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Wang H, Jiang M, Ma S, Hu Y, Zhang X, Zhu H, Zhang J, Wang Y. Formation mechanism, prevention of malignant ascites effusion and reduction of intestinal mucosal irritation of natural microemulsion from Euphorbia lathyris Pulveratum. Biomed Pharmacother 2024; 178:117253. [PMID: 39111084 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2024.117253] [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] [Received: 05/21/2024] [Revised: 07/28/2024] [Accepted: 07/31/2024] [Indexed: 08/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Malignant ascites effusion (MAE) is a common complication of advanced malignant tumors with limited treatments. Euphorbia lathyris (EL) has a long history of application in patients with edema and ascites. Herein, we reported for the first time a mode in which EL and EL Pulveratum (PEL) spontaneously formed natural microemulsions (ELM and PELM) without the addition of any carriers and excipients, and found that the protein and phospholipid contained in them encapsulated fatty oil and diterpenoid esters through non-covalent interactions. The denaturation and degradation of protein in PELM resulted in stronger binding of diterpenoid esters to the hydrophobic region of protein, which facilitated the sustained and slow release of diterpenoid esters and improved their bioavailability in vivo, thereby retaining the efficacy of preventing MAE while alleviating the irritation of intestinal mucosa. The mechanism by which PELM retained efficacy might be related to increased feces moisture and urine volume, and decreased expression of AVPR2, cAMP, PKA and AQP3 in MAE mice. And its mechanism of reducing intestinal mucosal irritation was related to decreased cell apoptosis, amelioration of oxidative stress, elevation of mitochondrial membrane potential, and up-regulation of Occludin and Claudin-1 expression in IEC-6 cells. This nano-adjuvant-free natural microemulsions may be a promising therapeutic strategy in the field of phytochemistry for promoting the application of natural and efficient nano-aggregates spontaneously formed by medicinal plants in MAE, and provide a new perspective for advancing the development of the fusion of Chinese herbal medicine and nanomedicine and its clinical translation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huinan Wang
- School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 102488, PR China
| | - Mingrui Jiang
- School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 102488, PR China
| | - Siyuan Ma
- School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 102488, PR China
| | - Yufeng Hu
- School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 102488, PR China
| | - Xinning Zhang
- School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 102488, PR China
| | - Haiting Zhu
- School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 102488, PR China
| | - Junli Zhang
- School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 102488, PR China
| | - Yingzi Wang
- School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 102488, PR China.
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2
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Wang Y, Xu S, Zhang G, Li P, Liu C, Zhou J, Feng X, Li L, Chen Y. Targeted discovery of unusual diterpenoids with anti-fungal activity from the root of Euphorbia lathyris. PHYTOCHEMISTRY 2024; 225:114193. [PMID: 38908463 DOI: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2024.114193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2024] [Revised: 06/14/2024] [Accepted: 06/16/2024] [Indexed: 06/24/2024]
Abstract
Lathyrisone A (1), a diterpene with an undescribed tricyclic 6/6/6 fused carbon skeleton, along with spirolathyrisins B-D (3-5), three diterpenes with a rare [4.5.0] spirocyclic carbon skeleton, and one known compound (2) were isolated from the roots of Euphorbia lathyris. Their chemical structures were characterized by extensive spectroscopic analysis, X-ray crystallography, ECD and quantum chemistry calculation. A plausible biosynthetic pathway for compounds 1-5 was proposed, which suggested it is a competitive pathway for ingenol biosynthesis in the plant. The anti-fungal activities of these compounds were tested, especially, compound 2 showed stronger anti-fungal activities against Fusarium oxysporum and Alternaria alternata than the positive control fungicide thiophanate-methyl. The preliminary structure-activity relationship of compounds 1-5 was also discussed. These results not only expanded the chemical diversities of E. lathyris, but also provided a lead compound for the control of plant pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiwei Wang
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for the Research and Utilization of Plant Resources, Jiangsu Province Engineering Research Center of Eco-cultivation and High-value Utilization of Chinese Medicinal Materials, Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences (Nanjing Botanical Garden Mem. Sun Yat-Sen), Nanjing, 210014, China
| | - Shu Xu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for the Research and Utilization of Plant Resources, Jiangsu Province Engineering Research Center of Eco-cultivation and High-value Utilization of Chinese Medicinal Materials, Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences (Nanjing Botanical Garden Mem. Sun Yat-Sen), Nanjing, 210014, China
| | - Guodong Zhang
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for the Research and Utilization of Plant Resources, Jiangsu Province Engineering Research Center of Eco-cultivation and High-value Utilization of Chinese Medicinal Materials, Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences (Nanjing Botanical Garden Mem. Sun Yat-Sen), Nanjing, 210014, China
| | - Pirui Li
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for the Research and Utilization of Plant Resources, Jiangsu Province Engineering Research Center of Eco-cultivation and High-value Utilization of Chinese Medicinal Materials, Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences (Nanjing Botanical Garden Mem. Sun Yat-Sen), Nanjing, 210014, China
| | - Chenyang Liu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for the Research and Utilization of Plant Resources, Jiangsu Province Engineering Research Center of Eco-cultivation and High-value Utilization of Chinese Medicinal Materials, Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences (Nanjing Botanical Garden Mem. Sun Yat-Sen), Nanjing, 210014, China
| | | | - Xu Feng
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for the Research and Utilization of Plant Resources, Jiangsu Province Engineering Research Center of Eco-cultivation and High-value Utilization of Chinese Medicinal Materials, Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences (Nanjing Botanical Garden Mem. Sun Yat-Sen), Nanjing, 210014, China
| | - Linwei Li
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for the Research and Utilization of Plant Resources, Jiangsu Province Engineering Research Center of Eco-cultivation and High-value Utilization of Chinese Medicinal Materials, Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences (Nanjing Botanical Garden Mem. Sun Yat-Sen), Nanjing, 210014, China.
| | - Yu Chen
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for the Research and Utilization of Plant Resources, Jiangsu Province Engineering Research Center of Eco-cultivation and High-value Utilization of Chinese Medicinal Materials, Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences (Nanjing Botanical Garden Mem. Sun Yat-Sen), Nanjing, 210014, China.
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3
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Chen X, Hu H, Lin X, Chen M, Bao W, Wu Y, Li C, Gao Y, Hou S, Yang Q, Chen L, Zhang J, Chen K, Wang Q, Zhu A. Euphorbia factor L1 inhibited transport channel and energy metabolism in human colon adenocarcinoma cell line Caco-2. Biomed Pharmacother 2023; 169:115919. [PMID: 37992574 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2023.115919] [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] [Received: 07/17/2023] [Revised: 11/10/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 11/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Euphorbia factor L1 (EFL1) is a kind of lathyrane-type diterpenoid and is isolated from the medical herb Euphorbia lathyris L. (Euphorbiaceae); it has been reported with the toxicity that causes intestinal irritation, but the underlying mechanisms are still obscure. The objective of this study was to assess the EFL1-induced intestinal cytotoxicity in human colon adenocarcinoma Caco-2 cells. The Caco-2 cells were treated with EFL1, and the intracellular calcium ion concentration, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP), adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) content, ATPase activities, TGF-β1 concentration, and transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) were detected. The interaction between EFL1 and the tight junction proteins Occludin, Claudin-4, Tricellulin, ZO-1, JAM-1, and E-cadherin was simulated by molecular docking. The expression of proteins involved in the energy metabolism, the ion transporters and aquaporins, the tight junction, and the F-actin cytoskeleton were detected by Western blotting and cell immunofluorescence. As a result, EFL1 decreased the intracellular Ca2+, MMP, mPTP, ATP content, and ATPase activities in the Caco-2 cells. The AMPK/SIRT1/PGC-1α signaling pathway, which regulates the energy metabolism, was inhibited. The ion transporters NEH and CFTR, as well as the aquaporins in the Caco-2 cells, were decreased. The tight junction proteins were down-regulated, and the integrity of the intestinal barrier was injured; TGF-β1 was compensatively increased; so, the intestinal permeability was increased and was characterized by decreased TEER. The morphology of the F-actin cytoskeleton was destroyed. These findings indicated that EFL1 caused cytotoxicity in the human intestinal Caco-2 cells through mitochondrial damage, inhibition of the energy metabolism, and suppression of the ion and water molecule transporters, as well as the down-regulation tight junction and cytoskeleton protiens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoying Chen
- Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Gastrointestinal Cancer, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350108, China
| | - Hong Hu
- Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Gastrointestinal Cancer, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350108, China; Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350108, China
| | - Xiaohuang Lin
- Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Gastrointestinal Cancer, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350108, China
| | - Mengting Chen
- Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Gastrointestinal Cancer, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350108, China
| | - Wenqiang Bao
- Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Gastrointestinal Cancer, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350108, China
| | - Yajiao Wu
- Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Gastrointestinal Cancer, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350108, China
| | - Chutao Li
- Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Gastrointestinal Cancer, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350108, China
| | - Yadong Gao
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Fujian Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Fuzhou 350001, China; Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Shaozhang Hou
- Department of Pathology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan 750004, China
| | - Qiaomei Yang
- Department of Gynecology, Fujian Maternity and Child Health Hospital (Fujian Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital), Fuzhou 350001, China
| | - Li Chen
- Department of Gynecology, Fujian Maternity and Child Health Hospital (Fujian Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital), Fuzhou 350001, China
| | - Jian Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Gastrointestinal Cancer, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350108, China; Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350108, China
| | - Kunqi Chen
- Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Gastrointestinal Cancer, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350108, China.
| | - Qi Wang
- Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China.
| | - An Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Gastrointestinal Cancer, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350108, China.
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Wang F, Zhao W, Lv W, Li P, Tian M, Xu S, Li L, Wang R, Liu F, Chen Y, Feng X. Identification and Functional Characterization of a Novel Sinapyl Alcohol Acyltransferase from Euphorbia lathyris L. JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY 2023; 71:20187-20197. [PMID: 38044624 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.3c07127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/05/2023]
Abstract
Methoxyeugenol is a phenylpropene compound derived from plants and has various bioactivities. The chemical synthesis of methoxyeugenol is accompanied by pollution issues, whereas extraction from plants is associated with problems such as low yield and high cost. The production of methoxyeugenol can be effectively addressed through an enzymatic approach. In this study, the acyltransferase genes of Euphorbia lathyris L. were screened by homologous alignment of the transcriptome data of E. lathyris in the late growth stage and the acyltransferase genes of the closely related plant species. The results showed that ElBAHD10 had the closest relationship with earlier reported ScCFAT and PhCFAT, which were found to catalyze the reaction of coniferyl alcohol to generate coniferyl acetate. The ElBAHD10 gene was successfully cloned from E. lathyris and subsequently expressed in Escherichia coli. The purified protein ElBAHD10 catalyzed the reaction of sinapyl alcohol with acetyl CoA and cinnamoyl CoA to form sinapyl acetate and sinapyl cinnamate, respectively. In contrast, the crude ElBAHD10 protein could catalyze sinapyl alcohol to directly generate methoxyeugenol. The recombinant E. coli strain expressing ElBAHD10 produced methoxyeugenol through whole-cell transformation. This study provides insights and lays the foundation for methoxyeugenol production through biosynthetic approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fan Wang
- Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210023, China
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for the Research and Utilization of Plant Resources, Jiangsu Province Engineering Research Center of Eco-cultivation and High-value Utilization of Chinese Medicinal Materials, Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
| | - Wanli Zhao
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for the Research and Utilization of Plant Resources, Jiangsu Province Engineering Research Center of Eco-cultivation and High-value Utilization of Chinese Medicinal Materials, Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
| | - Wei Lv
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for the Research and Utilization of Plant Resources, Jiangsu Province Engineering Research Center of Eco-cultivation and High-value Utilization of Chinese Medicinal Materials, Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
| | - Pirui Li
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for the Research and Utilization of Plant Resources, Jiangsu Province Engineering Research Center of Eco-cultivation and High-value Utilization of Chinese Medicinal Materials, Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
| | - Mei Tian
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for the Research and Utilization of Plant Resources, Jiangsu Province Engineering Research Center of Eco-cultivation and High-value Utilization of Chinese Medicinal Materials, Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
| | - Shu Xu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for the Research and Utilization of Plant Resources, Jiangsu Province Engineering Research Center of Eco-cultivation and High-value Utilization of Chinese Medicinal Materials, Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
| | - Linwei Li
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for the Research and Utilization of Plant Resources, Jiangsu Province Engineering Research Center of Eco-cultivation and High-value Utilization of Chinese Medicinal Materials, Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
| | - Ruiyang Wang
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for the Research and Utilization of Plant Resources, Jiangsu Province Engineering Research Center of Eco-cultivation and High-value Utilization of Chinese Medicinal Materials, Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
| | - Fei Liu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for the Research and Utilization of Plant Resources, Jiangsu Province Engineering Research Center of Eco-cultivation and High-value Utilization of Chinese Medicinal Materials, Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
| | - Yu Chen
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for the Research and Utilization of Plant Resources, Jiangsu Province Engineering Research Center of Eco-cultivation and High-value Utilization of Chinese Medicinal Materials, Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
| | - Xu Feng
- Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210023, China
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for the Research and Utilization of Plant Resources, Jiangsu Province Engineering Research Center of Eco-cultivation and High-value Utilization of Chinese Medicinal Materials, Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
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5
