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Urui M, Yamada Y, Nakagawa A, Sato F, Minami H, Shitan N. Enhanced Co-culture System Using Escherichia coli and Pichia pastoris (Komagataella phaffii) for Improved Microbial Production of Valuable Plant Alkaloids. Biol Pharm Bull 2023; 46:1494-1497. [PMID: 37779052 DOI: 10.1248/bpb.b23-00473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/03/2023]
Abstract
Advancements in synthetic biology have facilitated the microbial production of valuable plant metabolites. However, constructing complete biosynthetic pathways within a single host organism remains challenging. To solve this problem, modular co-culture systems involving host organisms with partial pathways have been developed. We focused on Escherichia coli, a general host for metabolite production, and Pichia pastoris (Komagataella phaffii), a novel synthetic biology host due to its high expression of biosynthetic enzymes. Previously, we reported the co-culture of E. coli cells, which produce reticuline (an important intermediate for various alkaloids) from glycerol, with P. pastoris cells, which produce the valuable alkaloid stylopine from reticuline. However, Pichia cells inhibited E. coli growth and reticuline production. Therefore, we aimed to improve this co-culture system. We investigated the pre-culture time before co-culture to enhance E. coli growth and reticuline production. Additionally, we examined the optimal concentration of Pichia cells inoculated for co-culture and methanol addition during co-culture for the continuous expression of biosynthetic enzymes in Pichia cells. We successfully established an improved co-culture system that exhibited an 80-fold increase in productivity compared to previous methods. This enhanced system holds great potential for the rapid and large-scale production of various valuable plant metabolites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miya Urui
- Laboratory of Medicinal Cell Biology, Kobe Pharmaceutical University
| | - Yasuyuki Yamada
- Laboratory of Medicinal Cell Biology, Kobe Pharmaceutical University
| | - Akira Nakagawa
- Research Institute for Bioresources and Biotechnology, Ishikawa Prefectural University
| | - Fumihiko Sato
- Department of Plant Gene and Totipotency, Division of Integrated Life Science, Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University
- Graduate School of Science, Osaka Metropolitan University
| | - Hiromichi Minami
- Research Institute for Bioresources and Biotechnology, Ishikawa Prefectural University
| | - Nobukazu Shitan
- Laboratory of Medicinal Cell Biology, Kobe Pharmaceutical University
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Yi X, Alper HS. Considering Strain Variation and Non-Type Strains for Yeast Metabolic Engineering Applications. Life (Basel) 2022; 12:life12040510. [PMID: 35455001 PMCID: PMC9032683 DOI: 10.3390/life12040510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2022] [Revised: 03/24/2022] [Accepted: 03/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
A variety of yeast species have been considered ideal hosts for metabolic engineering to produce value-added chemicals, including the model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae, as well as non-conventional yeasts including Yarrowia lipolytica, Kluyveromyces marxianus, and Pichia pastoris. However, the metabolic capacity of these microbes is not simply dictated or implied by genus or species alone. Within the same species, yeast strains can display distinct variations in their phenotypes and metabolism, which affect the performance of introduced pathways and the production of interesting compounds. Moreover, it is unclear how this metabolic potential corresponds to function upon rewiring these organisms. These reports thus point out a new consideration for successful metabolic engineering, specifically: what are the best strains to utilize and how does one achieve effective metabolic engineering? Understanding such questions will accelerate the host selection and optimization process for generating yeast cell factories. In this review, we survey recent advances in studying yeast strain variations and utilizing non-type strains in pathway production and metabolic engineering applications. Additionally, we highlight the importance of employing portable methods for metabolic rewiring to best access this metabolic diversity. Finally, we conclude by highlighting the importance of considering strain diversity in metabolic engineering applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiunan Yi
- Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA;
| | - Hal S. Alper
- Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA;
- McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
- Correspondence:
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Study on Multi-Model Soft Sensor Modeling Method and Its Model Optimization for the Fermentation Process of Pichia pastoris. SENSORS 2021; 21:s21227635. [PMID: 34833720 PMCID: PMC8624527 DOI: 10.3390/s21227635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2021] [Revised: 11/10/2021] [Accepted: 11/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The problems that the key biomass variables in Pichia pastoris fermentation process are difficult measure in real time; this paper mainly proposes a multi-model soft sensor modeling method based on the piecewise affine (PWA) modeling method, which is optimized by particle swarm optimization (PSO) with an improved compression factor (ICF). Firstly, the false nearest neighbor method was used to determine the order of the PWA model. Secondly, the ICF-PSO algorithm was proposed to cooperatively optimize the number of PWA models and the parameters of each local model. Finally, a least squares support vector machine was adopted to determine the scope of action of each local model. Simulation results show that the proposed ICF-PSO-PWA multi-model soft sensor modeling method accurately approximated the nonlinear features of Pichia pastoris fermentation, and the model prediction accuracy is improved by 4.4884% compared with the weighted least squares vector regression model optimized by PSO.
