Multiple Regiospecific Methylations of a Flavonoid by Plant O-Methyltransferases Expressed in E. coli

Diversity and regioselectivity of O-methyltransferases catalyzing the formation of O-methylated flavonoids

Flavonoids and their methylated derivatives have immense market potential in the food and biomedical industries due to their multiple beneficial effects, such as antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer activities. The biological synthesis of flavonoids and their derivatives is often accomplished via the use of genetically modified microorganisms to ensure large-scale production. Therefore, it is pivotal to understand the properties of O-methyltransferases (OMTs) that mediate the methylation of flavonoids. However, the properties of these OMTs are governed by their: sources, substrate specificity, amino acid residues in the active sites, and the intricate mechanism. In order to obtain a clue for the selection of suitable OMTs for the biosynthesis of a target methylated flavonoid, we made a comprehensive review of the currently reported results, with a particular focus on their comparative regioselectivity for different flavonoid substrates. Additionally, the possible mechanisms for the diversity of this class of enzymes were explored using molecular simulation technology. Finally, major gaps in our understanding and areas for future studies were discussed. The findings of this study may be useful in selecting genes that encode OMTs and designing enzyme-based processes for synthesizing O-methylated flavonoids.

De novo biosynthesis of anticarcinogenic icariin in engineered yeast

Icariin (ICA) has wide applications in nutraceuticals and medicine with strong anticancer activities. However, the structural complexity and low abundance in plants of ICA lead to the unsustainable and high-cost supply from chemical synthesis and plant extraction. Here, the whole biosynthesis pathway of ICA was elucidated, then was constructed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, including a 13-step heterologous ICA pathway from eleven kinds of plants as well as deletions or overexpression of ten yeast endogenous genes. Spatial regulation of 8-C-prenyltransferase to mitochondria and three-stage sequential control of 4'-O-methyltransferase, 3-OH rhamnosyltransferase, and 7-OH glycosyltransferase expression successfully achieved the de novo synthesis of ICA with a titer of 130 μg/L under shake-flask culture. The ICA synthesis from glucose represents the longest reconstructed pathway of flavonoid in microbe so far. This study provides a potential choice for the sustainable microbial production of number of complex flavonoids.

Modification of flavonoids: methods and influences on biological activities

Flavonoids are important active ingredients in plant-based food, which have many beneficial effects on health. But the low solubility, poor oral bioavailability, and inferior stability of many flavonoids may limit their applications in the food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical industries. Structural modification can overcome these shortcomings to improve and extend the application of flavonoids. The study of how to modify flavonoids and the influence of various modifications on biological activity have drawn great interest in the current literature. In this review, the working principles and operating conditions of modification methods were summarized along with their potential and limitations in terms of operational safety, cost, and productivity. The influence of various modifications on biological activities and the structure-activity relationships of flavonoids derivatives were discussed and highlighted, which may give guidance for the synthesis of highly effective active agents. In addition, the safety of flavonoids derivatives is reviewed, and future research directions of flavonoid modification research are discussed.

Metabolic Division in an Escherichia coli Coculture System for Efficient Production of Kaempferide

Kaempferide, a plant-derived natural flavonoid, exhibits excellent pharmacological activities with nutraceutical and medicinal applications in human healthcare. Efficient microbial production of complex flavonoids suffers from metabolic crosstalk and burden, which is a big challenge for synthetic biology. Herein, we identified 4'-O-methyltransferases and divided the artificial biosynthetic pathway of kaempferide into upstream, midstream, and downstream modules. By combining heterologous genes from different sources and fine-tuning the expression, we optimized each module for the production of kaempferide. Furthermore, we designed and evaluated four division patterns of synthetic labor in coculture systems by plug-and-play modularity. The linear division of three modules in a three-strain coculture showed higher productivity of kaempferide than that in two-strain cocultures. The U-shaped division by co-distributing the upstream and downstream modules in one strain led to the best performance of the coculture system, which produced 116.0 ± 3.9 mg/L kaempferide, which was 510, 140, and 50% higher than that produced by the monoculture, two-strain coculture, and three-strain coculture with the linear division, respectively. This is the first report of efficient de novo production of kaempferide in a robust Escherichia coli coculture. The strategy of U-shaped pathway division in the coculture provides a promising way for improving the productivity of valuable and complex natural products.

Modification of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa toxin 2-heptyl-1-hydroxyquinolin-4(1H)-one and other secondary metabolites by methyltransferases from mycobacteria

The opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, one of the most prevalent species in infections of the cystic fibrosis lung, produces a range of secondary metabolites, among them the respiratory toxin 2-heptyl-1-hydroxyquinolin-4(1H)-one (2-heptyl-4-hydroxyquinoline N-oxide, HQNO). Cultures of the emerging cystic fibrosis pathogen Mycobacteroides abscessus detoxify HQNO by methylating the N-hydroxy moiety. In this study, the class I methyltransferase MAB_2834c and its orthologue from Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Rv0560c, were identified as HQNO O-methyltransferases. The P. aeruginosa exoproducts 4-hydroxyquinolin-2(1H)-one (DHQ), 2-heptylquinolin-4(1H)-one (HHQ), and 2-heptyl-3-hydroxyquinolin-4(1H)-one (the 'Pseudomonas quinolone signal', PQS), some structurally related (iso)quinolones, and the flavonol quercetin were also methylated; however, HQNO was by far the preferred substrate. Both enzymes converted a benzimidazole[1,2-a]pyridine-4-carbonitrile-based compound, representing the scaffold of antimycobacterial substances, to an N-methylated derivative. We suggest that these promiscuous methyltransferases, newly termed as heterocyclic toxin methyltransferases (Htm), are involved in cellular response to chemical stress and possibly contribute to resistance of mycobacteria toward antimicrobial natural compounds as well as drugs. Thus, synthetic antimycobacterial agents may be designed to be unamenable to methyl transfer. ENZYMES: S-adenosyl-l-methionine:2-heptyl-1-hydroxyquinolin-4(1H)-one O-methyl-transferase, EC 2.1.1.