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Du Z, Bhat WW, Poliner E, Johnson S, Bertucci C, Farre E, Hamberger B. Engineering Nannochloropsis oceanica for the production of diterpenoid compounds. MLIFE 2023; 2:428-437. [PMID: 38818264 PMCID: PMC10989085 DOI: 10.1002/mlf2.12097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2023] [Revised: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 10/04/2023] [Indexed: 06/01/2024]
Abstract
Photosynthetic microalgae like Nannochloropsis hold enormous potential as sustainable, light-driven biofactories for the production of high-value natural products such as terpenoids. Nannochloropsis oceanica is distinguished as a particularly robust host with extensive genomic and transgenic resources available. Its capacity to grow in wastewater, brackish, and sea waters, coupled with advances in microalgal metabolic engineering, genome editing, and synthetic biology, provides an excellent opportunity. In the present work, we demonstrate how N. oceanica can be engineered to produce the diterpene casbene-an important intermediate in the biosynthesis of pharmacologically relevant macrocyclic diterpenoids. Casbene accumulated after stably expressing and targeting the casbene synthase from Daphne genkwa (DgTPS1) to the algal chloroplast. The engineered strains yielded production titers of up to 0.12 mg g-1 total dry cell weight (DCW) casbene. Heterologous overexpression and chloroplast targeting of two upstream rate-limiting enzymes in the 2-C-methyl- d-erythritol 4-phosphate pathway, Coleus forskohlii 1-deoxy- d-xylulose-5-phosphate synthase and geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase genes, further enhanced the yield of casbene to a titer up to 1.80 mg g-1 DCW. The results presented here form a basis for further development and production of complex plant diterpenoids in microalgae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhi‐Yan Du
- Department of Molecular Biosciences and BioengineeringUniversity of Hawaii at ManoaHonoluluHawaiiUSA
| | - Wajid W. Bhat
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMichiganUSA
| | - Eric Poliner
- Department of Plant BiologyMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMichiganUSA
| | - Sean Johnson
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMichiganUSA
- Present address:
New England Biolabs Inc.240 County RoadIpswich01938MAUSA
| | - Conor Bertucci
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMichiganUSA
| | - Eva Farre
- Department of Plant BiologyMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMichiganUSA
| | - Bjoern Hamberger
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMichiganUSA
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Mancinotti D, Czepiel K, Taylor JL, Golshadi Galehshahi H, Møller LA, Jensen MK, Motawia MS, Hufnagel B, Soriano A, Yeheyis L, Kjaerulff L, Péret B, Staerk D, Wendt T, Nelson MN, Kroc M, Geu-Flores F. The causal mutation leading to sweetness in modern white lupin cultivars. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadg8866. [PMID: 37540741 PMCID: PMC10403207 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adg8866] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2023] [Accepted: 07/05/2023] [Indexed: 08/06/2023]
Abstract
Lupins are high-protein crops that are rapidly gaining interest as hardy alternatives to soybean; however, they accumulate antinutritional alkaloids of the quinolizidine type (QAs). Lupin domestication was enabled by the discovery of genetic loci conferring low QA levels (sweetness), but the precise identity of the underlying genes remains uncertain. We show that pauper, the most common sweet locus in white lupin, encodes an acetyltransferase (AT) unexpectedly involved in the early QA pathway. In pauper plants, a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) strongly impairs AT activity, causing pathway blockage. We corroborate our hypothesis by replicating the pauper chemotype in narrow-leafed lupin via mutagenesis. Our work adds a new dimension to QA biosynthesis and establishes the identity of a lupin sweet gene for the first time, thus facilitating lupin breeding and enabling domestication of other QA-containing legumes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Mancinotti
- Section for Plant Biochemistry and Copenhagen Plant Science Centre, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871 Frederiksberg, Denmark
| | - Katarzyna Czepiel
- Legume Genomics Team, Institute of Plant Genetics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Strzeszyńska 34, Poznań, Poland
| | - Jemma L. Taylor
- Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Wakehurst Place, Ardingly, West Sussex RH17 6TN, UK
| | - Hajar Golshadi Galehshahi
- Section for Plant Biochemistry and Copenhagen Plant Science Centre, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871 Frederiksberg, Denmark
| | | | | | - Mohammed Saddik Motawia
- Section for Plant Biochemistry and Copenhagen Plant Science Centre, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871 Frederiksberg, Denmark
| | - Bárbara Hufnagel
- IPSiM, University of Montpellier, CNRS, INRAE, Institut Agro, Montpellier, France
| | - Alexandre Soriano
- IPSiM, University of Montpellier, CNRS, INRAE, Institut Agro, Montpellier, France
| | | | - Louise Kjaerulff
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 2, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Benjamin Péret
- IPSiM, University of Montpellier, CNRS, INRAE, Institut Agro, Montpellier, France
| | - Dan Staerk
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 2, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Toni Wendt
- Traitomic A/S, J.C. Jacobsens Gade 14, 1799 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Matthew N. Nelson
- Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Wakehurst Place, Ardingly, West Sussex RH17 6TN, UK
- Agriculture and Food, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Floreat, WA 6014, Australia
- The UWA Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Perth, WA 6009, Australia
| | - Magdalena Kroc
- Legume Genomics Team, Institute of Plant Genetics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Strzeszyńska 34, Poznań, Poland
| | - Fernando Geu-Flores
- Section for Plant Biochemistry and Copenhagen Plant Science Centre, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871 Frederiksberg, Denmark
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Forestier ECF, Cording AC, Loake GJ, Graham IA. An Engineered Heat-Inducible Expression System for the Production of Casbene in Nicotiana benthamiana. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:11425. [PMID: 37511181 PMCID: PMC10379985 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241411425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2023] [Revised: 06/29/2023] [Accepted: 07/08/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Plants respond to heat stress by producing heat-shock proteins. These are regulated by heat-shock promoters containing regulatory elements, which can be harnessed to control protein expression both temporally and spatially. In this study, we designed heat-inducible promoters to produce the diterpene casbene in Nicotiana benthamiana, through a multi-step metabolic pathway. To potentially increase gene transcription, we coupled heat-shock elements from Arabidopsis thaliana Hsp101 or Glycine max GmHsp17.3-B promoters, CAAT and TATA boxes from CaMV 35S, and the 5'UTR from the tobacco mosaic virus. The resulting four chimeric promoters fused to a green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter showed that the variant Ara2 had the strongest fluorescent signal after heat shock. We next created a 4-gene cassette driven by the Ara2 promoter to allow for exogenous synthesis of casbene and transformed this multigene construct along with a selectable marker gene into Nicotiana benthamiana. Metabolic analysis on the transgenic lines revealed that continuous heat outperforms heat shock, with up to 1 μg/mg DW of casbene detected after 32 h of uninterrupted 40 °C heat. These results demonstrate the potential of heat-inducible promoters as synthetic biology tools for metabolite production in plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edith C F Forestier
- Centre for Novel Agricultural Products (CNAP), Department of Biology, University of York, Wentworth Way, York YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Amy C Cording
- Centre for Novel Agricultural Products (CNAP), Department of Biology, University of York, Wentworth Way, York YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Gary J Loake
- Institute of Molecular Plant Sciences, Daniel Rutherford Building, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Kings Buildings, Mayfield Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JH, UK
| | - Ian A Graham
- Centre for Novel Agricultural Products (CNAP), Department of Biology, University of York, Wentworth Way, York YO10 5DD, UK
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8
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Lanier ER, Andersen TB, Hamberger B. Plant terpene specialized metabolism: complex networks or simple linear pathways? THE PLANT JOURNAL : FOR CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2023; 114:1178-1201. [PMID: 36891828 PMCID: PMC11166267 DOI: 10.1111/tpj.16177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2022] [Revised: 02/28/2023] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
From the perspectives of pathway evolution, discovery and engineering of plant specialized metabolism, the nature of the biosynthetic routes represents a critical aspect. Classical models depict biosynthesis typically from an end-point angle and as linear, for example, connecting central and specialized metabolism. As the number of functionally elucidated routes increased, the enzymatic foundation of complex plant chemistries became increasingly well understood. The perception of linear pathway models has been severely challenged. With a focus on plant terpenoid specialized metabolism, we review here illustrative examples supporting that plants have evolved complex networks driving chemical diversification. The completion of several diterpene, sesquiterpene and monoterpene routes shows complex formation of scaffolds and their subsequent functionalization. These networks show that branch points, including multiple sub-routes, mean that metabolic grids are the rule rather than the exception. This concept presents significant implications for biotechnological production.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Björn Hamberger
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, Molecular Plant Sciences Building, 1066 Bogue Street, East Lansing, Michigan, 48824, USA
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9
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Johnson AR, Yue Y, Carey SB, Park SJ, Kruse LH, Bao A, Pasha A, Harkess A, Provart NJ, Moghe GD, Frank MH. Chromosome-level Genome Assembly of Euphorbia peplus, a Model System for Plant Latex, Reveals that Relative Lack of Ty3 Transposons Contributed to Its Small Genome Size. Genome Biol Evol 2023; 15:7033215. [PMID: 36757383 PMCID: PMC10018070 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evad018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2022] [Revised: 01/20/2023] [Accepted: 02/01/2023] [Indexed: 02/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Euphorbia peplus (petty spurge) is a small, fast-growing plant that is native to Eurasia and has become a naturalized weed in North America and Australia. Euphorbia peplus is not only medicinally valuable, serving as a source for the skin cancer drug ingenol mebutate, but also has great potential as a model for latex production owing to its small size, ease of manipulation in the laboratory, and rapid reproductive cycle. To help establish E. peplus as a new model, we generated a 267.2-Mb Hi-C-anchored PacBio HiFi nuclear genome assembly with a BUSCO score of 98.5%, a genome annotation based on RNA-seq data from six organs, and publicly accessible tools including a genome browser and an interactive organ-specific expression atlas. Chromosome number is highly variable across Euphorbia species. Using a comparative analysis of our newly sequenced E. peplus genome with other Euphorbiaceae genomes, we show that variation in Euphorbia chromosome number between E. peplus and Euphorbia lathyris is likely due to fragmentation and rearrangement rather than chromosomal duplication followed by diploidization of the duplicated sequence. Moreover, we found that the E. peplus genome is relatively compact compared with related members of the genus in part due to restricted expansion of the Ty3 transposon family. Finally, we identify a large gene cluster that contains many previously identified enzymes in the putative ingenol mebutate biosynthesis pathway, along with additional gene candidates for this biosynthetic pathway. The genomic resources we have created for E. peplus will help advance research on latex production and ingenol mebutate biosynthesis in the commercially important Euphorbiaceae family.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arielle R Johnson
- Plant Biology Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
| | - Yuanzheng Yue
- Plant Biology Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
| | - Sarah B Carey
- HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, Huntsville, Alabama
| | - Se Jin Park
- Plant Biology Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
| | - Lars H Kruse
- Plant Biology Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
| | - Ashley Bao
- Plant Biology Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
| | - Asher Pasha
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Alex Harkess
- HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, Huntsville, Alabama
| | - Nicholas J Provart
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Gaurav D Moghe
- Plant Biology Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
| | - Margaret H Frank
- Plant Biology Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
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10
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Zou L, Bao W, Gao Y, Chen M, Wu Y, Wang S, Li C, Zhang J, Zhang D, Wang Q, Zhu A. Integrated Analysis of Transcriptome and microRNA Profile Reveals the Toxicity of Euphorbia Factors toward Human Colon Adenocarcinoma Cell Line Caco-2. Molecules 2022; 27:molecules27206931. [PMID: 36296525 PMCID: PMC9608949 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27206931] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2022] [Revised: 10/13/2022] [Accepted: 10/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Euphorbia factors, lathyrane-type diterpenoids isolated from the medical herb Euphorbia lathyris L. (Euphorbiaceae), have been associated with intestinal irritation toxicity, but the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are still unknown. The objective of this study was to evaluate the transcriptome and miRNA profiles of human colon adenocarcinoma Caco-2 cells in response to Euphorbia factors L1 (EFL1) and EFL2. Whole transcriptomes of mRNA and microRNA (miRNA) were obtained using second generation high-throughput sequencing technology in response to 200 μM EFL treatment for 72 h, and the differentially expressed genes and metabolism pathway were enriched. Gene structure changes were analyzed by comparing them with reference genome sequences. After 72 h of treatment, 16 miRNAs and 154 mRNAs were differently expressed between the EFL1 group and the control group, and 47 miRNAs and 1101 mRNAs were differentially expressed between the EFL2 group and the control. Using clusters of orthologous protein enrichment, the sequenced mRNAs were shown to be mainly involved in transcription, post-translational modification, protein turnover, chaperones, signal transduction mechanisms, intracellular trafficking, secretion, vesicular transport, and the cytoskeleton. The differentially expressed mRNA functions and pathways were enriched in transmembrane transport, T cell extravasation, the IL-17 signaling pathway, apoptosis, and the cell cycle. The differentially expressed miRNA EFLs caused changes in the structure of the gene, including alternative splicing, insertion and deletion, and single nucleotide polymorphisms. This study reveals the underlying mechanism responsible for the toxicity of EFLs in intestinal cells based on transcriptome and miRNA profiles of gene expression and structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lingyue Zou
- Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Gastrointestinal Cancer, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350108, China
| | - Wenqiang Bao
- Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Gastrointestinal Cancer, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350108, China
| | - Yadong Gao
- Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Fujian Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Fuzhou 350001, China
| | - Mengting Chen
- Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Gastrointestinal Cancer, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350108, China
| | - Yajiao Wu
- Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Gastrointestinal Cancer, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350108, China
| | - Shuo Wang
- Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Chutao Li
- Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Gastrointestinal Cancer, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350108, China
| | - Jian Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Gastrointestinal Cancer, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350108, China
| | - Dongcheng Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Gastrointestinal Cancer, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350108, China
| | - Qi Wang
- Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
- Key Laboratory of State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Compatibility Toxicology, Beijing 100191, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Toxicological Research and Risk Assessment for Food Safety, Beijing 100191, China
- Correspondence: (Q.W.); (A.Z.)
| | - An Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Gastrointestinal Cancer, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350108, China
- Correspondence: (Q.W.); (A.Z.)