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Urui M, Yamada Y, Ikeda Y, Nakagawa A, Sato F, Minami H, Shitan N. Establishment of a co-culture system using Escherichia coli and Pichia pastoris (Komagataella phaffii) for valuable alkaloid production. Microb Cell Fact 2021; 20:200. [PMID: 34663314 PMCID: PMC8522034 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-021-01687-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2021] [Accepted: 09/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Plants produce a variety of specialized metabolites, many of which are used in pharmaceutical industries as raw materials. However, certain metabolites may be produced at markedly low concentrations in plants. This problem has been overcome through metabolic engineering in recent years, and the production of valuable plant compounds using microorganisms such as Escherichia coli or yeast cells has been realized. However, the development of complicated pathways in a single cell remains challenging. Additionally, microbial cells may experience toxicity from the bioactive compounds produced or negative feedback effects exerted on their biosynthetic enzymes. Thus, co-culture systems, such as those of E. coli–E. coli and E. coli-Saccharomyces cerevisiae, have been developed, and increased production of certain compounds has been achieved. Recently, a co-culture system of Pichia pastoris (Komagataella phaffii) has gained considerable attention due to its potential utility in increased production of valuable compounds. However, its co-culture with other organisms such as E. coli, which produce important intermediates at high concentrations, has not been reported. Results Here, we present a novel co-culture platform for E. coli and P. pastoris. Upstream E. coli cells produced reticuline from a simple carbon source, and the downstream P. pastoris cells produced stylopine from reticuline. We investigated the effect of four media commonly used for growth and production of P. pastoris, and found that buffered methanol-complex medium (BMMY) was suitable for P. pastoris cells. Reticuline-producing E. coli cells also showed better growth and reticuline production in BMMY medium than that in LB medium. De novo production of the final product, stylopine from a simple carbon source, glycerol, was successful upon co-culture of both strains in BMMY medium. Further analysis of the initial inoculation ratio showed that a higher ratio of E. coli cells compared to P. pastoris cells led to higher production of stylopine. Conclusions This is the first report of co-culture system established with engineered E. coli and P. pastoris for the de novo production of valuable compounds. The co-culture system established herein would be useful for increased production of heterologous biosynthesis of complex specialized plant metabolites. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12934-021-01687-z.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miya Urui
- Laboratory of Medicinal Cell Biology, Kobe Pharmaceutical University, Motoyamakita-machi, Higashinada-ku, Kobe, 658-8558, Japan
| | - Yasuyuki Yamada
- Laboratory of Medicinal Cell Biology, Kobe Pharmaceutical University, Motoyamakita-machi, Higashinada-ku, Kobe, 658-8558, Japan
| | - Yoshito Ikeda
- Laboratory of Medicinal Cell Biology, Kobe Pharmaceutical University, Motoyamakita-machi, Higashinada-ku, Kobe, 658-8558, Japan
| | - Akira Nakagawa
- Research Institute for Bioresources and Biotechnology, Ishikawa Prefectural University, Nonoichi-shi, Ishikawa, 921-8836, Japan
| | - Fumihiko Sato
- Department of Plant Gene and Totipotency, Division of Integrated Life Science, Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8502, Japan.,Graduate School of Science, Osaka Prefecture University, Sakai, 599-8531, Japan
| | - Hiromichi Minami
- Research Institute for Bioresources and Biotechnology, Ishikawa Prefectural University, Nonoichi-shi, Ishikawa, 921-8836, Japan
| | - Nobukazu Shitan
- Laboratory of Medicinal Cell Biology, Kobe Pharmaceutical University, Motoyamakita-machi, Higashinada-ku, Kobe, 658-8558, Japan.
