1
|
Papanikolaou AS, Papaefthimiou D, Matekalo D, Karakousi CV, Makris AM, Kanellis AK. Chemical and transcriptomic analyses of leaf trichomes from Cistus creticus subsp. creticus reveal the biosynthetic pathways of certain labdane-type diterpenoids and their acetylated forms. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2024; 75:3431-3451. [PMID: 38520311 PMCID: PMC11156806 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erae098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 03/25/2024]
Abstract
Labdane-related diterpenoids (LRDs), a subgroup of terpenoids, exhibit structural diversity and significant commercial and pharmacological potential. LRDs share the characteristic decalin-labdanic core structure that derives from the cycloisomerization of geranylgeranyl diphosphate (GGPP). Labdanes derive their name from the oleoresin known as 'Labdanum', 'Ladano', or 'Aladano', used since ancient Greek times. Acetylated labdanes, rarely identified in plants, are associated with enhanced biological activities. Chemical analysis of Cistus creticus subsp. creticus revealed labda-7,13(E)-dien-15-yl acetate and labda-7,13(E)-dien-15-ol as major constituents. In addition, novel labdanes such as cis-abienol, neoabienol, ent-copalol, and one as yet unidentified labdane-type diterpenoid were detected for the first time. These compounds exhibit developmental regulation, with higher accumulation observed in young leaves. Using RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis of young leaf trichomes, it was possible to identify, clone, and eventually functionally characterize labdane-type diterpenoid synthase (diTPS) genes, encoding proteins responsible for the production of labda-7,13(E)-dien-15-yl diphosphate (endo-7,13-CPP), labda-7,13(E)-dien-15-yl acetate, and labda-13(E)-ene-8α-ol-15-yl acetate. Moreover, the reconstitution of labda-7,13(E)-dien-15-yl acetate and labda-13(E)-ene-8α-ol-15-yl acetate production in yeast is presented. Finally, the accumulation of LRDs in different plant tissues showed a correlation with the expression profiles of the corresponding genes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Antigoni S Papanikolaou
- Group of Biotechnology of Pharmaceutical Plants, Laboratory of Pharmacognosy, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece
| | - Dimitra Papaefthimiou
- Group of Biotechnology of Pharmaceutical Plants, Laboratory of Pharmacognosy, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece
| | - Dragana Matekalo
- Group of Biotechnology of Pharmaceutical Plants, Laboratory of Pharmacognosy, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece
| | - Christina-Vasiliki Karakousi
- Group of Biotechnology of Pharmaceutical Plants, Laboratory of Pharmacognosy, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece
| | - Antonios M Makris
- Institute of Applied Biosciences, Centre for Research & Technology, Hellas (CERTH), 57001 Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece
| | - Angelos K Kanellis
- Group of Biotechnology of Pharmaceutical Plants, Laboratory of Pharmacognosy, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Zhao Y, Liang Y, Luo G, Li Y, Han X, Wen M. Sequence-Structure Analysis Unlocking the Potential Functional Application of the Local 3D Motifs of Plant-Derived Diterpene Synthases. Biomolecules 2024; 14:120. [PMID: 38254720 PMCID: PMC10813164 DOI: 10.3390/biom14010120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2023] [Revised: 12/31/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Plant-derived diterpene synthases (PdiTPSs) play a critical role in the formation of structurally and functionally diverse diterpenoids. However, the specificity or functional-related features of PdiTPSs are not well understood. For a more profound insight, we collected, constructed, and curated 199 functionally characterized PdiTPSs and their corresponding 3D structures. The complex correlations among their sequences, domains, structures, and corresponding products were comprehensively analyzed. Ultimately, our focus narrowed to the geometric arrangement of local structures. We found that local structural alignment can rapidly localize product-specific residues that have been validated by mutagenesis experiments. Based on the 3D motifs derived from the residues around the substrate, we successfully searched diterpene synthases (diTPSs) from the predicted terpene synthases and newly characterized PdiTPSs, suggesting that the identified 3D motifs can serve as distinctive signatures in diTPSs (I and II class). Local structural analysis revealed the PdiTPSs with more conserved amino acid residues show features unique to class I and class II, whereas those with fewer conserved amino acid residues typically exhibit product diversity and specificity. These results provide an attractive method for discovering novel or functionally equivalent enzymes and probing the product specificity in cases where enzyme characterization is limited.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yalan Zhao
- National Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-Resources in Yunnan, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China; (Y.Z.); (Y.L.); (G.L.); (X.H.)
