InterPro domain: IPR037029

Allicin is a thiosulphinate that gives rise to dithiines, allyl sulphides and ajoenes, the three groups of active compounds in Allium species. Allicin is synthesised from sulphoxide cysteine derivatives by alliinase, whose C-S lyase activity cleaves C(beta)-S(gamma) bonds. It is thought that this enzyme forms part of a primitive plant defence system [ 1 ].

This entry represents the N-terminal domain, which is involved in substrate binding [ 2 ].

The N-terminal domain of tryptophan aminotransferase-related proteins from plants is also found in this entry. This tryptophan aminotransferase is thought to be involved in auxin (IAA) biosynthesis, where it is required for auxin production to initiate multiple change in growth in response to environmental and developmental cues [ 3 , 4 ].

1. The active principle of garlic at atomic resolution. J. Biol. Chem. 277, 46402-7
2. Two structures of alliinase from Alliium sativum L.: apo form and ternary complex with aminoacrylate reaction intermediate covalently bound to the PLP cofactor. J. Mol. Biol. 366, 611-25
3. The rice FISH BONE gene encodes a tryptophan aminotransferase, which affects pleiotropic auxin-related processes. Plant J 78, 927-36
4. The YUCCA-Auxin-WOX11 Module Controls Crown Root Development in Rice. Front Plant Sci 9, 523