Phylogenesis of the Functional 1-Aminocyclopropane-1-Carboxylate Oxidase of Fungi and Plants

The 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) pathway that synthesizes ethylene is shared in seed plants, fungi and probably other organisms. However, the evolutionary relationship of the key enzyme ACC oxidase (ACO) in the pathway among organisms remains unknown. Herein, we cloned, expressed and characterized five ACOs from the straw mushroom (Volvariella volvacea) and the oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus): VvACO1-4 and PoACO. The five mushroom ACOs and the previously identified AbACO of the button mushroom contained all three conserved residues that bound to Fe(II) in plant ACOs. They also had variable residues that were conserved and bound to ascorbate and bicarbonate in plant ACOs and harbored only 1–2 of the five conserved ACO motifs in plant ACOs. Particularly, VvACO2 and AbACO had only one ACO motif 2. Additionally, VvACO4 shared 44.23% sequence identity with the cyanobacterium Hapalosiphon putative functional ACO. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the functional ACOs of monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants co-occurred in Type I, Type II and Type III, while putative functional gymnosperm ACOs also appeared in Type III. The putative functional bacterial ACO, functional fungi and slime mold ACOs were clustered in ancestral Type IV. These results indicate that ACO motif 2, ACC and Fe(II) are essential for ACO activity. The ACOs of the other organisms may come from the horizontal transfer of fungal ACOs, which were found ordinarily in basidiomycetes. It is mostly the first case for the horizontal gene transfers from fungi to seed plants. The horizontal transfer of ACOs from fungi to plants probably facilitates the fungal-plant symbioses, plant–land colonization and further evolution to form seeds.