- Key Laboratory of Microbial Diversity in Southwest China, Ministry of Education, Yunnan Institute of Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China
| | - Yupeng Liang
- National Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-Resources in Yunnan, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China; (Y.Z.); (Y.L.); (G.L.); (X.H.)
- Key Laboratory of Microbial Diversity in Southwest China, Ministry of Education, Yunnan Institute of Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China
| | - Gan Luo
- National Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-Resources in Yunnan, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China; (Y.Z.); (Y.L.); (G.L.); (X.H.)
- Key Laboratory of Microbial Diversity in Southwest China, Ministry of Education, Yunnan Institute of Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China
| | - Yi Li
- College of Mathematics and Computer Science, Dali University, Dali 671003, China
| | - Xiulin Han
- National Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-Resources in Yunnan, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China; (Y.Z.); (Y.L.); (G.L.); (X.H.)
- Key Laboratory of Microbial Diversity in Southwest China, Ministry of Education, Yunnan Institute of Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China
| | - Mengliang Wen
- National Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-Resources in Yunnan, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China; (Y.Z.); (Y.L.); (G.L.); (X.H.)
- Key Laboratory of Microbial Diversity in Southwest China, Ministry of Education, Yunnan Institute of Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Bibik JD, Hamberger B. Plant Engineering to Enable Platforms for Sustainable Bioproduction of Terpenoids. Methods Mol Biol 2024; 2760:3-20. [PMID: 38468079 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3658-9_1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/13/2024]
Abstract
Terpenoids represent the most diverse class of natural products, with a broad spectrum of industrial relevance including applications in green solvents, flavors and fragrances, nutraceuticals, colorants, and therapeutics. They are typically challenging to extract from their natural sources, where they occur in small amounts and mixtures of related but unwanted byproducts. Formal chemical synthesis, where established, is reliant on petrochemistry. Hence, there is great interest in developing sustainable solutions to assemble biosynthetic pathways in engineered host organisms. Metabolic engineering for chemical production has largely focused on microbial hosts, yet plants offer a sustainable production platform. In addition to containing the precursor pathways that generate the terpenoid building blocks as well as the cell structures and compartments required, or tractable localization for the enzymes involved, plants may provide a low input system to produce these chemicals using carbon dioxide and sunlight only. There have been significant recent advancements in the discovery of pathways to terpenoids of interest as well as strategies to boost yields in host plants. While part of the phytochemical field is focusing on the discovery of biosynthetic pathways, this review will focus on advancements using the pathway toolbox and toward engineering plants for the production of terpenoids. We will highlight strategies currently used to produce target products, optimization of known pathways to improve yields, compartmentalization of pathways within cells, and genetic tools developed to facilitate complex engineering of biosynthetic pathways. These advancements in Synthetic Biology are bringing engineered plant systems closer to commercially relevant hosts for the bioproduction of terpenoids.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jacob D Bibik
- Department of Biochemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
- MelaTech, LLC, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Björn Hamberger
- Department of Biochemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Bibik JD, Bryson AE, Hamberger B. Compartmentalized Terpenoid Production in Plants Using Agrobacterium-Mediated Transient Expression. Methods Mol Biol 2024; 2760:21-34. [PMID: 38468080 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3658-9_2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/13/2024]
Abstract
As the field of plant synthetic biology continues to grow, Agrobacterium-mediated transient expression has become an essential method to rapidly test pathway candidate genes in a combinatorial fashion. This is especially important when elucidating and engineering more complex pathways to produce commercially relevant chemicals like many terpenoids, a widely diverse class of natural products of often industrial relevance. Agrobacterium-mediated transient expression has facilitated multiplex expression of recombinant and modified enzymes, including synthetic biology approaches to compartmentalize the biosynthesis of terpenoids subcellularly. Here, we describe methods on how to deploy Agrobacterium-mediated transient expression in Nicotiana benthamiana to rapidly develop terpenoid pathways and compartmentalize terpenoid biosynthesis within plastids, the cytosol, or at the surface of lipid droplets.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jacob D Bibik
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
- Current address:, MelaTech, LLC, Baltimore, Maryland, United States
| | - Abigail E Bryson
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Björn Hamberger
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
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.