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11
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Ye J, Yang K, Li Y, Xu F, Cheng S, Zhang W, Liao Y, Yang X, Wang L, Wang Q. Genome-wide transcriptome analysis reveals the regulatory network governing terpene trilactones biosynthesis in Ginkgo biloba. TREE PHYSIOLOGY 2022; 42:2068-2085. [PMID: 35532090 DOI: 10.1093/treephys/tpac051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2021] [Accepted: 01/05/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Ginkgo biloba L. is currently the only remaining gymnosperm of the Ginkgoaceae Ginkgo genus, and its history can be traced back to the Carboniferous 200 million years ago. Terpene trilactones (TTLs) are one of the main active ingredients in G. biloba, including ginkgolides and bilobalide. They have a good curative effect on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases because of their special antagonistic effect on platelet-activating factors. Therefore, it is necessary to deeply mine genes related to TTLs and to analyze their transcriptional regulation mechanism, which will hold vitally important scientific and practical significance for quality improvement and regulation of G. biloba. In this study, we performed RNA-Seq on the root, stem, immature leaf, mature leaf, microstrobilus, ovulate strobilus, immature fruit and mature fruit of G. biloba. The TTL regulatory network of G. biloba in different organs was revealed by different transcriptomic analysis strategies. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) revealed that the five modules were closely correlated with organs. The 12 transcription factors, 5 structural genes and 24 Cytochrome P450 (CYP450) were identified as candidate regulators for TTL accumulation by WGCNA and cytoscape visualization. Finally, 6 APETALA2/ethylene response factors, 2 CYP450s and bHLH were inferred to regulate the metabolism of TTLs by correlation analysis. This study is the comprehensive in authenticating transcription factors, structural genes and CYP450 involved in TTL biosynthesis, thereby providing molecular evidence for revealing the comprehensive regulatory network involved in TTL metabolism in G. biloba.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiabao Ye
- College of Horticulture and Gardening, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, Hubei 434025, China
| | - Ke Yang
- College of Horticulture and Gardening, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, Hubei 434025, China
| | - Yuting Li
- College of Horticulture and Gardening, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, Hubei 434025, China
| | - Feng Xu
- College of Horticulture and Gardening, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, Hubei 434025, China
| | - Shuiyuan Cheng
- School of Modern Industry for Selenium Science and Engineering, National R&D Center for Se-rich Agricultural Products Processing Technology, Wuhan Polytechnic University, Wuhan 430023, China
- National Selenium Rich Product Quality Supervision and Inspection Center, Enshi, Hubei 445000, China
| | - Weiwei Zhang
- College of Horticulture and Gardening, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, Hubei 434025, China
| | - Yongling Liao
- College of Horticulture and Gardening, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, Hubei 434025, China
| | - Xiaoyan Yang
- College of Horticulture and Gardening, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, Hubei 434025, China
| | - Lina Wang
- College of Horticulture and Gardening, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, Hubei 434025, China
| | - Qijian Wang
- College of Horticulture and Gardening, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, Hubei 434025, China
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12
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Zhan C, Shen S, Yang C, Liu Z, Fernie AR, Graham IA, Luo J. Plant metabolic gene clusters in the multi-omics era. TRENDS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 27:981-1001. [PMID: 35365433 DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2022.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2021] [Revised: 02/02/2022] [Accepted: 03/03/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Secondary metabolism in plants gives rise to a vast array of small-molecule natural products. The discovery of operon-like gene clusters in plants has provided a new perspective on the evolution of specialized metabolism and the opportunity to rapidly advance the metabolic engineering of natural product production. Here, we review historical aspects of the study of plant metabolic gene clusters as well as general strategies for identifying plant metabolic gene clusters in the multi-omics era. We also emphasize the exploration of their natural variation and evolution, as well as new strategies for the prospecting of plant metabolic gene clusters and a deeper understanding of how their structure influences their function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chuansong Zhan
- College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China; Sanya Nanfan Research Institute of Hainan University, Hainan Yazhou Bay Seed Laboratory, Sanya 572025, China
| | - Shuangqian Shen
- College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China; National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research (Wuhan), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Chenkun Yang
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research (Wuhan), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Zhenhua Liu
- Joint Center for Single Cell Biology, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Alisdair R Fernie
- Max-Planck-Institut fur Molekulare Pflanzenphysiologie, Am Muhlenberg 1, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany; Center of Plant Systems Biology and Biotechnology, 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria
| | - Ian A Graham
- Center for Novel Agricultural Products, Department of Biology, University of York, York, UK
| | - Jie Luo
- College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China; Sanya Nanfan Research Institute of Hainan University, Hainan Yazhou Bay Seed Laboratory, Sanya 572025, China.
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13
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A gene cluster in Ginkgo biloba encodes unique multifunctional cytochrome P450s that initiate ginkgolide biosynthesis. Nat Commun 2022; 13:5143. [PMID: 36050299 PMCID: PMC9436924 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-32879-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2021] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
The ginkgo tree (Ginkgo biloba) is considered a living fossil due to its 200 million year's history under morphological stasis. Its resilience is partly attributed to its unique set of specialized metabolites, in particular, ginkgolides and bilobalide, which are chemically complex terpene trilactones. Here, we use a gene cluster-guided mining approach in combination with co-expression analysis to reveal the primary steps in ginkgolide biosynthesis. We show that five multifunctional cytochrome P450s with atypical catalytic activities generate the tert-butyl group and one of the lactone rings, characteristic of all G. biloba trilactone terpenoids. The reactions include scarless C-C bond cleavage as well as carbon skeleton rearrangement (NIH shift) occurring on a previously unsuspected intermediate. The cytochrome P450s belong to CYP families that diversifies in pre-seed plants and gymnosperms, but are not preserved in angiosperms. Our work uncovers the early ginkgolide pathway and offers a glance into the biosynthesis of terpenoids of the Mesozoic Era.
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14
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Hansen NL, Kjaerulff L, Heck QK, Forman V, Staerk D, Møller BL, Andersen-Ranberg J. Tripterygium wilfordii cytochrome P450s catalyze the methyl shift and epoxidations in the biosynthesis of triptonide. Nat Commun 2022; 13:5011. [PMID: 36008399 PMCID: PMC9411204 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-32667-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 08/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The diterpenoid triepoxides triptolide and triptonide from Tripterygium wilfordii (thunder god wine) exhibit unique bioactivities with potential uses in disease treatment and as a non-hormonal male contraceptives. Here, we show that cytochrome P450s (CYPs) from the CYP71BE subfamily catalyze an unprecedented 18(4→3) methyl shift required for biosynthesis of the abeo-abietane core structure present in diterpenoid triepoxides and in several other plant diterpenoids. In combination with two CYPs of the CYP82D subfamily, four CYPs from T. wilfordii are shown to constitute the minimal set of biosynthetic genes that enables triptonide biosynthesis using Nicotiana benthamiana and Saccharomyces cerevisiae as heterologous hosts. In addition, co-expression of a specific T. wilfordii cytochrome b5 (Twcytb5-A) increases triptonide output more than 9-fold in S. cerevisiae and affords isolation and structure elucidation by NMR spectroscopic analyses of 18 diterpenoids, providing insights into the biosynthesis of diterpenoid triepoxides. Our findings pave the way for diterpenoid triepoxide production via fermentation. How triptonide is made in the medicinal plant Tripterygium wilfordii is largely unknown. Here, the authors report the identification and characterization of a suite of cytochrome P450s and show their function in catalyzing the formation of triptonide from miltriadiene in tobacco and baker’s yeast.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikolaj Lervad Hansen
- Plant Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Plant and Environment Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, DK-1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Louise Kjaerulff
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 2, DK-2100, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Quinn Kalby Heck
- Plant Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Plant and Environment Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, DK-1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Victor Forman
- Plant Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Plant and Environment Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, DK-1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Dan Staerk
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 2, DK-2100, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Birger Lindberg Møller
- Plant Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Plant and Environment Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, DK-1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Johan Andersen-Ranberg
- Plant Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Plant and Environment Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, DK-1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark.
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15
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Semple SJ, Staerk D, Buirchell BJ, Fowler RM, Gericke O, Kjaerulff L, Zhao Y, Pedersen HA, Petersen MJ, Rasmussen LF, Bredahl EK, Pedersen GB, McNair LM, Ndi CP, Hansen NL, Heskes AM, Bayly MJ, Loland CJ, Heinz N, Møller BL. Biodiscoveries within the Australian plant genus Eremophila based on international and interdisciplinary collaboration: results and perspectives on outstanding ethical dilemmas. THE PLANT JOURNAL : FOR CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2022; 111:936-953. [PMID: 35696314 PMCID: PMC9543726 DOI: 10.1111/tpj.15866] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2022] [Revised: 06/04/2022] [Accepted: 06/10/2022] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
In a cross-continental research initiative, including researchers working in Australia and Denmark, and based on joint external funding by a 3-year grant from the Novo Nordisk Foundation, we have used DNA sequencing, extensive chemical profiling and molecular networking analyses across the entire Eremophila genus to provide new knowledge on the presence of natural products and their bioactivities using polypharmocological screens. Sesquiterpenoids, diterpenoids and dimers of branched-chain fatty acids with previously unknown chemical structures were identified. The collection of plant material from the Eremophila genus was carried out according to a 'bioprospecting agreement' with the Government of Western Australia. We recognize that several Eremophila species hold immense cultural significance to Australia's First Peoples. In spite of our best intentions to ensure that new knowledge gained about the genus Eremophila and any potential future benefits are shared in an equitable manner, in accordance with the Nagoya Protocol, we encounter serious dilemmas and potential conflicts in making benefit sharing with Australia's First Peoples a reality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan J. Semple
- Quality Use of Medicines and Pharmacy Research Centre, Clinical and Health SciencesUniversity of South AustraliaAdelaide5000Australia
| | - Dan Staerk
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health and Medical SciencesUniversity of CopenhagenDK‐2100CopenhagenDenmark
| | | | - Rachael M. Fowler
- School of BioSciencesThe University of MelbourneParkvilleVictoria3010Australia
| | - Oliver Gericke
- Plant Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Plant and Environmental SciencesUniversity of CopenhagenDK‐1871Frederiksberg CDenmark
- Present address:
Carlsberg Research LaboratoryJ.C. Jacobsens Gade 4DK‐1799CopenhagenValbyDenmark.
| | - Louise Kjaerulff
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health and Medical SciencesUniversity of CopenhagenDK‐2100CopenhagenDenmark
| | - Yong Zhao
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health and Medical SciencesUniversity of CopenhagenDK‐2100CopenhagenDenmark
| | - Hans Albert Pedersen
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health and Medical SciencesUniversity of CopenhagenDK‐2100CopenhagenDenmark
| | - Malene J. Petersen
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health and Medical SciencesUniversity of CopenhagenDK‐2100CopenhagenDenmark
| | - Line Fentz Rasmussen
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health and Medical SciencesUniversity of CopenhagenDK‐2100CopenhagenDenmark
| | - Emilie Kold Bredahl
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health and Medical SciencesUniversity of CopenhagenDK‐2100CopenhagenDenmark
| | - Gustav Blichfeldt Pedersen
- Plant Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Plant and Environmental SciencesUniversity of CopenhagenDK‐1871Frederiksberg CDenmark
| | - Laura Mikél McNair
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health and Medical SciencesUniversity of CopenhagenDK‐2100CopenhagenDenmark
| | - Chi P. Ndi
- Quality Use of Medicines and Pharmacy Research Centre, Clinical and Health SciencesUniversity of South AustraliaAdelaide5000Australia
| | - Nikolaj Lervad Hansen
- Plant Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Plant and Environmental SciencesUniversity of CopenhagenDK‐1871Frederiksberg CDenmark
| | - Allison M. Heskes
- Plant Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Plant and Environmental SciencesUniversity of CopenhagenDK‐1871Frederiksberg CDenmark
| | - Michael J. Bayly
- School of BioSciencesThe University of MelbourneParkvilleVictoria3010Australia
| | - Claus J. Loland
- Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Health and Medical SciencesUniversity of CopenhagenDK‐2100CopenhagenDenmark
| | - Nanna Heinz
- Plant Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Plant and Environmental SciencesUniversity of CopenhagenDK‐1871Frederiksberg CDenmark
| | - Birger Lindberg Møller
- Plant Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Plant and Environmental SciencesUniversity of CopenhagenDK‐1871Frederiksberg CDenmark
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16
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Alves ALV, da Silva LS, Faleiros CA, Silva VAO, Reis RM. The Role of Ingenane Diterpenes in Cancer Therapy: From Bioactive Secondary Compounds to Small Molecules. Nat Prod Commun 2022. [DOI: 10.1177/1934578x221105691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Diterpenes are a class of critical taxonomic markers of the Euphorbiaceae family, representing small compounds (eg, molecules) with a wide range of biological activities and multi-target therapeutic potential. Diterpenes can exert different activities, including antitumor and multi-drug resistance-reversing activities, and antiviral, immunomodulatory, and anti-inflammatory effects, mainly due to their great structural diversity. In particular, one polycyclic skeleton has been highlighted: ingenane. Besides this natural diterpene, promising polycyclic skeletons may be submitted to chemical modification—by in silico approaches, chemical reactions, or biotransformation—putatively providing more active analogs (eg, ingenol derivatives), which are currently under pre-clinical investigation. This review outlines the current mechanisms of action and potential therapeutic implications of ingenol diterpenes as small cancer molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Laura V. Alves
- Molecular Oncology Research Center, Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos, Brazil
| | - Luciane S. da Silva
- Molecular Oncology Research Center, Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos, Brazil
| | - Camila A. Faleiros
- Molecular Oncology Research Center, Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos, Brazil
| | - Viviane A. O. Silva
- Molecular Oncology Research Center, Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos, Brazil
| | - Rui M. Reis
- Molecular Oncology Research Center, Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos, Brazil
- Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
- ICVS/3B’s - PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga, Portugal
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17
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Liao HR, Kao YY, Leu YL, Liu FC, Tseng CP. Larixol inhibits fMLP-induced superoxide anion production and chemotaxis by targeting the βγ subunit of Gi-protein of fMLP receptor in human neutrophils. Biochem Pharmacol 2022; 201:115091. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bcp.2022.115091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2022] [Revised: 05/04/2022] [Accepted: 05/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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18
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Zheng H, Yu MY, Han Y, Tai B, Ni SF, Ji RF, Pu CJ, Chen K, Li FQ, Xiao H, Shen Y, Zhou XT, Huang LQ. Comparative Transcriptomics and Metabolites Analysis of Two Closely Related Euphorbia Species Reveal Environmental Adaptation Mechanism and Active Ingredients Difference. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:905275. [PMID: 35712557 PMCID: PMC9194899 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.905275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2022] [Accepted: 05/02/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Roots of Euphorbia fischeriana and Euphorbia ebracteolata are recorded as the source plant of traditional Chinese medicine "Langdu," containing active ingredients with anticancer and anti-AIDS activity. However, the two species have specific patterns in the graphic distribution. Compared with E. ehracteolata, E. fischeriana distributes in higher latitude and lower temperature areas and might have experienced cold stress adaptation. To reveal the molecular mechanism of environmental adaptation, RNA-seq was performed toward the roots, stems, and leaves of E. fischeriana and E. ehracteolata. A total of 6,830 pairs of putative orthologs between the two species were identified. Estimations of non-synonymous or synonymous substitution rate ratios for these orthologs indicated that 533 of the pairs may be under positive selection (Ka/Ks > 0.5). Functional enrichment analysis revealed that significant proportions of the orthologs were in the TCA cycle, fructose and mannose metabolism, starch and sucrose metabolism, fatty acid biosynthesis, and terpenoid biosynthesis providing insights into how the two closely related Euphorbia species adapted differentially to extreme environments. Consistent with the transcriptome, a higher content of soluble sugars and proline was obtained in E. fischeriana, reflecting the adaptation of plants to different environments. Additionally, 5 primary or secondary metabolites were screened as the biomarkers to distinguish the two species. Determination of 4 diterpenoids was established and performed, showing jolkinolide B as a representative component in E. fischeriana, whereas ingenol endemic to E. ebracteolate. To better study population genetics, EST-SSR markers were generated and tested in 9 species of Euphorbia. A total of 33 of the 68 pairs were screened out for producing clear fragments in at least four species, which will furthermore facilitate the studies on the genetic improvement and phylogenetics of this rapidly adapting taxon. In this study, transcriptome and metabolome analyses revealed the evolution of genes related to cold stress tolerance, biosynthesis of TCA cycle, soluble sugars, fatty acids, and amino acids, consistent with the molecular strategy that genotypes adapting to environment. The key active ingredients of the two species were quantitatively analyzed to reveal the difference in pharmacodynamic substance basis and molecular mechanism, providing insights into rational crude drug use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Han Zheng
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Mu-Yao Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yang Han
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Badalahu Tai
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
- Mongolian Medicine College, Inner Mongolia Minzu University, Tongliao, China
| | - Sheng-Fa Ni
- Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan Xinhua Hospital, Huainan, China
| | - Rui-Feng Ji
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Chun-Juan Pu
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Kang Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Fu-Quan Li
- Hulunbeier Mongolian Medical Hospital, Hulunbeier, China
| | - Hua Xiao
- Hulunbeier Mongolian Medical Hospital, Hulunbeier, China
| | - Ye Shen
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xiu-Teng Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Lu-Qi Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
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19
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Gene discovery and virus-induced gene silencing reveal branched pathways to major classes of bioactive diterpenoids in Euphorbia peplus. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2203890119. [PMID: 35584121 PMCID: PMC9173813 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2203890119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
SignificanceEuphorbia peplus, a member of the Euphorbia genus, is rich in jatrophane and ingenane diterpenoids. Using a metabolomics-guided transcriptomic approach to gene candidate identification, we have discovered a short-chain dehydrogenase gene involved in the production of the lathyrane jolkinol E. We have developed a virus-induced gene-silencing method in E. peplus that has allowed us to demonstrate the direct relationship between casbene and polycyclic diterpenoids and that jolkinol C acts as a key branch point intermediate in the production of ingenanes and jatrophanes. This work contributes both knowledge and tools for engineering production of bioactive diterpenoids in heterologous host systems, thus enabling their further evaluation and development.