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Bradley SA, Zhang J, Jensen MK. Deploying Microbial Synthesis for Halogenating and Diversifying Medicinal Alkaloid Scaffolds. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2020; 8:594126. [PMID: 33195162 PMCID: PMC7644825 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2020.594126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2020] [Accepted: 10/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Plants produce some of the most potent therapeutics and have been used for thousands of years to treat human diseases. Today, many medicinal natural products are still extracted from source plants at scale as their complexity precludes total synthesis from bulk chemicals. However, extraction from plants can be an unreliable and low-yielding source for human therapeutics, making the supply chain for some of these life-saving medicines expensive and unstable. There has therefore been significant interest in refactoring these plant pathways in genetically tractable microbes, which grow more reliably and where the plant pathways can be more easily engineered to improve the titer, rate and yield of medicinal natural products. In addition, refactoring plant biosynthetic pathways in microbes also offers the possibility to explore new-to-nature chemistry more systematically, and thereby help expand the chemical space that can be probed for drugs as well as enable the study of pharmacological properties of such new-to-nature chemistry. This perspective will review the recent progress toward heterologous production of plant medicinal alkaloids in microbial systems. In particular, we focus on the refactoring of halogenated alkaloids in yeast, which has created an unprecedented opportunity for biosynthesis of previously inaccessible new-to-nature variants of the natural alkaloid scaffolds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel A Bradley
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Jie Zhang
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Michael K Jensen
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
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Uchida K, Aoki T, Suzuki H, Akashi T. Molecular cloning and biochemical characterization of isoflav-3-ene synthase, a key enzyme of the biosyntheses of (+)-pisatin and coumestrol. PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY (TOKYO, JAPAN) 2020; 37:301-310. [PMID: 33088193 PMCID: PMC7557667 DOI: 10.5511/plantbiotechnology.20.0421a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2020] [Accepted: 04/21/2020] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
Most leguminous plants produce (-)-type enantiomers of pterocarpans as the phytoalexin, but pea (Pisum sativum L.) produces the opposite stereoisomer of pterocarpan, (+)-pisatin. Biosynthesis of (-)-pterocarpan skeleton is completely characterized at the molecular level, and pterocarpan synthase (PTS), a dirigent (DIR) domain-containing protein, participates in the last dehydration reaction. Similarly, isoflav-3-ene, a precursor of (+)-pisatin, is likely to be biosynthesized by the DIR-mediated dehydration reaction; however the biosynthesis is still unknown. In the present study, we screened PTS homologs based on RNA-sequence data from (+)-pisatin-producing pea seedlings and demonstrated that one of the candidates encodes isoflav-3-ene synthase (I3S). Real-time PCR analysis revealed that transcripts of I3S, in addition to other genes involved in the (+)-pisatin pathway, transiently accumulated in pea upon elicitation prior to the maximum accumulation of (+)-pisatin. I3S orthologs were also found in soybean and Lotus japonicus that are not known to accumulate (+)-pterocarpan, and the catalytic function of gene products was verified to be I3S by the in vitro enzyme assay. Incubation of the crude extract of elicited soybean cells with isoflav-3-ene yielded coumestrol, suggesting that isoflav-3-ene is a precursor of coumestrol biosynthesis in soybean.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai Uchida
- Department of Applied Biological Sciences, Nihon University, Fujisawa, Kanagawa 252-0880, Japan