Collapse
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
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Qiu T, Li Y, Wu H, Yang H, Peng Z, Du Z, Wu Q, Wang H, Shen Y, Huang L. Tandem duplication and sub-functionalization of clerodane diterpene synthase originate the blooming of clerodane diterpenoids in Scutellaria barbata. THE PLANT JOURNAL : FOR CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2023; 116:375-388. [PMID: 37395679 DOI: 10.1111/tpj.16377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2023] [Revised: 06/27/2023] [Accepted: 06/29/2023] [Indexed: 07/04/2023]
Abstract
Scutellaria barbata is a traditional Chinese herb medicine and a major source of bioactive clerodane diterpenoids. However, barely clerodanes have been isolated from the closely related S. baicalensis. Here we assembled a chromosome-level genome of S. barbata and identified three class II clerodane diterpene synthases (SbarKPS1, SbarKPS2 and SbaiKPS1) from these two organisms. Using in vitro and in vivo assays, SbarKPS1 was characterized as a monofunctional (-)-kolavenyl diphosphate synthases ((-)-KPS), while SbarKPS2 and SbaiKPS1 produced major neo-cleroda-4(18),13E-dienyl diphosphate with small amount of (-)-KPP. SbarKPS1 and SbarKPS2 shared a high protein sequence identity and formed a tandem gene pair, indicating tandem duplication and sub-functionalization probably led to the evolution of monofunctional (-)-KPS in S. barbata. Additionally, SbarKPS1 and SbarKPS2 were primarily expressed in the leaves and flowers of S. barbata, which was consistent with the distribution of major clerodane diterpenoids scutebarbatine A and B. In contrast, SbaiKPS1 was barely expressed in any tissue of S. baicalensis. We further explored the downstream class I diTPS by functional characterizing of SbarKSL3 and SbarKSL4. Unfortunately, no dephosphorylated product was detected in the coupled assays with SbarKSL3/KSL4 and four class II diTPSs (SbarKPS1, SbarKPS2, SbarCPS2 and SbarCPS4) when a phosphatase inhibitor cocktail was included. Co-expression of SbarKSL3/KSL4 with class II diTPSs in yeast cells did not increase the yield of the corresponding dephosphorylated products, either. Together, these findings elucidated the involvement of two class II diTPSs in clerodane biosynthesis in S. barbata, while the class I diTPS is likely not responsible for the subsequent dephosphorylation step.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ting Qiu
- Institute of Medicinal Plant Physiology and Ecology, School of Pharmaceutical Science, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - YangYan Li
- Institute of Medicinal Plant Physiology and Ecology, School of Pharmaceutical Science, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Haisheng Wu
- Institute of Medicinal Plant Physiology and Ecology, School of Pharmaceutical Science, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Hui Yang
- Institute of Medicinal Plant Physiology and Ecology, School of Pharmaceutical Science, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Ziqiu Peng
- Institute of Medicinal Plant Physiology and Ecology, School of Pharmaceutical Science, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Zuying Du
- Institute of Medicinal Plant Physiology and Ecology, School of Pharmaceutical Science, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Qingwen Wu
- Institute of Medicinal Plant Physiology and Ecology, School of Pharmaceutical Science, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Hongbin Wang
- Institute of Medicinal Plant Physiology and Ecology, School of Pharmaceutical Science, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Yanting Shen
- Institute of Medicinal Plant Physiology and Ecology, School of Pharmaceutical Science, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510006, China
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Cell and Chromosome Engineering, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Lili Huang