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20
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Zhou D, Zhang F, Kikuchi T, Yao M, Otsuki K, Chen G, Li W, Li N. Lathyrane and Jatrophane Diterpenoids from Euphorbia helioscopia Evaluated for Cytotoxicity against a Paclitaxel-Resistant A549 Human Lung Cancer Cell Line. JOURNAL OF NATURAL PRODUCTS 2022; 85:1174-1179. [PMID: 35324187 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.1c01050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
A phytochemical investigation on the aerial parts of Euphorbia helioscopia resulted in the isolation of 27 macrocyclic diterpenoids, including three previously unreported lathyrane derivatives, euphohelioscopoids A-C (1-3). Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic data interpretation. Three jatrophanes, euphoscopin C (4), euphorbiapene D (6), and euphoheliosnoid A (5), showed cytotoxicity against a paclitaxel-resistant A549 human lung cancer cell line with IC50 values of 6.9, 7.2, and 9.5 μM, respectively, but were inactive against the parent A549 human lung cancer cell line (IC50 > 10 μM). It was found that jatrophanes with a benzoyloxy or a nicotinoyloxy substituent at C-7 showed more potent cytotoxic activity than their analogues containing acetyloxy and hydroxy groups at this position.
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Affiliation(s)
- Di Zhou
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toho University, Miyama 2-2-1, Funabashi, Chiba 274-8510, Japan
| | | | - Takashi Kikuchi
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toho University, Miyama 2-2-1, Funabashi, Chiba 274-8510, Japan
| | | | - Kouharu Otsuki
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toho University, Miyama 2-2-1, Funabashi, Chiba 274-8510, Japan
| | | | - Wei Li
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toho University, Miyama 2-2-1, Funabashi, Chiba 274-8510, Japan
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21
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Li H, Dickschat JS. Isotopic labelling experiments and enzymatic preparation of iso-casbenes with casbene synthase from Ricinus communis. Org Chem Front 2022. [DOI: 10.1039/d1qo01707a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Casbene synthase was used to convert GGPP isomers into iso-casbenes. The enzyme mechanism and absolute configurations were investigated through stereoselective deuteration. 13C-labellings gave insights into the mass spectrometric fragmentation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heng Li
- Kekulé-Institut für Organische Chemie und Biochemie, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Gerhard-Domagk-Straße 1, 53121 Bonn, Germany
| | - Jeroen S. Dickschat
- Kekulé-Institut für Organische Chemie und Biochemie, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Gerhard-Domagk-Straße 1, 53121 Bonn, Germany
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22
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Wang M, Gu Z, Fu Z, Jiang D. High-quality genome assembly of an important biodiesel plant, Euphorbia lathyris L. DNA Res 2021; 28:6402006. [PMID: 34664644 PMCID: PMC8545615 DOI: 10.1093/dnares/dsab022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2021] [Accepted: 10/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Caper spurge, Euphorbia lathyris L., is an important energy crop and medicinal crop. Here, we generated a high-quality, chromosome-level genome assembly of caper spurge using Oxford Nanopore sequencing, Illumina sequencing, and Hi-C technology. The final genome assembly was ∼988.9 Mb in size, 99.8% of which could be grouped into 10 pseudochromosomes, with contig and scaffold N50 values of 32.6 and 95.7 Mb, respectively. A total of 651.4 Mb repetitive sequences and 36,342 protein-coding genes were predicted in the genome assembly. Comparative genomic analysis showed that caper spurge and castor bean clustered together. We found that no independent whole-genome duplication event had occurred in caper spurge after its split from castor bean, and recent substantial amplification of LTR retrotransposons (LTR-RTs) has contributed significantly to its genome expansion. Furthermore, based on gene homology searching, we identified a number of candidate genes involved in the biosynthesis of fatty acids and triacylglycerols. The reference genome presented here will be highly useful for the further study of the genetics, genomics, and breeding of this high-value crop, as well as for evolutionary studies of spurge family and angiosperms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingcheng Wang
- Institute for Advanced Study, Chengdu University, No. 2025 Chengluo Road, Chengdu, 610106, China
| | - Zhijia Gu
- Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China
| | - Zhixi Fu
- College of Life Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, 610101, China
| | - Dechun Jiang
- CAS Key laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, 610041, China
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23
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Medema MH, de Rond T, Moore BS. Mining genomes to illuminate the specialized chemistry of life. Nat Rev Genet 2021; 22:553-571. [PMID: 34083778 PMCID: PMC8364890 DOI: 10.1038/s41576-021-00363-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 105] [Impact Index Per Article: 35.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/09/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
All organisms produce specialized organic molecules, ranging from small volatile chemicals to large gene-encoded peptides, that have evolved to provide them with diverse cellular and ecological functions. As natural products, they are broadly applied in medicine, agriculture and nutrition. The rapid accumulation of genomic information has revealed that the metabolic capacity of virtually all organisms is vastly underappreciated. Pioneered mainly in bacteria and fungi, genome mining technologies are accelerating metabolite discovery. Recent efforts are now being expanded to all life forms, including protists, plants and animals, and new integrative omics technologies are enabling the increasingly effective mining of this molecular diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marnix H Medema
- Bioinformatics Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Tristan de Rond
- Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Bradley S Moore
- Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
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24
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Evolution-aided engineering of plant specialized metabolism. ABIOTECH 2021; 2:240-263. [PMID: 36303885 PMCID: PMC9590541 DOI: 10.1007/s42994-021-00052-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2021] [Accepted: 06/04/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The evolution of new traits in living organisms occurs via the processes of mutation, recombination, genetic drift, and selection. These processes that have resulted in the immense biological diversity on our planet are also being employed in metabolic engineering to optimize enzymes and pathways, create new-to-nature reactions, and synthesize complex natural products in heterologous systems. In this review, we discuss two evolution-aided strategies for metabolic engineering-directed evolution, which improves upon existing genetic templates using the evolutionary process, and combinatorial pathway reconstruction, which brings together genes evolved in different organisms into a single heterologous host. We discuss the general principles of these strategies, describe the technologies involved and the molecular traits they influence, provide examples of their use, and discuss the roadblocks that need to be addressed for their wider adoption. A better understanding of these strategies can provide an impetus to research on gene function discovery and biochemical evolution, which is foundational for improved metabolic engineering. These evolution-aided approaches thus have a substantial potential for improving our understanding of plant metabolism in general, for enhancing the production of plant metabolites, and in sustainable agriculture.
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25
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Forestier EC, Czechowski T, Cording AC, Gilday AD, King AJ, Brown GD, Graham IA. Developing a Nicotiana benthamiana transgenic platform for high-value diterpene production and candidate gene evaluation. PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 2021; 19:1614-1623. [PMID: 33657678 PMCID: PMC8384591 DOI: 10.1111/pbi.13574] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2020] [Revised: 01/24/2021] [Accepted: 02/23/2021] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
To engineer Nicotiana benthamiana to produce novel diterpenoids, we first aimed to increase production of the diterpenoid precursor geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate (GGPP) by up-regulation of key genes of the non-mevalonate (MEP) pathway sourced from Arabidopsis thaliana. We used transient expression to evaluate combinations of the eight MEP pathway genes plus GGPP synthase and a Jatropha curcas casbene synthase (JcCAS) to identify an optimal combination for production of casbene from GGPP. AtDXS and AtHDR together with AtGGPPS and JcCAS gave a 410% increase in casbene production compared to transient expression of JcCAS alone. This combination was cloned into a single construct using the MoClo toolkit, and stably integrated into the N. benthamiana genome. We also created multigene constructs for stable transformation of two J. curcas cytochrome P450 genes, JcCYP726A20 and JcCYP71D495 that produce the more complex diterpenoid jolkinol C from casbene when expressed transiently with JcCAS in N. benthamiana. Stable transformation of JcCYP726A20, JcCYP71D495 and JcCAS did not produce any detectable jolkinol C until these genes were co-transformed with the optimal set of precursor-pathway genes. One such stable homozygous line was used to evaluate by transient expression the involvement of an 'alkenal reductase'-like family of four genes in the further conversion of jolkinol C, leading to the demonstration that one of these performs reduction of the 12,13-double bond in jolkinol C. This work highlights the need to optimize precursor supply for production of complex diterpenoids in stable transformants and the value of such lines for novel gene discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edith C.F. Forestier
- Centre for Novel Agricultural ProductsDepartment of BiologyUniversity of YorkHeslingtonYorkUK
| | - Tomasz Czechowski
- Centre for Novel Agricultural ProductsDepartment of BiologyUniversity of YorkHeslingtonYorkUK
| | - Amy C. Cording
- Centre for Novel Agricultural ProductsDepartment of BiologyUniversity of YorkHeslingtonYorkUK
| | - Alison D. Gilday
- Centre for Novel Agricultural ProductsDepartment of BiologyUniversity of YorkHeslingtonYorkUK
| | - Andrew J. King
- Centre for Novel Agricultural ProductsDepartment of BiologyUniversity of YorkHeslingtonYorkUK
| | | | - Ian A. Graham
- Centre for Novel Agricultural ProductsDepartment of BiologyUniversity of YorkHeslingtonYorkUK
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26
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Hage-Hülsmann J, Klaus O, Linke K, Troost K, Gora L, Hilgers F, Wirtz A, Santiago-Schübel B, Loeschcke A, Jaeger KE, Drepper T. Production of C20, C30 and C40 terpenes in the engineered phototrophic bacterium Rhodobacter capsulatus. J Biotechnol 2021; 338:20-30. [PMID: 34237394 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiotec.2021.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2020] [Revised: 06/28/2021] [Accepted: 07/01/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Terpenes constitute one of the largest groups of secondary metabolites that are used, for example, as food-additives, fragrances or pharmaceuticals. Due to the formation of an intracytoplasmic membrane system and an efficient intrinsic tetraterpene pathway, the phototrophic α-proteobacterium Rhodobacter capsulatus offers favorable properties for the production of hydrophobic terpenes. However, research efforts have largely focused on sesquiterpene production. Recently, we have developed modular tools allowing to engineer the biosynthesis of terpene precursors. These tools were now applied to boost the biosynthesis of the diterpene casbene, the triterpene squalene and the tetraterpene β-carotene in R. capsulatus SB1003. Selected enzymes of the intrinsic isoprenoid pathway and the heterologous mevalonate (MVA) pathway were co-expressed together with the respective terpene synthases in various combinations. Remarkably, co-expression of genes ispA, idi and dxs enhanced the synthesis of casbene and β-carotene. In contrast, co-expression of precursor biosynthetic genes with the squalene synthase from Arabidopsis thaliana reduced squalene titers. Therefore, we further employed four alternative pro- and eukaryotic squalene synthases. Here, the synthase from Methylococcus capsulatus enabled highest product levels of 90 mg/L squalene upon co-expression with ispA. In summary, we demonstrate the applicability of R. capsulatus for the heterologous production of diverse terpene classes and provide relevant insights for further development of such platforms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Hage-Hülsmann
- Institute of Molecular Enzyme Technology, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany; Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), Germany.
| | - Oliver Klaus
- Institute of Molecular Enzyme Technology, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany.
| | - Karl Linke
- Institute of Molecular Enzyme Technology, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany.
| | - Katrin Troost
- Institute of Molecular Enzyme Technology, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany.
| | - Lukas Gora
- Institute of Molecular Enzyme Technology, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany.
| | - Fabienne Hilgers
- Institute of Molecular Enzyme Technology, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany; Bioeconomy Science Center (BioSC), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany.
| | - Astrid Wirtz
- Institute of Bio- and Geosciences IBG-1, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany.
| | - Beatrix Santiago-Schübel
- Central Division of Analytical Chemistry ZEA-3: Analytik/Biospec, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany.
| | - Anita Loeschcke
- Institute of Molecular Enzyme Technology, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany; Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), Germany; Bioeconomy Science Center (BioSC), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany.
| | - Karl-Erich Jaeger
- Institute of Molecular Enzyme Technology, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany; Institute of Bio- and Geosciences IBG-1, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany; Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), Germany; Bioeconomy Science Center (BioSC), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany.
| | - Thomas Drepper
- Institute of Molecular Enzyme Technology, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany; Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), Germany; Bioeconomy Science Center (BioSC), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany.