A Review on Structure, Modifications and Structure-Activity Relation of Quercetin and Its Derivatives

Quercetin and its derivatives are important metabolites that belong to the flavonol class of flavonoids. Quercetin and some of the conjugates have been approved by the FDA for human use. They are widely distributed among plants and have various biological activities, such as being anticancer, antiviral, and antioxidant. Hence, the biosynthesis of novel derivatives is an important field of research. Glycosylation and methylation are two important modification strategies that have long been used and have resulted in many novel metabolites that are not present in natural sources. A strategy for modifying quercetin in E. coli by means of glycosylation, for example, involves overexpressing respective glycosyltransferases (GTs) in the host and metabolic engineering for increasing nucleoside diphosphate sugar (NDP sugar). Still others have used microorganisms other than E. coli, such as Streptomyces sp., for the biotransformation process. The overall study of the structural activity relationship has revealed that modification of some residues in quercetin decreased one activity but increased others. This review summarizes all of the information mentioned above.

Biological synthesis of genistein in Escherichia coli

Genistein is a type of isoflavonoid found predominantly in leguminous plants. Genistein has diverse biological activities, such as anthelmintic and antioxidant effects, as well as inhibitory effects on the growth of several cancers. In addition, genistein is well known as a phytoestrogen. In this study, we attempted to biologically synthesize genistein from either p-coumaric acid or naringenin using Escherichia coli as a biotransformation host. Four genes, Os4CL, PeCHS, RcIFS, and OsCPR, were used for genistein production. To functionally express RcIFS and OsCPR, two members of the cytochrome P450 family, in E. coli, the membrane-binding anchor domain of each gene was removed, and RcIFS and OsCPR were translationally fused to generate an RcIFS-OsCPR hybrid. Os4CL and PeCHS, or the RcIFS-OsCPR hybrid, were then transformed into E. coli BL21(DE3). Using these strains, we optimized our culture system at a laboratory scale in terms of the cell density, concentrations of substrate and isopropyl-β-D-thiogalactoside, temperature, and culture medium. Under the optimized culture conditions, genistein was produced at up to 35 mg/l and 18.6 mg/l using naringenin and p-coumaric acid, respectively.

A High-Throughput Screen for Directed Evolution of the Natural Product Sulfotransferase LipB

In this article, the authors describe a colorimetric, high-throughput assay suitable for optimizing the activity of the recently discovered sulfotransferase LipB, by directed evolution. Crucially, LipB uses para-nitrophenol sulfate as donor in the sulfation of the nucleoside antibiotic liposidomycin B-I and other acceptor surrogates. Thus, using a robotic liquid-handling device, crude cell extracts were prepared from an Escherichia coli strain that overproduced LipB in wells of a microplate, and production of para-nitrophenol at 405 nm was monitored spectrophotometrically. Enzyme activity could be detected only in the presence of both LipB substrates and overexpressed LipB. The screen displays a suitable standard deviation for directed evolution and importantly is not limited to the natural desulfo-liposidomycin acceptor. The authors plan to use the screen to identify LipB variants with altered acceptor specificity and promiscuity for use in sulfation of natural products and other small-molecule therapeutics.

Preliminary Investigation of Naringenin Hydroxylation with Recombinant E. coli Expressing Plant Flavonoid Hydroxylation Gene

Flavonoid hydroxylation is one way to increase the biological activities of these molecules and the number of hydroxyl groups needed for polymerization, esterification, alkylation, glycosylation and acylation reactions. These reactions have been suggested as a promising route to enhance flavonoid solubility and stability. In our preliminary study we hydroxylated naringenin (the first flavonoid core synthesized in plants) with recombinant E. coli harboring flavanone 3 hydroxylase (F3H). We demonstrated that recombinant E. coli harboring the F3H from Petroselinum crispum, can convert naringenin to dihydrokaempferol. The whole cell hydroxylase activity was often influenced by the stability of the plasmid harboring the cloned gene and the biomass yield. When the composition of the growth media became richer the amount of formed product decreased about twofold; the naringenin bioconversion yield in LB media was 70% and decreased to 33% in TB. However, the enrichment of culture media increased the biomass yield nearly threefold in LB media, only 0.5 g/L of bacteria was formed, but in TB there was 1.6 g/L. Thus, LB constitutes the best medium for naringenin bioconversion using the recombinant E. coli harboring the F3H; this allows for maximum bioconversion yield and plasmid stability when compared with the fourth tested culture medium. Consequently, E. coli harboring F3H from Petroselinum crispum can be used to produce flavonoids hydroxylated in position 3 that can serve in additional reactions like polymerization, glycosylation, and acylation,

Regioselectivity of 7-O-methyltransferase of poplar to flavones

POMT-7, an O-methyltransferase from poplar (Populus deltoids) was used to modify a variety of flavonoid compounds. POMT-7 was able to transfer a methyl group to several flavonoids containing a C-7 hydroxyl group. However, POMT-7 showed a higher affinity toward flavonol and flavone such as apigenin, kaempferol, luteolin, and quercetin than flavanone and isoflavone. Based on comparison of HPLC retention times with authentic compounds and corresponding nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy data, the methylation position of the reaction products was determined to be at the hydroxyl group of C-7. Biotransformation kinetics indicated that the enzyme converted more than 80% of the apigenin, kaempferol, luteolin and quercetin substrates, which were added at concentration of 70 microM, into corresponding 7-methoxy compounds within 24 h.