Vanillin aminotransferase-like homologues from Solanaceae beyond Capsicum species show differential capacity to support vanillylamine accumulation in planta.

Tomato VAMT-like homologues SlVAMT1 and SlVAMT2 supported substantially higher vanillylamine accumulation than the Capsicum reference enzyme in transient Nicotiana benthamiana leaves after vanillin feeding.

• Why it matters: It was unclear whether VAMT-like vanillylamine-forming activity is functionally restricted to Capsicum or broadly retained across related Solanaceae homologues in a plant context.
• What they did: The study built an LC-MS/MS workflow to quantify vanillin, vanillylamine, and vanillyl alcohol, then used transient N. benthamiana leaf assays with vanillin feeding to test Capsicum, tomato, and tobacco VAMT-like proteins.
• The result: SlVAMT3 produced no detectable vanillylamine above empty vector, while NtVAMT1 increased accumulation but NtVAMT2 and tested N. benthamiana homologues did not, showing strong functional divergence among closely related enzymes.