of five Arabidopsis fatty acyl-CoA reductase genes in Escherichia coli. J. Plant Physiol. 166, 787-96
7. The Arabidopsis MALE STERILITY 2 protein shares similarity with reductases in elongation/condensation complexes. Plant J. 12, 615-23
8. CYP704B1 is a long-chain fatty acid omega-hydroxylase essential for sporopollenin synthesis in pollen of Arabidopsis. Plant Physiol. 151, 574-89
9. Male gametophyte development in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.): molecular, cellular, and biochemical analyses of a sporophytic contribution to pollen wall ontogeny. Plant J. 30, 613-23