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27
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Liang J, Shen Q, Wang L, Liu J, Fu J, Zhao L, Xu M, Peters RJ, Wang Q. Rice contains a biosynthetic gene cluster associated with production of the casbane-type diterpenoid phytoalexin ent-10-oxodepressin. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2021; 231:85-93. [PMID: 33892515 PMCID: PMC9044444 DOI: 10.1111/nph.17406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2020] [Accepted: 04/14/2021] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Diterpenoids play important roles in rice microbial disease resistance as phytoalexins, as well as acting in allelopathy and abiotic stress responses. Recently, the casbane-type phytoalexin ent-10-oxodepressin was identified in rice, but its biosynthesis has not yet been elucidated. Here ent-10-oxodepressin biosynthesis was investigated via co-expression analysis and biochemical characterisation, with use of the CRISPR/Cas9 technology for genetic analysis. The results identified a biosynthetic gene cluster (BGC) on rice chromosome 7 (c7BGC), containing the relevant ent-casbene synthase (OsECBS), and four cytochrome P450 (CYP) genes from the CYP71Z subfamily. Three of these CYPs were shown to act on ent-casbene, with CYP71Z2 able to produce a keto group at carbon-5 (C5), while the closely related paralogues CYP71Z21 and CYP71Z22 both readily produce a keto group at C10. Together these C5 and C10 oxidases can elaborate ent-casbene to ent-10-oxodepressin (5,10-diketo-ent-casbene). OsECBS knockout lines no longer produce casbane-type diterpenoids and exhibit impaired resistance to the rice fungal blast pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae. Elucidation of ent-10-oxodepressin biosynthesis and the associated c7BGC provides not only a potential target for molecular breeding, but also, gives the intriguing parallels to the independently assembled BGCs for casbene-derived diterpenoids in the Euphorbiaceae, further insight into plant BGC evolution, as discussed here.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jin Liang
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Gene Exploration and Utilization in Southwest China, Chengdu, Sichuan 611130, China; College of Agronomy, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan 611130, China
- Roy J. Carver Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
| | - Qinqin Shen
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Gene Exploration and Utilization in Southwest China, Chengdu, Sichuan 611130, China; College of Agronomy, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan 611130, China
| | - Liping Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Gene Exploration and Utilization in Southwest China, Chengdu, Sichuan 611130, China; College of Agronomy, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan 611130, China
| | - Jiang Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Gene Exploration and Utilization in Southwest China, Chengdu, Sichuan 611130, China; College of Agronomy, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan 611130, China
| | - Jingye Fu
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Gene Exploration and Utilization in Southwest China, Chengdu, Sichuan 611130, China; College of Agronomy, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan 611130, China
| | - Le Zhao
- Roy J. Carver Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
| | - Meimei Xu
- Roy J. Carver Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
| | - Reuben J Peters
- Roy J. Carver Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
| | - Qiang Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Gene Exploration and Utilization in Southwest China, Chengdu, Sichuan 611130, China; College of Agronomy, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan 611130, China
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28
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Hu Z, Liu X, Tian M, Ma Y, Jin B, Gao W, Cui G, Guo J, Huang L. Recent progress and new perspectives for diterpenoid biosynthesis in medicinal plants. Med Res Rev 2021; 41:2971-2997. [PMID: 33938025 DOI: 10.1002/med.21816] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2020] [Revised: 04/09/2021] [Accepted: 04/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Diterpenoids, including more than 18,000 compounds, represent an important class of metabolites that encompass both phytohormones and some industrially relevant compounds. These molecules with complex, diverse structures and physiological activities, have high value in the pharmaceutical industry. Most medicinal diterpenoids are extracted from plants. Major advances in understanding the biosynthetic pathways of these active compounds are providing unprecedented opportunities for the industrial production of diterpenoids by metabolic engineering and synthetic biology. Here, we summarize recent developments in the field of diterpenoid biosynthesis from medicinal herbs. An overview of the pathways and known biosynthetic enzymes is presented. In particular, we look at the main findings from the past decade and review recent progress in the biosynthesis of different groups of ringed compounds. We also discuss diterpenoid production using synthetic biology and metabolic engineering strategies, and draw on new technologies and discoveries to bring together many components into a useful framework for diterpenoid production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhimin Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xiuyu Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.,School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China
| | - Mei Tian
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Ying Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Baolong Jin
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Wei Gao
- School of Pharmaceutical, Sciences, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Guanghong Cui
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Juan Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Luqi Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
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29
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Andersen TB, Llorente B, Morelli L, Torres‐Montilla S, Bordanaba‐Florit G, Espinosa FA, Rodriguez‐Goberna MR, Campos N, Olmedilla‐Alonso B, Llansola‐Portoles MJ, Pascal AA, Rodriguez‐Concepcion M. An engineered extraplastidial pathway for carotenoid biofortification of leaves. PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 2021; 19:1008-1021. [PMID: 33314563 PMCID: PMC8131046 DOI: 10.1111/pbi.13526] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2020] [Accepted: 12/09/2020] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
Carotenoids are lipophilic plastidial isoprenoids highly valued as nutrients and natural pigments. A correct balance of chlorophylls and carotenoids is required for photosynthesis and therefore highly regulated, making carotenoid enrichment of green tissues challenging. Here we show that leaf carotenoid levels can be boosted through engineering their biosynthesis outside the chloroplast. Transient expression experiments in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves indicated that high extraplastidial production of carotenoids requires an enhanced supply of their isoprenoid precursors in the cytosol, which was achieved using a deregulated form of the main rate-determining enzyme of the mevalonic acid (MVA) pathway. Constructs encoding bacterial enzymes were used to convert these MVA-derived precursors into carotenoid biosynthetic intermediates that do not normally accumulate in leaves, such as phytoene and lycopene. Cytosolic versions of these enzymes produced extraplastidial carotenoids at levels similar to those of total endogenous (i.e. chloroplast) carotenoids. Strategies to enhance the development of endomembrane structures and lipid bodies as potential extraplastidial carotenoid storage systems were not successful to further increase carotenoid contents. Phytoene was found to be more bioaccessible when accumulated outside plastids, whereas lycopene formed cytosolic crystalloids very similar to those found in the chromoplasts of ripe tomatoes. This extraplastidial production of phytoene and lycopene led to an increased antioxidant capacity of leaves. Finally, we demonstrate that our system can be adapted for the biofortification of leafy vegetables such as lettuce.
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Affiliation(s)
- Trine B. Andersen
- Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG)CSIC‐IRTA‐UAB‐UBBarcelonaSpain
- Present address:
Great Lakes Bioenergy Research CenterMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMI48824USA
| | - Briardo Llorente
- Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG)CSIC‐IRTA‐UAB‐UBBarcelonaSpain
- Department of Molecular Sciences, ARC Center of Excellence in Synthetic BiologyMacquarie UniversitySydneyNSWAustralia
- CSIRO Synthetic Biology Future Science PlatformSydneyNSWAustralia
| | - Luca Morelli
- Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG)CSIC‐IRTA‐UAB‐UBBarcelonaSpain
| | | | | | - Fausto A. Espinosa
- Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG)CSIC‐IRTA‐UAB‐UBBarcelonaSpain
| | | | - Narciso Campos
- Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG)CSIC‐IRTA‐UAB‐UBBarcelonaSpain
- Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia MolecularUniversitat de BarcelonaBarcelona08028Spain
| | | | | | - Andrew A. Pascal
- CEA, CNRSInstitute for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC)Université Paris‐SaclayGif‐sur‐YvetteFrance
| | - Manuel Rodriguez‐Concepcion
- Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG)CSIC‐IRTA‐UAB‐UBBarcelonaSpain
- Instituto de Biologia Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP)CSIC‐Universitat Politècnica de ValènciaValenciaSpain
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30
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Mitu SA, Ogbourne SM, Klein AH, Tran TD, Reddell PW, Cummins SF. The P450 multigene family of Fontainea and insights into diterpenoid synthesis. BMC PLANT BIOLOGY 2021; 21:191. [PMID: 33879061 PMCID: PMC8058993 DOI: 10.1186/s12870-021-02958-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2021] [Accepted: 03/30/2021] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cytochrome P450s (P450s) are enzymes that play critical roles in the biosynthesis of physiologically important compounds across all organisms. Although they have been characterised in a large number of plant species, no information relating to these enzymes are available from the genus Fontainea (family Euphorbiaceae). Fontainea is significant as the genus includes species that produce medicinally significant epoxy-tigliane natural products, one of which has been approved as an anti-cancer therapeutic. RESULTS A comparative species leaf metabolome analysis showed that Fontainea species possess a chemical profile different from various other plant species. The diversity and expression profiles of Fontainea P450s were investigated from leaf and root tissue. A total of 103 and 123 full-length P450 genes in Fontainea picrosperma and Fontainea venosa, respectively (and a further 127/125 partial-length) that were phylogenetically classified into clans, families and subfamilies. The majority of P450 identified are most active within root tissue (66.2% F. picrosperma, 65.0% F. venosa). Representatives within the CYP71D and CYP726A were identified in Fontainea that are excellent candidates for diterpenoid synthesis, of which CYP726A1, CYP726A2 and CYP71D1 appear to be exclusive to Fontainea species and were significantly more highly expressed in root tissue compared to leaf tissue. CONCLUSION This study presents a comprehensive overview of the P450 gene family in Fontainea that may provide important insights into the biosynthesis of the medicinally significant epoxy-tigliane diterpenes found within the genus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shahida A. Mitu
- GeneCology Research Centre, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore DC, Queensland 4558 Australia
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore DC, Queensland 4558 Australia
| | - Steven M. Ogbourne
- GeneCology Research Centre, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore DC, Queensland 4558 Australia
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore DC, Queensland 4558 Australia
| | - Anne H. Klein
- GeneCology Research Centre, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore DC, Queensland 4558 Australia
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore DC, Queensland 4558 Australia
| | - Trong D. Tran
- GeneCology Research Centre, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore DC, Queensland 4558 Australia
| | | | - Scott F. Cummins
- GeneCology Research Centre, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore DC, Queensland 4558 Australia
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore DC, Queensland 4558 Australia
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Miller GP, Bhat WW, Lanier ER, Johnson SR, Mathieu DT, Hamberger B. The biosynthesis of the anti-microbial diterpenoid leubethanol in Leucophyllum frutescens proceeds via an all-cis prenyl intermediate. THE PLANT JOURNAL : FOR CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2020; 104:693-705. [PMID: 32777127 PMCID: PMC7649979 DOI: 10.1111/tpj.14957] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2020] [Revised: 06/17/2020] [Accepted: 07/16/2020] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Serrulatane diterpenoids are natural products found in plants from a subset of genera within the figwort family (Scrophulariaceae). Many of these compounds have been characterized as having anti-microbial properties and share a common diterpene backbone. One example, leubethanol from Texas sage (Leucophyllum frutescens) has demonstrated activity against multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis. Leubethanol is the only serrulatane diterpenoid identified from this genus; however, a range of such compounds have been found throughout the closely related Eremophila genus. Despite their potential therapeutic relevance, the biosynthesis of serrulatane diterpenoids has not been previously reported. Here we leverage the simple product profile and high accumulation of leubethanol in the roots of L. frutescens and compare tissue-specific transcriptomes with existing data from Eremophila serrulata to decipher the biosynthesis of leubethanol. A short-chain cis-prenyl transferase (LfCPT1) first produces the rare diterpene precursor nerylneryl diphosphate, which is cyclized by an unusual plastidial terpene synthase (LfTPS1) into the characteristic serrulatane diterpene backbone. Final conversion to leubethanol is catalyzed by a cytochrome P450 (CYP71D616) of the CYP71 clan. This pathway documents the presence of a short-chain cis-prenyl diphosphate synthase, previously only found in Solanaceae, which is likely involved in the biosynthesis of other known diterpene backbones in Eremophila. LfTPS1 represents neofunctionalization of a compartment-switching terpene synthase accepting a novel substrate in the plastid. Biosynthetic access to leubethanol will enable pathway discovery to more complex serrulatane diterpenoids which share this common starting structure and provide a platform for the production and diversification of this class of promising anti-microbial therapeutics in heterologous systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Garret P. Miller
- Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMIUSA
| | - Wajid Waheed Bhat
- Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMIUSA
| | - Emily R. Lanier
- Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMIUSA
| | - Sean R. Johnson
- Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMIUSA
| | - Davis T. Mathieu
- Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMIUSA
| | - Björn Hamberger
- Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMIUSA
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Ricigliano VA, Sica VP, Knowles SL, Diette N, Howarth DG, Oberlies NH. Bioactive diterpenoid metabolism and cytotoxic activities of genetically transformed Euphorbia lathyris roots. PHYTOCHEMISTRY 2020; 179:112504. [PMID: 32980713 PMCID: PMC7863580 DOI: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2020.112504] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2020] [Revised: 07/30/2020] [Accepted: 08/23/2020] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Plants in the genus Euphorbia produce a wide variety of pharmacologically active diterpenoids with anticancer, multidrug resistance reversal, and antiviral properties. Some are the primary industrial source of ingenol mebutate, which is approved for treatment of the precancerous skin condition actinic keratosis. Similar to other high value phytochemicals, Euphorbia diterpenoids accumulate at low concentrations in planta and chemical synthesis produces similarly low yields. We established genetically transformed root cultures of Euphorbia lathryis as a strategy to gain greater access to diterpenoids from this genus. Transformed roots produced via stem explant infection with Agrobacterium rhizogenes strain 15834 recapitulated the metabolite profiles of field-grown plant roots and aerial tissues. Several putative diterpenoids were present in transformed roots, including ingenol and closely related structures, indicating that root cultures are a promising approach to Euphorbia-specific diterpenoid production. Treatment with methyl jasmonate led to a significant, albeit transient increase in mRNA levels of early diterpenoid biosynthetic enzymes (farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase, geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate synthase, and casbene synthase), suggesting that elicitation could prove useful in future pathway characterization and metabolic engineering efforts. We also show the potential of transformed E. lathyris root cultures for natural product drug discovery applications by measuring their cytotoxic activities using a panel of human carcinoma cell lines derived from prostate, cervix, breast, and lung.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent A Ricigliano
- USDA-ARS, Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics and Physiology Research, Baton Rouge, LA, 70820, USA.
