Isolation and sequencing a genomic DNA encoding for phenylalanine ammonia-lyase from Phalaenopsis

The enzyme L-phenylalanine ammonia-lyase is universally present in higher plants and it catalyzes the first committed reaction for a central pathway that generates hundreds of different phenylpropanoid metabolites including anthocyanin, the main pigments in flowers. In this study, we have successfully isolated and analyzed a phenylalanine ammonia-lyase gene from Phalaenopsis. The gene spans 3265bp and consists of two exons and one intron and encodes a polypeptide of 703 amino acid residues.