- Institute of Medicinal Plant Physiology and Ecology, School of Pharmaceutical Science, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Tian M, Jin B, Chen L, Ma R, Ma Q, Li X, Chen T, Guo J, Ge H, Zhao X, Lai C, Tang J, Cui G, Huang L. Functional diversity of diterpene synthases in Aconitum plants. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY : PPB 2023; 202:107968. [PMID: 37619270 DOI: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2023.107968] [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: 06/04/2023] [Revised: 07/30/2023] [Accepted: 08/06/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023]
Abstract
Members of the Aconitum genus within the Ranunculaceae family are known to accumulate a broad array of medicinal and toxic diterpenoid alkaloids (DAs). Historically, ent-copalyl diphosphate (ent-CPP) was considered the sole precursor in DAs biosynthesis. However, the recent discovery of ent-8,13-CPP synthase in A. gymnandrum Maxim., which participates in ent-atiserene biosynthesis, raises the question of whether this gene is conserved throughout the Aconitum genus. In this study, RNA sequencing and PacBio Iso-sequencing were employed to identify diterpene synthases (diTPSs) in four additional Aconitum species with distinct DA compositions. In vitro and in vivo analyses functionally characterized a diverse array of 10 class II and 9 class I diTPSs. In addition to the identification of seven class II diTPSs as ent-CPP synthases, three other synthases generating ent-8,13-CPP, 8,13-CPP, and 8α-hydroxy-CPP were also discovered. Four class I kaurene synthases-like (KSLs) were observed to react with ent-CPP to yield ent-kaurene. Three KSLs not only reacted with ent-CPP but also ent-8,13-CPP to produce ent-atiserene. AsiKSL2-1 was found to react with 8α-hydroxy-CPP to produce Z-abienol and AsiKSL2-2 exhibited no activity with any of the four intermediates. This research delineates the known diterpene biosynthesis pathways in six Aconitum species and explores the highly divergent diterpene synthases within the genus, which are consistent with their phylogeny and may be responsible for the differential distribution of diterpenoid alkaloids in root and aerial parts. These findings contribute valuable insights into the diversification of diterpene biosynthesis and establish a solid foundation for future investigation into DA biosynthetic pathways in Aconitum.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mei Tian
- State Key Laboratory for Quality Ensurance and Sustainable Use of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100700, China
| | - Baolong Jin
- State Key Laboratory for Quality Ensurance and Sustainable Use of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100700, China
| | - Lingli Chen
- State Key Laboratory for Quality Ensurance and Sustainable Use of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100700, China; Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Anhui Food and Drug Inspection and Research Institute, Hefei, 230051, China
| | - Rui Ma
- School of Pharmacy, Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Henan, 450046, China
| | - Qing Ma
- State Key Laboratory for Quality Ensurance and Sustainable Use of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100700, China
| | - Xiaolin Li
- State Key Laboratory for Quality Ensurance and Sustainable Use of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100700, China
| | - Tong Chen
- State Key Laboratory for Quality Ensurance and Sustainable Use of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100700, China
| | - Juan Guo
- State Key Laboratory for Quality Ensurance and Sustainable Use of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100700, China
| | - Hui Ge
- Gansu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Gansu, 730000, China
| | - Xin Zhao
- Gansu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Gansu, 730000, China
| | - Changjiangsheng Lai
- State Key Laboratory for Quality Ensurance and Sustainable Use of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100700, China
| | - Jinfu Tang
- State Key Laboratory for Quality Ensurance and Sustainable Use of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100700, China
| | - Guanghong Cui
- State Key Laboratory for Quality Ensurance and Sustainable Use of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100700, China.
| | - Luqi Huang
- State Key Laboratory for Quality Ensurance and Sustainable Use of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100700, China.