| | - Vincent P Sica
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, 27402, USA
| | - Sonja L Knowles
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, 27402, USA
| | - Nicole Diette
- Department of Dermatology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, 80227, USA; Charles C. Gates Center for Regenerative Medicine, Aurora, CO, 80227, USA
| | - Dianella G Howarth
- Department of Biological Sciences, St. John's University, Jamaica, NY, 11439, USA
| | - Nicholas H Oberlies
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, 27402, USA
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Huang JQ, Lin JL, Guo XX, Tian X, Tian Y, Shangguan XX, Wang LJ, Fang X, Chen XY. RES transformation for biosynthesis and detoxification. SCIENCE CHINA-LIFE SCIENCES 2020; 63:1297-1302. [PMID: 32519031 DOI: 10.1007/s11427-020-1729-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2020] [Accepted: 05/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
The reactive electrophilic species (RES), typically the molecules bearing α,β-unsaturated carbonyl group, are widespread in living organisms and notoriously known for their damaging effects. Many of the mycotoxins released from phytopathogenic fungi are RES and their contamination to cereals threatens food safety worldwide. However, due to their high reactivity, RES are also used by host organisms to synthesize specific metabolites. The evolutionary conserved glyoxalase (GLX) system scavenges the cytotoxic α-oxoaldehydes that bear RES groups, which cause host disorders and diseases. In cotton, a specialized enzyme derived from glyoxalase I (GLXI) through gene duplications and named as specialized GLXI (SPG), acts as a distinct type of aromatase in the gossypol pathway to transform the RES intermediates into the phenolic products. In this review, we briefly introduce the research progress in understanding the RES, especially the RES-type mycotoxins, the GLX system and SPG, and discuss their application potential in detoxification and synthetic biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jin-Quan Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, University of CAS, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Jia-Ling Lin
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, University of CAS, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China.,School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Xiao-Xiang Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, University of CAS, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Xiu Tian
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, University of CAS, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Ye Tian
- SIBS-UGENT-SJTU Joint Laboratory of Mycotoxin Research, CAS Key Laboratory of Nutrition, Metabolism and Food Safety, Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Xiao-Xia Shangguan
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, University of CAS, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Ling-Jian Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, University of CAS, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Xin Fang
- State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China.
| | - Xiao-Ya Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, University of CAS, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China. .,School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, 200031, China. .,Shanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics and Resources, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Shanghai Chenshan Plant Science Research Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201602, China.
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Gericke O, Hansen NL, Pedersen GB, Kjaerulff L, Luo D, Staerk D, Møller BL, Pateraki I, Heskes AM. Nerylneryl diphosphate is the precursor of serrulatane, viscidane and cembrane-type diterpenoids in Eremophila species. BMC PLANT BIOLOGY 2020; 20:91. [PMID: 32111159 PMCID: PMC7049213 DOI: 10.1186/s12870-020-2293-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2019] [Accepted: 02/17/2020] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Eremophila R.Br. (Scrophulariaceae) is a diverse genus of plants with species distributed across semi-arid and arid Australia. It is an ecologically important genus that also holds cultural significance for many Indigenous Australians who traditionally use several species as sources of medicines. Structurally unusual diterpenoids, particularly serrulatane and viscidane-types, feature prominently in the chemical profile of many species and recent studies indicate that these compounds are responsible for much of the reported bioactivity. We have investigated the biosynthesis of diterpenoids in three species: Eremophila lucida, Eremophila drummondii and Eremophila denticulata subsp. trisulcata. RESULTS In all studied species diterpenoids were localised to the leaf surface and associated with the occurrence of glandular trichomes. Trichome-enriched transcriptome databases were generated and mined for candidate terpene synthases (TPS). Four TPSs with diterpene biosynthesis activity were identified: ElTPS31 and ElTPS3 from E. lucida were found to produce (3Z,7Z,11Z)-cembratrien-15-ol and 5-hydroxyviscidane, respectively, and EdTPS22 and EdtTPS4, from E. drummondii and E. denticulata subsp. trisulcata, respectively, were found to produce 8,9-dihydroserrulat-14-ene which readily aromatized to serrulat-14-ene. In all cases, the identified TPSs used the cisoid substrate, nerylneryl diphosphate (NNPP), to form the observed products. Subsequently, cis-prenyl transferases (CPTs) capable of making NNPP were identified in each species. CONCLUSIONS We have elucidated two biosynthetic steps towards three of the major diterpene backbones found in this genus. Serrulatane and viscidane-type diterpenoids are promising candidates for new drug leads. The identification of an enzymatic route to their synthesis opens up the possibility of biotechnological production, making accessible a ready source of scaffolds for further modification and bioactivity testing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oliver Gericke
- Plant Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, DK-1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
- Center for Synthetic Biology "bioSYNergy", Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, DK-1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Nikolaj Lervad Hansen
- Plant Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, DK-1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
- Center for Synthetic Biology "bioSYNergy", Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, DK-1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Gustav Blichfeldt Pedersen
- Plant Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, DK-1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
- Center for Synthetic Biology "bioSYNergy", Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, DK-1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Louise Kjaerulff
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, DK-2100, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Dan Luo
- Plant Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, DK-1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
- Center for Synthetic Biology "bioSYNergy", Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, DK-1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Dan Staerk
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, DK-2100, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Birger Lindberg Møller
- Plant Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, DK-1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
- Center for Synthetic Biology "bioSYNergy", Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, DK-1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Irini Pateraki
- Plant Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, DK-1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
- Center for Synthetic Biology "bioSYNergy", Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, DK-1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Allison Maree Heskes
- Plant Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, DK-1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark.
- Center for Synthetic Biology "bioSYNergy", Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, DK-1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark.
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Hansen NL, Miettinen K, Zhao Y, Ignea C, Andreadelli A, Raadam MH, Makris AM, Møller BL, Stærk D, Bak S, Kampranis SC. Integrating pathway elucidation with yeast engineering to produce polpunonic acid the precursor of the anti-obesity agent celastrol. Microb Cell Fact 2020; 19:15. [PMID: 31992268 PMCID: PMC6988343 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-020-1284-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2019] [Accepted: 01/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Celastrol is a promising anti-obesity agent that acts as a sensitizer of the protein hormone leptin. Despite its potent activity, a sustainable source of celastrol and celastrol derivatives for further pharmacological studies is lacking. RESULTS To elucidate the celastrol biosynthetic pathway and reconstruct it in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we mined a root-transcriptome of Tripterygium wilfordii and identified four oxidosqualene cyclases and 49 cytochrome P450s as candidates to be involved in the early steps of celastrol biosynthesis. Using functional screening of the candidate genes in Nicotiana benthamiana, TwOSC4 was characterized as a novel oxidosqualene cyclase that produces friedelin, the presumed triterpenoid backbone of celastrol. In addition, three P450s (CYP712K1, CYP712K2, and CYP712K3) that act downstream of TwOSC4 were found to effectively oxidize friedelin and form the likely celastrol biosynthesis intermediates 29-hydroxy-friedelin and polpunonic acid. To facilitate production of friedelin, the yeast strain AM254 was constructed by deleting UBC7, which afforded a fivefold increase in friedelin titer. This platform was further expanded with CYP712K1 to produce polpunonic acid and a method for the facile extraction of products from the yeast culture medium, resulting in polpunonic acid titers of 1.4 mg/L. CONCLUSION Our study elucidates the early steps of celastrol biosynthesis and paves the way for future biotechnological production of this pharmacologically promising compound in engineered yeast strains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikolaj L Hansen
- Plant Biochemistry Section, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Karel Miettinen
- Plant Biochemistry Section, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Yong Zhao
- Plant Biochemistry Section, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 2, 2100, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Codruta Ignea
- Plant Biochemistry Section, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Aggeliki Andreadelli
- Institute of Applied Biosciences-Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (INAB-CERTH), P.O. Box 60361, 57001, Thermi, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Morten H Raadam
- Plant Biochemistry Section, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Antonios M Makris
- Institute of Applied Biosciences-Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (INAB-CERTH), P.O. Box 60361, 57001, Thermi, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Birger L Møller
- Plant Biochemistry Section, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Dan Stærk
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 2, 2100, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Søren Bak
- Plant Biochemistry Section, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark.
| | - Sotirios C Kampranis
- Plant Biochemistry Section, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark.
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Otsuki K, Li W, Asada Y, Chen CH, Lee KH, Koike K. Daphneodorins A-C, Anti-HIV Gnidimacrin Related Macrocyclic Daphnane Orthoesters from Daphne odora. Org Lett 2020; 22:11-15. [PMID: 31680527 PMCID: PMC7437546 DOI: 10.1021/acs.orglett.9b03539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Three novel gnidimacrin related macrocyclic daphnanes (GMDs), daphneodorins A-C (2-4), were isolated from Daphne odora Thunb., together with gnidimacrin (1). Their structures were established by extensive physicochemical and spectroscopic analyses. Compounds 2 and 3 potently inhibited HIV-1 replication at subnanomolar concentrations (EC50 0.16 and 0.25 nM, respectively). Compounds 2-4 represent a novel type of GMDs that are highly oxygenated on the macrocyclic ring, suggesting good potential for anti-HIV drug development by further chemical modification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kouharu Otsuki
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toho University, Miyama 2-2-1, Funabashi, Chiba 274-8510, Japan
| | - Wei Li
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toho University, Miyama 2-2-1, Funabashi, Chiba 274-8510, Japan
| | - Yoshihisa Asada
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toho University, Miyama 2-2-1, Funabashi, Chiba 274-8510, Japan
| | - Chin-Ho Chen
- Surgical Science, Department of Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, United States
| | - Kuo-Hsiung Lee
- Natural Products Research Laboratories, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States
- Chinese Medicine Research and Development Center, China Medical University and Hospital, Tiachung, 40447, Taiwan
| | - Kazuo Koike
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toho University, Miyama 2-2-1, Funabashi, Chiba 274-8510, Japan
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Bergman ME, Davis B, Phillips MA. Medically Useful Plant Terpenoids: Biosynthesis, Occurrence, and Mechanism of Action. Molecules 2019; 24:E3961. [PMID: 31683764 PMCID: PMC6864776 DOI: 10.3390/molecules24213961] [Citation(s) in RCA: 139] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2019] [Revised: 10/25/2019] [Accepted: 10/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Specialized plant terpenoids have found fortuitous uses in medicine due to their evolutionary and biochemical selection for biological activity in animals. However, these highly functionalized natural products are produced through complex biosynthetic pathways for which we have a complete understanding in only a few cases. Here we review some of the most effective and promising plant terpenoids that are currently used in medicine and medical research and provide updates on their biosynthesis, natural occurrence, and mechanism of action in the body. This includes pharmacologically useful plastidic terpenoids such as p-menthane monoterpenoids, cannabinoids, paclitaxel (taxol®), and ingenol mebutate which are derived from the 2-C-methyl-d-erythritol-4-phosphate (MEP) pathway, as well as cytosolic terpenoids such as thapsigargin and artemisinin produced through the mevalonate (MVA) pathway. We further provide a review of the MEP and MVA precursor pathways which supply the carbon skeletons for the downstream transformations yielding these medically significant natural products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew E Bergman
- Department of Cellular and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3G5, Canada.
| | - Benjamin Davis
- Department of Cellular and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3G5, Canada.
| | - Michael A Phillips
- Department of Cellular and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3G5, Canada.
- Department of Biology, University of Toronto-Mississauga, Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6, Canada.
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MolNetEnhancer: Enhanced Molecular Networks by Integrating Metabolome Mining and Annotation Tools. Metabolites 2019; 9:metabo9070144. [PMID: 31315242 PMCID: PMC6680503 DOI: 10.3390/metabo9070144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 204] [Impact Index Per Article: 40.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2019] [Revised: 07/10/2019] [Accepted: 07/11/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Metabolomics has started to embrace computational approaches for chemical interpretation of large data sets. Yet, metabolite annotation remains a key challenge. Recently, molecular networking and MS2LDA emerged as molecular mining tools that find molecular families and substructures in mass spectrometry fragmentation data. Moreover, in silico annotation tools obtain and rank candidate molecules for fragmentation spectra. Ideally, all structural information obtained and inferred from these computational tools could be combined to increase the resulting chemical insight one can obtain from a data set. However, integration is currently hampered as each tool has its own output format and efficient matching of data across these tools is lacking. Here, we introduce MolNetEnhancer, a workflow that combines the outputs from molecular networking, MS2LDA, in silico annotation tools (such as Network Annotation Propagation or DEREPLICATOR), and the automated chemical classification through ClassyFire to provide a more comprehensive chemical overview of metabolomics data whilst at the same time illuminating structural details for each fragmentation spectrum. We present examples from four plant and bacterial case studies and show how MolNetEnhancer enables the chemical annotation, visualization, and discovery of the subtle substructural diversity within molecular families. We conclude that MolNetEnhancer is a useful tool that greatly assists the metabolomics researcher in deciphering the metabolome through combination of multiple independent in silico pipelines.