| | - Toshio Aoki
- Department of Applied Biological Sciences, Nihon University, Fujisawa, Kanagawa 252-0880, Japan
| | - Hideyuki Suzuki
- Kazusa DNA Research Institute, 2-6-7 Kazusa-Kamatari, Kisarazu, Chiba 292-0818, Japan
| | - Tomoyoshi Akashi
- Department of Applied Biological Sciences, Nihon University, Fujisawa, Kanagawa 252-0880, Japan
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7
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Microbial production of novel sulphated alkaloids for drug discovery. Sci Rep 2018; 8:7980. [PMID: 29789647 PMCID: PMC5964154 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-26306-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2018] [Accepted: 05/04/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Natural products from plants are useful as lead compounds in drug discovery. Plant benzylisoquinoline alkaloids (BIAs) exhibit various pharmaceutical activities. Although unidentified BIAs are expected to be of medicinal value, sufficient quantities of such BIAs, for biological assays, are sometimes difficult to obtain due to their low content in natural sources. Here, we showed that high productivity of BIAs in engineered Escherichia coli could be exploited for drug discovery. First, we improved upon the previous microbial production system producing (S)-reticuline, an important BIA intermediate, to obtain yields of around 160 mg/L, which was 4-fold higher than those of the previously reported highest production system. Subsequently, we synthesised non-natural BIAs (O-sulphated (S)-reticulines) by introducing human sulphotransferases into the improved (S)-reticuline production system. Analysis of human primary cells treated with these BIAs demonstrated that they affected a biomarker expression in a manner different from that by the parent compound (S)-reticuline, suggesting that simple side-chain modification altered the characteristic traits of BIA. These results indicated that highly productive microbial systems might facilitate the production of scarce or novel BIAs and enable subsequent evaluation of their biological activities. The system developed here could be applied to other rare natural products and might contribute to the drug-discovery process as a next-generation strategy.
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Scoulerine affects microtubule structure, inhibits proliferation, arrests cell cycle and thus culminates in the apoptotic death of cancer cells. Sci Rep 2018; 8:4829. [PMID: 29555944 PMCID: PMC5859271 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-22862-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2017] [Accepted: 03/01/2018] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Scoulerine is an isoquinoline alkaloid, which indicated promising suppression of cancer cells growth. However, the mode of action (MOA) remained unclear. Cytotoxic and antiproliferative properties were determined in this study. Scoulerine reduces the mitochondrial dehydrogenases activity of the evaluated leukemic cells with IC50 values ranging from 2.7 to 6.5 µM. The xCELLigence system revealed that scoulerine exerted potent antiproliferative activity in lung, ovarian and breast carcinoma cell lines. Jurkat and MOLT-4 leukemic cells treated with scoulerine were decreased in proliferation and viability. Scoulerine acted to inhibit proliferation through inducing G2 or M-phase cell cycle arrest, which correlates well with the observed breakdown of the microtubule network, increased Chk1 Ser345, Chk2 Thr68 and mitotic H3 Ser10 phosphorylation. Scoulerine was able to activate apoptosis, as determined by p53 upregulation, increase caspase activity, Annexin V and TUNEL labeling. Results highlight the potent antiproliferative and proapoptotic function of scoulerine in cancer cells caused by its ability to interfere with the microtubule elements of the cytoskeleton, checkpoint kinase signaling and p53 proteins. This is the first study of the mechanism of scoulerine at cellular and molecular level. Scoulerine is a potent antimitotic compound and that it merits further investigation as an anticancer drug.
