The Pdx1 family is structurally and functionally conserved between Arabidopsis thaliana and Ginkgo biloba.

Vitamin B6 is one of the most important compounds in living organisms, and its biosynthesis has only recently been understood. Because it is required for more than 100 biochemical reactions, lack of the vitamin is fatal. This is of special importance to mammals and humans, which cannot biosynthesize the vitamin and thus depend on its external uptake. Here we describe the cloning of a vitamin B6 biosynthetic gene GbPDX1 from Ginkgo biloba. The gene is expressed in seeds, leaf and trunk tissue. Using yeast 2-hybrid and pull-down assays, we show that the protein can interact with itself and with members of Arabidopsis thaliana AtPDX1 and AtPDX2 families. Furthermore, we prove the function of GbPDX1 in vitamin B6 biosynthesis by complementation of an Arabidopsis AtPDX1.3 mutant rsr4-1, at the phenotypical level and increasing vitamin B6 levels caused by ectopic GbPDX1 expression in the mutant background. Overall, this study provides a first description of Ginkgo vitamin B6 metabolism, and demonstrates a high degree of conservation between Ginkgo and Arabidopsis.