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Johnson SR, Bhat WW, Sadre R, Miller GP, Garcia AS, Hamberger B. Promiscuous terpene synthases from Prunella vulgaris highlight the importance of substrate and compartment switching in terpene synthase evolution. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2019; 223:323-335. [PMID: 30843212 PMCID: PMC6593445 DOI: 10.1111/nph.15778] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2018] [Accepted: 02/22/2019] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
The mint family (Lamiaceae) is well documented as a rich source of terpene natural products. More than 200 diterpene skeletons have been reported from mints, but biosynthetic pathways are known for just a few of these. We crossreferenced chemotaxonomic data with publicly available transcriptomes to select common selfheal (Prunella vulgaris) and its highly unusual vulgarisin diterpenoids as a case study for exploring the origins of diterpene skeletal diversity in Lamiaceae. Four terpene synthases (TPS) from the TPS-a subfamily, including two localised to the plastid, were cloned and functionally characterised. Previous examples of TPS-a enzymes from Lamiaceae were cytosolic and reported to act on the 15-carbon farnesyl diphosphate. Plastidial TPS-a enzymes using the 20-carbon geranylgeranyl diphosphate are known from other plant families, having apparently arisen independently in each family. All four new enzymes were found to be active on multiple prenyl-diphosphate substrates with different chain lengths and stereochemistries. One of the new enzymes catalysed the cyclisation of geranylgeranyl diphosphate into 11-hydroxy vulgarisane, the likely biosynthetic precursor of the vulgarisins. We uncovered the pathway to a rare diterpene skeleton. Our results support an emerging paradigm of substrate and compartment switching as important aspects of TPS evolution and diversification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sean R. Johnson
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMI48824USA
| | - Wajid Waheed Bhat
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMI48824USA
- Department of Pharmacology and ToxicologyMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMI48824USA
| | - Radin Sadre
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMI48824USA
| | - Garret P. Miller
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMI48824USA
| | - Alekzander Sky Garcia
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMI48824USA
| | - Björn Hamberger
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMI48824USA
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Bathe U, Tissier A. Cytochrome P450 enzymes: A driving force of plant diterpene diversity. PHYTOCHEMISTRY 2019; 161:149-162. [PMID: 30733060 DOI: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2018.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 121] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2018] [Revised: 12/03/2018] [Accepted: 12/06/2018] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
In plant terpene biosynthesis, oxidation of the hydrocarbon backbone produced by terpene synthases is typically carried out by cytochrome P450 oxygenases (CYPs). The modifications introduced by CYPs include hydroxylations, sequential oxidations at one position and ring rearrangements and closures. These reactions significantly expand the structural diversity of terpenoids, but also provide anchoring points for further decorations by various transferases. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in reports of CYPs involved in plant terpene pathways. Plant diterpenes represent an important class of metabolites that includes hormones and a number of industrially relevant compounds such as pharmaceutical, aroma or food ingredients. In this review, we provide a comprehensive survey on CYPs reported to be involved in plant diterpene biosynthesis to date. A phylogenetic analysis showed that only few CYP clans are represented in diterpene biosynthesis, namely CYP71, CYP85 and CYP72. Remarkably few CYP families and subfamilies within those clans are involved, indicating specific expansion of these clades in plant diterpene biosynthesis. Nonetheless, the evolutionary trajectory of CYPs of specialized diterpene biosynthesis is diverse. Some are recently derived from gibberellin biosynthesis, while others have a more ancient history with recent expansions in specific plant families. Among diterpenoids, labdane-related diterpenoids represent a dominant class. The availability of CYPs from diverse plant species able to catalyze oxidations in specific regions of the labdane-related backbones provides opportunities for combinatorial biosynthesis to produce novel diterpene compounds that can be screened for biological activities of interest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ulschan Bathe
- Department of Cell and Metabolic Biology, Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Weinberg 3, 06120 Halle, Germany
| | - Alain Tissier
- Department of Cell and Metabolic Biology, Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Weinberg 3, 06120 Halle, Germany.
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Abstract
Abstract
It is frequently assumed, particularly in the last 15 plus years, that “Natural Product Structures” are no longer a source of drugs in the twenty-first century. In fact, this is not at all true. Even today, in the search for novel agents against manifold diseases, natural product structures, some quite old and some quite recent, are behind the compounds that are either recently (last 5–10 years) approved or that are now in clinical trials against manifold diseases of man. This chapter will cover agents approved since 2010 to the end of 2017 by the US FDA and its equivalent in other countries, plus selected agents that have entered clinical trials against major diseases such as cancer and infections that have “in their chemical pedigree” a natural product structure, even if the final product may be totally synthetic in nature.
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Karunanithi PS, Dhanota P, Addison JB, Tong S, Fiehn O, Zerbe P. Functional characterization of the cytochrome P450 monooxygenase CYP71AU87 indicates a role in marrubiin biosynthesis in the medicinal plant Marrubium vulgare. BMC PLANT BIOLOGY 2019; 19:114. [PMID: 30909879 PMCID: PMC6434833 DOI: 10.1186/s12870-019-1702-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2018] [Accepted: 03/06/2019] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Horehound (Marrubium vulgare) is a medicinal plant whose signature bioactive compounds, marrubiin and related furanoid diterpenoid lactones, have potential applications for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases and type II diabetes. Lack of scalable plant cultivation and the complex metabolite profile of M. vulgare limit access to marrubiin via extraction from plant biomass. Knowledge of the marrubiin-biosynthetic enzymes can enable the development of metabolic engineering platforms for marrubiin production. We previously identified two diterpene synthases, MvCPS1 and MvELS, that act sequentially to form 9,13-epoxy-labd-14-ene. Conversion of 9,13-epoxy-labd-14-ene by cytochrome P450 monooxygenase (P450) enzymes can be hypothesized to facilitate key functional modification reactions in the formation of marrubiin and related compounds. RESULTS Mining a M. vulgare leaf transcriptome database identified 95 full-length P450 candidates. Cloning and functional analysis of select P450 candidates showing high transcript abundance revealed a member of the CYP71 family, CYP71AU87, that catalyzed the hydroxylation of 9,13-epoxy-labd-14-ene to yield two isomeric products, 9,13-epoxy labd-14-ene-18-ol and 9,13-epoxy labd-14-ene-19-ol, as verified by GC-MS and NMR analysis. Additional transient Nicotiana benthamiana co-expression assays of CYP71AU87 with different diterpene synthase pairs suggested that CYP71AU87 is specific to the sequential MvCPS1 and MvELS product 9,13-epoxy-labd-14-ene. Although the P450 products were not detectable in planta, high levels of CYP71AU87 gene expression in marrubiin-accumulating tissues supported a role in the formation of marrubiin and related diterpenoids in M. vulgare. CONCLUSIONS In a sequential reaction with the diterpene synthase pair MvCPS1 and MvELS, CYP71AU87 forms the isomeric products 9,13-epoxy labd-14-ene-18/19-ol as probable intermediates in marrubiin biosynthesis. Although its metabolic relevance in planta will necessitate further genetic studies, identification of the CYP71AU87 catalytic activity expands our knowledge of the functional landscape of plant P450 enzymes involved in specialized diterpenoid metabolism and can provide a resource for the formulation of marrubiin and related bioactive natural products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Prema S. Karunanithi
- Department of Plant Biology, University of California Davis, 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, CA USA
| | - Puja Dhanota
- Department of Plant Biology, University of California Davis, 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, CA USA
| | - J. Bennett Addison
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182 USA
| | - Shen Tong
- West Coast Metabolomics Center, University of California-Davis, 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, CA USA
| | - Oliver Fiehn
- West Coast Metabolomics Center, University of California-Davis, 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, CA USA
- Biochemistry Department, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Philipp Zerbe
- Department of Plant Biology, University of California Davis, 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, CA USA
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Forestier E, Romero-Segura C, Pateraki I, Centeno E, Compagnon V, Preiss M, Berna A, Boronat A, Bach TJ, Darnet S, Schaller H. Distinct triterpene synthases in the laticifers of Euphorbia lathyris. Sci Rep 2019; 9:4840. [PMID: 30886213 PMCID: PMC6423090 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-40905-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2018] [Accepted: 02/08/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Euphorbia lathyris was proposed about fifty years ago as a potential agroenergetic crop. The tremendous amounts of triterpenes present in its latex has driven investigations for transforming this particular biological fluid into an industrial hydrocarbon source. The huge accumulation of terpenes in the latex of many plant species represent a challenging question regarding cellular homeostasis. In fact, the enzymes, the mechanisms and the controllers that tune the amount of products accumulated in specialized compartments (to fulfill ecological roles) or deposited at important sites (as essential factors) are not known. Here, we have isolated oxidosqualene cyclases highly expressed in the latex of Euphorbia lathyris. This triterpene biosynthetic machinery is made of distinct paralogous enzymes responsible for the massive accumulation of steroidal and non-steroidal tetracyclic triterpenes. More than eighty years after the isolation of butyrospermol from shea butter (Heilbronn IM, Moffet GL, and Spring FS J. Chem. Soc. 1934, 1583), a butyrospermol synthase is characterized in this work using yeast and in folia heterologous expression assays.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edith Forestier
- Plant Isoprenoid Biology team, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire des Plantes, UPR2357 du CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, 12 rue du Général Zimmer, Strasbourg cedex, 67084, France
| | - Carmen Romero-Segura
- Center for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CSIC-IRTA-UAB-UB), Bellaterra, Spain
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biomedicine, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Irini Pateraki
- Center for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CSIC-IRTA-UAB-UB), Bellaterra, Spain
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biomedicine, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Emilio Centeno
- Center for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CSIC-IRTA-UAB-UB), Bellaterra, Spain
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biomedicine, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Vincent Compagnon
- Plant Isoprenoid Biology team, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire des Plantes, UPR2357 du CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, 12 rue du Général Zimmer, Strasbourg cedex, 67084, France
| | - Myriam Preiss
- Plant Isoprenoid Biology team, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire des Plantes, UPR2357 du CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, 12 rue du Général Zimmer, Strasbourg cedex, 67084, France
| | - Anne Berna
- Plant Isoprenoid Biology team, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire des Plantes, UPR2357 du CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, 12 rue du Général Zimmer, Strasbourg cedex, 67084, France
| | - Albert Boronat
- Center for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CSIC-IRTA-UAB-UB), Bellaterra, Spain
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biomedicine, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Thomas J Bach
- Plant Isoprenoid Biology team, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire des Plantes, UPR2357 du CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, 12 rue du Général Zimmer, Strasbourg cedex, 67084, France
| | - Sylvain Darnet
- Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Pará, Pará, Brazil
| | - Hubert Schaller
- Plant Isoprenoid Biology team, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire des Plantes, UPR2357 du CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, 12 rue du Général Zimmer, Strasbourg cedex, 67084, France.
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Lauersen KJ. Eukaryotic microalgae as hosts for light-driven heterologous isoprenoid production. PLANTA 2019; 249:155-180. [PMID: 30467629 DOI: 10.1007/s00425-018-3048-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2018] [Accepted: 11/14/2018] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Eukaryotic microalgae hold incredible metabolic potential for the sustainable production of heterologous isoprenoid products. Recent advances in algal engineering have enabled the demonstration of prominent examples of heterologous isoprenoid production. Isoprenoids, also known as terpenes or terpenoids, are the largest class of natural chemicals, with a vast diversity of structures and biological roles. Some have high-value in human-use applications, although may be found in their native contexts in low abundance or be difficult to extract and purify. Heterologous production of isoprenoid compounds in heterotrophic microbial hosts such as bacteria or yeasts has been an active area of research for some time and is now a mature technology. Eukaryotic microalgae represent sustainable alternatives to these hosts for biotechnological production processes as their cultivation can be driven by light and freely available CO2 as a carbon source. Their photosynthetic lifestyles require metabolic architectures structured towards the generation of associated isoprenoids (carotenoids, phytol) which participate in photon capture, energy dissipation, and electron transfer. Eukaryotic microalgae should, therefore, contain inherently high capacities for the generation of heterologous isoprenoid products. Although engineering strategies in eukaryotic microalgae have lagged behind the more genetically tractable bacteria and yeasts, recent advances in algal engineering concepts have demonstrated prominent examples of light-driven heterologous isoprenoid production from these photosynthetic hosts. This work seeks to provide practical insights into the choice of eukaryotic microalgae as biotechnological chassis. Recent reports of advances in algal engineering for heterologous isoprenoid production are highlighted as encouraging examples that promote their expanded use as sustainable green-cell factories. Current state of the art, limitations, and future challenges are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle J Lauersen
- Faculty of Biology, Center for Biotechnology (CeBiTec), Bielefeld University, Universitätsstrasse 27, 33615, Bielefeld, Germany.
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Karunanithi PS, Zerbe P. Terpene Synthases as Metabolic Gatekeepers in the Evolution of Plant Terpenoid Chemical Diversity. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2019; 10:1166. [PMID: 31632418 PMCID: PMC6779861 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2019.01166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 133] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2019] [Accepted: 08/26/2019] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
Terpenoids comprise tens of thousands of small molecule natural products that are widely distributed across all domains of life. Plants produce by far the largest array of terpenoids with various roles in development and chemical ecology. Driven by selective pressure to adapt to their specific ecological niche, individual species form only a fraction of the myriad plant terpenoids, typically representing unique metabolite blends. Terpene synthase (TPS) enzymes are the gatekeepers in generating terpenoid diversity by catalyzing complex carbocation-driven cyclization, rearrangement, and elimination reactions that enable the transformation of a few acyclic prenyl diphosphate substrates into a vast chemical library of hydrocarbon and, for a few enzymes, oxygenated terpene scaffolds. The seven currently defined clades (a-h) forming the plant TPS family evolved from ancestral triterpene synthase- and prenyl transferase-type enzymes through repeated events of gene duplication and subsequent loss, gain, or fusion of protein domains and further functional diversification. Lineage-specific expansion of these TPS clades led to variable family sizes that may range from a single TPS gene to families of more than 100 members that may further function as part of modular metabolic networks to maximize the number of possible products. Accompanying gene family expansion, the TPS family shows a profound functional plasticity, where minor active site alterations can dramatically impact product outcome, thus enabling the emergence of new functions with minimal investment in evolving new enzymes. This article reviews current knowledge on the functional diversity and molecular evolution of the plant TPS family that underlies the chemical diversity of bioactive terpenoids across the plant kingdom.
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Affiliation(s)
- Prema S Karunanithi
- Department of Plant Biology, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Philipp Zerbe
- Department of Plant Biology, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, United States
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Andersen TB, Rasmussen SA, Christensen SB, Simonsen HT. Biosynthesis of tovarol and other sesquiterpenoids in Thapsia laciniata Rouy. PHYTOCHEMISTRY 2019; 157:168-174. [PMID: 30412824 DOI: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2018.10.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2018] [Revised: 10/08/2018] [Accepted: 10/26/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
The genus Thapsia produces a wide variety of sesquiterpenoids. The Mediterranean plant Thapsia laciniata Rouy is known to have a product profile that differs from several other species in the genus. Thus, the biosynthesis of sesquiterpenoids in Thapsia laciniata Rouy was investigated. Here we describe three terpene synthases, TlTPS820, TlTPS509 and TlTPS18983. TlTPS18983 is a multi-product enzyme with farnesene as the major product, while TlTPS509 produces guaiol and bulnesol along with other major and several minor unknown products. TlTPS820 is orthologous to TgTPS2 from Thapsia garganica L. and is an epikunzeaol synthase. TgCYP76AE2 from Thapsia garganica performs a triple hydroxylation of epikunzeaol at C-12 to make dihydrocostunolide. It was therefore investigated if the cytochrome P450, TlCYP76AE4 was able to use epikunzeaol as a substrate. It was found that TlCYP76AE4 hydroxylates epikunzeaol at C-8 to yield tovarol instead of dihydrocostunolide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Trine Bundgaard Andersen
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Silas Anselm Rasmussen
- Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Søltofts Plads 223, 2800, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Søren Brøgger Christensen
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 2, 2100, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Henrik Toft Simonsen
- Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Søltofts Plads 223, 2800, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark.
