Cyclic hydroxamic acids, 2,4-dihydroxy-1,4-benzoxazin-3-one (DIBOA) and its 7-methoxy analogue (DIMBOA), occur transiently in high amounts in wheat and maize during the juvenile, non-autotrophic stage of growth. To elucidate the biosynthetic enzymes operating for the transient production of these compounds, we examined the hydroxylating activities for 2-hydroxy-1,4-benzoxazin-3-one (HBOA), the immediate precursor of DIBOA, and indole, the first intermediate of the biosynthetic pathway that branches off from the tryptophan pathway, by using microsomes prepared from wheat seedlings. Both hydroxylases occurred soon after germination, reached a maximum 48 h after germination, and decreased to finally disappear as the plants grew into the autotrophic growth stage. The mode of appearance and disappearance similar to that of hydroxamic acids, suggesting that elevated expression of the whole set of enzymes involved in the biosynthesis after indole was responsible for the transient occurrence of hydroxamic acids. The hydroxylating activity was also observed for 1,4-benzoxazin-3-one, a putative precursor of HBOA, but to significantly less extent than that for HBOA and indole.
Keywords: Triticum aestivum; biosynthesis; cyclic hydroxamic acid; hydroxylase; microsomes.