Cloning, expression, functional validation and modeling of cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase isolated from xylem of Leucaena leucocephala

► A cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD) cDNA was isolated from Leucaena leucocephala. ► Cloned CAD was optimally expressed in Escherichia coli as active enzyme at 18 °C and 2 mM Zn2+. ► Purified CAD exhibited a subunit molecular mass of 40 kDa. ► Modeled CAD exhibited a trilobed structure with 4 conserved signature sequences. ► The sequences included catalytic/structural Zn2+, NADP+ and substrate binding sites.