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Hori K, Yamada Y, Purwanto R, Minakuchi Y, Toyoda A, Hirakawa H, Sato F. Mining of the Uncharacterized Cytochrome P450 Genes Involved in Alkaloid Biosynthesis in California Poppy Using a Draft Genome Sequence. PLANT & CELL PHYSIOLOGY 2018; 59:222-233. [PMID: 29301019 PMCID: PMC5913652 DOI: 10.1093/pcp/pcx210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2017] [Accepted: 12/26/2017] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Land plants produce specialized low molecular weight metabolites to adapt to various environmental stressors, such as UV radiation, pathogen infection, wounding and animal feeding damage. Due to the large variety of stresses, plants produce various chemicals, particularly plant species-specific alkaloids, through specialized biosynthetic pathways. In this study, using a draft genome sequence and querying known biosynthetic cytochrome P450 (P450) enzyme-encoding genes, we characterized the P450 genes involved in benzylisoquinoline alkaloid (BIA) biosynthesis in California poppy (Eschscholzia californica), as P450s are key enzymes involved in the diversification of specialized metabolism. Our in silico studies showed that all identified enzyme-encoding genes involved in BIA biosynthesis were found in the draft genome sequence of approximately 489 Mb, which covered approximately 97% of the whole genome (502 Mb). Further analyses showed that some P450 families involved in BIA biosynthesis, i.e. the CYP80, CYP82 and CYP719 families, were more enriched in the genome of E. californica than in the genome of Arabidopsis thaliana, a plant that does not produce BIAs. CYP82 family genes were highly abundant, so we measured the expression of CYP82 genes with respect to alkaloid accumulation in different plant tissues and two cell lines whose BIA production differs to estimate the functions of the genes. Further characterization revealed two highly homologous P450s (CYP82P2 and CYP82P3) that exhibited 10-hydroxylase activities with different substrate specificities. Here, we discuss the evolution of the P450 genes and the potential for further genome mining of the genes encoding the enzymes involved in BIA biosynthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kentaro Hori
- Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa, Sakyo, Kyoto, 606-8502 Japan
| | - Yasuyuki Yamada
- Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa, Sakyo, Kyoto, 606-8502 Japan
| | - Ratmoyo Purwanto
- Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa, Sakyo, Kyoto, 606-8502 Japan
| | - Yohei Minakuchi
- National Institute for Genetics, 1111 Yata, Mishima, Shizuoka, 411-8540 Japan
| | - Atsushi Toyoda
- National Institute for Genetics, 1111 Yata, Mishima, Shizuoka, 411-8540 Japan
| | - Hideki Hirakawa
- Kazusa DNA Research Institute, 2-6-7 Kazusa-kamatari, Kisarazu, Chiba, 292-0818 Japan
| | - Fumihiko Sato
- Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa, Sakyo, Kyoto, 606-8502 Japan
- Corresponding author: E-mail,
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Green Routes for the Production of Enantiopure Benzylisoquinoline Alkaloids. Int J Mol Sci 2017; 18:ijms18112464. [PMID: 29156609 PMCID: PMC5713430 DOI: 10.3390/ijms18112464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2017] [Revised: 11/14/2017] [Accepted: 11/16/2017] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Benzylisoquinoline alkaloids (BIAs) are among the most important plant secondary metabolites, in that they include a number of biologically active substances widely employed as pharmaceuticals. Isolation of BIAs from their natural sources is an expensive and time-consuming procedure as they accumulate in very low levels in plant. Moreover, total synthesis is challenging due to the presence of stereogenic centers. In view of these considerations, green and scalable methods for BIA synthesis using fully enzymatic approaches are getting more and more attention. The aim of this paper is to review fully enzymatic strategies for producing the benzylisoquinoline central precursor, (S)-norcoclaurine and its derivatives. Specifically, we will detail the current status of synthesis of BIAs in microbial hosts as well as using isolated and recombinant enzymes.
