Synthesis and characterization of a new cutinase substrate, 4-nitrophenyl (16-methyl sulfone ester) hexadecanoate

Phytopathogenic fungi penetrate plants by breaking down the cuticular barrier with cutinase. Cutinases are extracellular hydrolytic enzymes that degrade cutin, a polyester composed of hydroxy and epoxy fatty acids. Until now, cutinase has been recognized by its ability to release labeled cutin monomers or by a non-specific esterase assay based on the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl esters of short fatty acids. In this work, an insoluble p-nitrophenyl derivative was synthesized and purified, and its structure was determined to be 4-nitrophenyl (16-methyl sulfone ester) hexadecanoate (pNMSEH) by nuclear magnetic resonance (H+ NMR) analysis. pNMSEH was tested as a new cutinase substrate with Pseudomonas mandocino cutinase and porcine liver esterase. While a linear release over time of p-nitrophenol (pNP) was recorded in the presence of cutinase, no response was obtained with the esterase. The calculated kinetic parameters of pNMSEH hydrolysis by cutinase revealed a high specificity (Km = 1.8 mM), albeit a low catalytic rate (Vmax = 10.5 μmol min−l l−1). This new synthetic substrate may be helpful for detecting and assaying cutinase activity in mixed solutions, such as crude fungal extracellular extracts.