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Zhu A, Zhang T, Wang Q. The phytochemistry, pharmacokinetics, pharmacology and toxicity of Euphorbia semen. JOURNAL OF ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY 2018; 227:41-55. [PMID: 30144497 DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2018.08.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2018] [Revised: 08/07/2018] [Accepted: 08/19/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Euphorbia semen, the dried and ripe seed of Euphorbia lathyris Linnaeus, is widely cultivated for traditional medicine use. This semen is used to expel water, help with phlegm retention, promote blood circulation, remove blood stasis, cure tinea and scabies, and treat amenorrhea, snakebites, terminal schistosomiasis, anuria and constipation. AIM OF THE REVIEW This review provides updated, comprehensive and categorized information on the local and traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacokinetics, pharmacological activities and toxicity of Euphorbia semen. Future research to deepen the recognition and utilization of Euphorbia semen is proposed. MATERIALS AND METHODS This article conducted a literature review on information about Euphorbia semen in multiple Internet databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, Wiley, Science Direct, Elsevier, ACS publications, SciFinder, Google Scholar and China National Knowledge Internet, until March of 2018. In this manuscript, a number of books, PhD and MSc dissertations, and Chinese Pharmacopeia were also used as references. RESULTS Approximately 240 chemical constituents have been isolated and identified from Euphorbia semen, namely, diterpenoids, coumarins, flavonoids, fatty acids, amino acids, and steroids. Pharmacokinetic study focused on investigating absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (ADME). The chemical constituents have extensive pharmacological effects, such as diuresis and anti-hyperuricaemia, anti-inflammation, antiviral, anticancer, antioxidant, antipigmentation, anti-platelet aggregation and anti-allergic activities, as well as hepatoprotection and neuroprotection. The toxicity of Euphorbia semen, including acute toxicity, target organ irritation and cocareinogenic effects, have been reported, and the detoxification methods are reviewed. CONCLUSION Euphorbia semen has extensive pharmacological activity and excellent clinical value, along with intense intestinal irritation. Although plenty of chemical constituents have been isolated and identified, the exact pharmacological and toxicological mechanisms still need to be explored.
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Affiliation(s)
- An Zhu
- Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Peking University, No. 38 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100191, China.
| | - Tao Zhang
- Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Peking University, No. 38 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100191, China.
| | - Qi Wang
- Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Peking University, No. 38 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100191, China; Key Laboratory of State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Compatibility Toxicology, Beijing 100191, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Toxicological Research and Risk Assessment for Food Safety, Beijing 100191, China.
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Callari R, Fischer D, Heider H, Weber N. Biosynthesis of angelyl-CoA in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Microb Cell Fact 2018; 17:72. [PMID: 29753326 PMCID: PMC5948907 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-018-0925-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2018] [Accepted: 05/07/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The angelic acid moiety represents an essential modification in many biologically active products. These products are commonly known as angelates and several studies have demonstrated their therapeutic benefits, including anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer effects. However, their availability for use in the development of therapeutics is limited due to poor extraction yields. Chemical synthesis has been achieved but its complexity prevents application, therefore microbial production may offer a promising alternative. Here, we engineered the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to produce angelyl-CoA, the CoA-activated form of angelic acid. Results For yeast-based production of angelyl-CoA we first expressed genes recently identified in the biosynthetic cluster ssf of Streptomyces sp. SF2575 in S. cerevisiae. Exogenous feeding of propionate and heterologous expression of a propionyl-CoA synthase from Streptomyces sp. were initially employed to increase the intracellular propionyl-CoA level, resulting in production of angelyl-CoA in the order of 5 mg/L. Substituting the Streptomyces sp. propionyl-CoA carboxylase with a carboxylase derived from Streptomyces coelicolor resulted in angelyl-CoA levels up to 6.4 mg/L. In vivo analysis allowed identification of important intermediates in the pathway, including methyl-malonyl-CoA and 3-hydroxyl-2-methyl-butyryl-CoA. Furthermore, methyl-malonate supplementation and expression of matB CoA ligase from S. coelicolor allowed for methyl-malonyl-CoA synthesis and supported, together with parts of the ssf pathway, angelyl-CoA titres of approximately 1.5 mg/L. Finally, feeding of angelic acid to yeasts expressing acyl-CoA ligases from plant species led to angelyl-CoA production rates of approximately 40 mg/L. Conclusions Our results demonstrate the biosynthesis of angelyl-CoA in yeast from exogenously supplied carboxylic acid precursors. This is the first report on the activity of the ssf genes. We envision that our approach will provide a platform for a more sustainable production of the pharmaceutically important compound class of angelates. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12934-018-0925-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberta Callari
- Evolva SA, Duggingerstrasse 23, 4153, Reinach, Switzerland.,Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - David Fischer
- Evolva SA, Duggingerstrasse 23, 4153, Reinach, Switzerland
| | - Harald Heider
- Evolva SA, Duggingerstrasse 23, 4153, Reinach, Switzerland
| | - Nora Weber
- Evolva SA, Duggingerstrasse 23, 4153, Reinach, Switzerland.
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Wong J, d'Espaux L, Dev I, van der Horst C, Keasling J. De novo synthesis of the sedative valerenic acid in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Metab Eng 2018; 47:94-101. [PMID: 29545148 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2018.03.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2017] [Revised: 03/03/2018] [Accepted: 03/05/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Valeriana officinalis (Valerian) root extracts have been used by European and Asian cultures for millennia for their anxiolytic and sedative properties. However, the efficacy of these extracts suffers from variable yields and composition, making these extracts a prime candidate for microbial production. Recently, valerenic acid, a C15 sesquiterpenoid, was identified as the active compound that modulates the GABAA channel. Although the first committed step, valerena-4,7(11)-diene synthase, has been identified and described, the complete valerenic acid biosynthetic pathway remains to be elucidated. Sequence homology and tissue-specific expression profiles of V. officinalis putative P450s led to the discovery of a V. officinalis valerena-4,7(11)-diene oxidase, VoCYP71DJ1, which required coexpression with a V. officinalis alcohol dehydrogenase and aldehyde dehydrogenase to complete valerenic acid biosynthesis in yeast. Further, we demonstrated the stable integration of all pathway enzymes in yeast, resulting in the production of 140 mg/L of valerena-4,7(11)-diene and 4 mg/L of valerenic acid in milliliter plates. These findings showcase Saccharomyces cerevisiae's potential as an expression platform for facilitating multiply-oxidized medicinal terpenoid pathway discovery, possibly paving the way for scale up and FDA approval of valerenic acid and other active compounds from plant-derived herbal medicines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeff Wong
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States; DOE Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA 94608, United States; Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States
| | - Leo d'Espaux
- DOE Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA 94608, United States; Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States
| | - Ishaan Dev
- DOE Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA 94608, United States; Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States; Department of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA Physical Biosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA, United States
| | - Cas van der Horst
- DOE Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA 94608, United States; Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States
| | - Jay Keasling
- DOE Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA 94608, United States; Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States; Department of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA Physical Biosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA, United States.
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Heskes AM, Sundram TC, Boughton BA, Jensen NB, Hansen NL, Crocoll C, Cozzi F, Rasmussen S, Hamberger B, Hamberger B, Staerk D, Møller BL, Pateraki I. Biosynthesis of bioactive diterpenoids in the medicinal plant Vitex agnus-castus. THE PLANT JOURNAL : FOR CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2018; 93:943-958. [PMID: 29315936 PMCID: PMC5838521 DOI: 10.1111/tpj.13822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2017] [Revised: 12/04/2017] [Accepted: 12/14/2017] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Vitex agnus-castus L. (Lamiaceae) is a medicinal plant historically used throughout the Mediterranean region to treat menstrual cycle disorders, and is still used today as a clinically effective treatment for premenstrual syndrome. The pharmaceutical activity of the plant extract is linked to its ability to lower prolactin levels. This feature has been attributed to the presence of dopaminergic diterpenoids that can bind to dopamine receptors in the pituitary gland. Phytochemical analyses of V. agnus-castus show that it contains an enormous array of structurally related diterpenoids and, as such, holds potential as a rich source of new dopaminergic drugs. The present work investigated the localisation and biosynthesis of diterpenoids in V. agnus-castus. With the assistance of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation-mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI), diterpenoids were localised to trichomes on the surface of fruit and leaves. Analysis of a trichome-specific transcriptome database, coupled with expression studies, identified seven candidate genes involved in diterpenoid biosynthesis: three class II diterpene synthases (diTPSs); three class I diTPSs; and a cytochrome P450 (CYP). Combinatorial assays of the diTPSs resulted in the formation of a range of different diterpenes that can account for several of the backbones of bioactive diterpenoids observed in V. agnus-castus. The identified CYP, VacCYP76BK1, was found to catalyse 16-hydroxylation of the diol-diterpene, peregrinol, to labd-13Z-ene-9,15,16-triol when expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Notably, this product is a potential intermediate in the biosynthetic pathway towards bioactive furan- and lactone-containing diterpenoids that are present in this species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allison M. Heskes
- Plant Biochemistry LaboratoryDepartment of Plant and Environmental SciencesUniversity of CopenhagenThorvaldsensvej 40DK‐1871Frederiksberg CDenmark
- Center for Synthetic Biology ‘bioSYNergy’Department of Plant and Environmental SciencesUniversity of CopenhagenThorvaldsensvej 40DK‐1871Frederiksberg CDenmark
- VILLUM Center for Plant PlasticityDepartment of Plant and Environmental SciencesUniversity of CopenhagenThorvaldsensvej 40DK‐1871Frederiksberg CDenmark
| | - Tamil C.M. Sundram
- Plant Biochemistry LaboratoryDepartment of Plant and Environmental SciencesUniversity of CopenhagenThorvaldsensvej 40DK‐1871Frederiksberg CDenmark
- Department of Plant ScienceKulliyyah of ScienceInternational Islamic University Malaysia50728Kuala LumpurMalaysia
| | - Berin A. Boughton
- Metabolomics AustraliaSchool of BioSciencesThe University of MelbourneVic.3010Australia
| | | | - Nikolaj L. Hansen
- Plant Biochemistry LaboratoryDepartment of Plant and Environmental SciencesUniversity of CopenhagenThorvaldsensvej 40DK‐1871Frederiksberg CDenmark
- Center for Synthetic Biology ‘bioSYNergy’Department of Plant and Environmental SciencesUniversity of CopenhagenThorvaldsensvej 40DK‐1871Frederiksberg CDenmark
- VILLUM Center for Plant PlasticityDepartment of Plant and Environmental SciencesUniversity of CopenhagenThorvaldsensvej 40DK‐1871Frederiksberg CDenmark
| | - Christoph Crocoll
- DynaMo CenterDepartment of Plant and Environmental SciencesUniversity of CopenhagenThorvaldsensvej 40DK‐1871Frederiksberg CDenmark
| | - Federico Cozzi
- Plant Biochemistry LaboratoryDepartment of Plant and Environmental SciencesUniversity of CopenhagenThorvaldsensvej 40DK‐1871Frederiksberg CDenmark
| | - Simon Rasmussen
- Department of Bio and Health InformaticsTechnical University of DenmarkDK‐2800LyngbyDenmark
| | - Britta Hamberger
- Plant Biochemistry LaboratoryDepartment of Plant and Environmental SciencesUniversity of CopenhagenThorvaldsensvej 40DK‐1871Frederiksberg CDenmark
- Center for Synthetic Biology ‘bioSYNergy’Department of Plant and Environmental SciencesUniversity of CopenhagenThorvaldsensvej 40DK‐1871Frederiksberg CDenmark
- VILLUM Center for Plant PlasticityDepartment of Plant and Environmental SciencesUniversity of CopenhagenThorvaldsensvej 40DK‐1871Frederiksberg CDenmark
| | - Björn Hamberger
- Plant Biochemistry LaboratoryDepartment of Plant and Environmental SciencesUniversity of CopenhagenThorvaldsensvej 40DK‐1871Frederiksberg CDenmark
- Center for Synthetic Biology ‘bioSYNergy’Department of Plant and Environmental SciencesUniversity of CopenhagenThorvaldsensvej 40DK‐1871Frederiksberg CDenmark
- VILLUM Center for Plant PlasticityDepartment of Plant and Environmental SciencesUniversity of CopenhagenThorvaldsensvej 40DK‐1871Frederiksberg CDenmark
| | - Dan Staerk
- Department of Drug Design and PharmacologyFaculty of Health and Medical SciencesUniversity of CopenhagenDK‐2100CopenhagenDenmark
| | - Birger L. Møller
- Plant Biochemistry LaboratoryDepartment of Plant and Environmental SciencesUniversity of CopenhagenThorvaldsensvej 40DK‐1871Frederiksberg CDenmark
- Center for Synthetic Biology ‘bioSYNergy’Department of Plant and Environmental SciencesUniversity of CopenhagenThorvaldsensvej 40DK‐1871Frederiksberg CDenmark
- VILLUM Center for Plant PlasticityDepartment of Plant and Environmental SciencesUniversity of CopenhagenThorvaldsensvej 40DK‐1871Frederiksberg CDenmark
| | - Irini Pateraki
- Plant Biochemistry LaboratoryDepartment of Plant and Environmental SciencesUniversity of CopenhagenThorvaldsensvej 40DK‐1871Frederiksberg CDenmark
- Center for Synthetic Biology ‘bioSYNergy’Department of Plant and Environmental SciencesUniversity of CopenhagenThorvaldsensvej 40DK‐1871Frederiksberg CDenmark
- VILLUM Center for Plant PlasticityDepartment of Plant and Environmental SciencesUniversity of CopenhagenThorvaldsensvej 40DK‐1871Frederiksberg CDenmark
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