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Schwarzhans JP, Luttermann T, Geier M, Kalinowski J, Friehs K. Towards systems metabolic engineering in Pichia pastoris. Biotechnol Adv 2017; 35:681-710. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2017.07.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 87] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2017] [Revised: 07/20/2017] [Accepted: 07/24/2017] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
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Purwanto R, Hori K, Yamada Y, Sato F. Unraveling Additional O-Methylation Steps in Benzylisoquinoline Alkaloid Biosynthesis in California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica). PLANT & CELL PHYSIOLOGY 2017; 58:1528-1540. [PMID: 28922749 DOI: 10.1093/pcp/pcx093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2017] [Accepted: 06/30/2017] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
California poppy (Eschscholzia californica), a member of the Papaveraceae family, produces many biologically active benzylisoquinoline alkaloids (BIAs), such as sanguinarine, macarpine and chelerythrine. Sanguinarine biosynthesis has been elucidated at the molecular level, and its biosynthetic genes have been isolated and used in synthetic biology approaches to produce BIAs in vitro. However, several genes involved in the biosynthesis of macarpine and chelerythrine have not yet been characterized. In this study, we report the isolation and characterization of a novel O-methyltransferase (OMT) involved in the biosynthesis of partially characterized BIAs, especially chelerythrine. A search of the RNA sequence database from NCBI and PhytoMetaSyn for the conserved OMT domain identified 68 new OMT-like sequences, of which the longest 22 sequences were selected based on sequence similarity. Based on their expression in cell lines with different macarpine/chelerythrine profiles, we selected three OMTs (G2, G3 and G11) for further characterization. G3 expression in Escherichia coli indicated O-methylation activity of the simple benzylisoquinolines, including reticuline and norreticuline, and the protoberberine scoulerine with dual regio-reactivities. G3 produced 7-O-methylated, 3'-O-methylated and dual O-methylated products from reticuline and norreticuline, and 9-O-methylated tetrahydrocolumbamine, 2-O-methylscoulerine and tetrahydropalmatine from scoulerine. Further enzymatic analyses suggested that G3 is a scoulerine-9-O-methyltransferase for the biosynthesis of chelerythrine in California poppy. In the present study, we discuss the physiological role of G3 in BIA biosynthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ratmoyo Purwanto
- Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Biology of Totipotency, Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa, Sakyo, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan
| | - Kentaro Hori
- Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Biology of Totipotency, Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa, Sakyo, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan
| | - Yasuyuki Yamada
- Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Biology of Totipotency, Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa, Sakyo, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan
| | - Fumihiko Sato
- Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Biology of Totipotency, Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa, Sakyo, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan
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Ehrenworth AM, Peralta-Yahya P. Accelerating the semisynthesis of alkaloid-based drugs through metabolic engineering. Nat Chem Biol 2017; 13:249-258. [DOI: 10.1038/nchembio.2308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2016] [Accepted: 12/19/2016] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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14
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Matsumura E, Nakagawa A, Tomabechi Y, Koyanagi T, Kumagai H, Yamamoto K, Katayama T, Sato F, Minami H. Laboratory-scale production of (S)-reticuline, an important intermediate of benzylisoquinoline alkaloids, using a bacterial-based method. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem 2017; 81:396-402. [DOI: 10.1080/09168451.2016.1243985] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Benzylisoquinoline alkaloids (BIAs) are a group of plant secondary metabolites that have been identified as targets for drug discovery because of their diverse pharmaceutical activities. Well-known BIAs are relatively abundant in plants and have therefore been extensively studied. However, although unknown BIAs are also thought to have valuable activities, they are difficult to obtain because the raw materials are present at low abundance in nature. We have previously reported the fermentative production of an important intermediate (S)-reticuline from dopamine using Escherichia coli. However, the yield is typically limited. Here, we improved production efficiency by combining in vivo tetrahydropapaveroline production in E. coli with in vitro enzymatic synthesis of (S)-reticuline. Finally, 593 mg of pure (S)-reticuline was obtained from 1 L of the reaction mixture. Because this bacterial-based method is simple, it could be widely used for production of (S)-reticuline and related BIAs, thereby facilitating studies of BIAs for drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eitaro Matsumura
- Research Institute for Bioresources and Biotechnology, Ishikawa Prefectural University, Nonoichi, Japan
| | - Akira Nakagawa
- Research Institute for Bioresources and Biotechnology, Ishikawa Prefectural University, Nonoichi, Japan
| | - Yusuke Tomabechi
- Research Institute for Bioresources and Biotechnology, Ishikawa Prefectural University, Nonoichi, Japan
| | - Takashi Koyanagi
- Research Institute for Bioresources and Biotechnology, Ishikawa Prefectural University, Nonoichi, Japan
| | - Hidehiko Kumagai
- Research Institute for Bioresources and Biotechnology, Ishikawa Prefectural University, Nonoichi, Japan
| | - Kenji Yamamoto
- Research Institute for Bioresources and Biotechnology, Ishikawa Prefectural University, Nonoichi, Japan
| | - Takane Katayama
- Division of Integrated Life Science, Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Fumihiko Sato
- Division of Integrated Life Science, Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Hiromichi Minami
- Research Institute for Bioresources and Biotechnology, Ishikawa Prefectural University, Nonoichi, Japan
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