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Chianese A, Gravina C, Morone MV, Ambrosino A, Formato M, Palma F, Foglia F, Nastri BM, Zannella C, Esposito A, De Filippis A, Piccolella S, Galdiero M, Pacifico S. Lavandula austroapennina: Assessment of the Antiviral Activity of Lipophilic Extracts from Its Organs. Viruses 2023; 15:1648. [PMID: 37631991 PMCID: PMC10457779 DOI: 10.3390/v15081648] [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: 06/24/2023] [Revised: 07/23/2023] [Accepted: 07/27/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
In a framework aimed at the recovery and enhancement of medicinal plants endemic to the territory of the Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park, Lavandula austroapennina N.G. Passal., Tundis and Upson has aroused interest. An insight into the chemical composition of the corolla, calyx, leaf, stem, and root organs was carried out following ultrasound-assisted maceration in n-hexane. The obtained lipophilic extracts were explored using ultra-high-performance chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-ESI-QqTOF-MS/MS). The extracts from the different organs varied in their relative content of fatty acids, ursanes, and oleanane-type triterpenes. In particular, the oleanolic acid content appeared to increase in the order of corolla < leaf < stem. An MTT assay was performed to verify the possible cytotoxicity of the organ extracts of L. austroapennina at a concentration ranging from 12.5 to 400 µg/mL on the Vero CCL-81 cell line. Antiviral activity against herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), alpha human coronavirus 229E (HCoV-229E), and poliovirus type 1 (PV-1) was evaluated via a plaque reduction assay in the same cellular model. All the extracts did not show cytotoxic effects after 2 and 24 h exposure times, and the antiviral efficacy was particularly important for the stem extract, capable of completely inhibiting the tested viruses at low doses. The antiviral activity in a non-enveloped virus PV-1 allowed the assertion that the extracts from the organs of L. austroapennina, and especially the stem extract, interfered directly with the viral envelope. This study underlines how much knowledge of a territory's medicinal plant heritage is a harbinger of promising discoveries in the health field.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Annalisa Chianese
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, Italy; (A.C.); (M.V.M.); (A.A.); (F.P.); (F.F.); (B.M.N.); (C.Z.); (A.D.F.)
| | - Claudia Gravina
- Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 81100 Caserta, Italy; (C.G.); (M.F.); (A.E.); (S.P.)
| | - Maria Vittoria Morone
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, Italy; (A.C.); (M.V.M.); (A.A.); (F.P.); (F.F.); (B.M.N.); (C.Z.); (A.D.F.)
| | - Annalisa Ambrosino
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, Italy; (A.C.); (M.V.M.); (A.A.); (F.P.); (F.F.); (B.M.N.); (C.Z.); (A.D.F.)
| | - Marialuisa Formato
- Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 81100 Caserta, Italy; (C.G.); (M.F.); (A.E.); (S.P.)
| | - Francesca Palma
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, Italy; (A.C.); (M.V.M.); (A.A.); (F.P.); (F.F.); (B.M.N.); (C.Z.); (A.D.F.)
| | - Francesco Foglia
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, Italy; (A.C.); (M.V.M.); (A.A.); (F.P.); (F.F.); (B.M.N.); (C.Z.); (A.D.F.)
| | - Bianca Maria Nastri
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, Italy; (A.C.); (M.V.M.); (A.A.); (F.P.); (F.F.); (B.M.N.); (C.Z.); (A.D.F.)
| | - Carla Zannella
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, Italy; (A.C.); (M.V.M.); (A.A.); (F.P.); (F.F.); (B.M.N.); (C.Z.); (A.D.F.)
| | - Assunta Esposito
- Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 81100 Caserta, Italy; (C.G.); (M.F.); (A.E.); (S.P.)
| | - Anna De Filippis
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, Italy; (A.C.); (M.V.M.); (A.A.); (F.P.); (F.F.); (B.M.N.); (C.Z.); (A.D.F.)
| | - Simona Piccolella
- Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 81100 Caserta, Italy; (C.G.); (M.F.); (A.E.); (S.P.)
| | - Massimiliano Galdiero
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, Italy; (A.C.); (M.V.M.); (A.A.); (F.P.); (F.F.); (B.M.N.); (C.Z.); (A.D.F.)
| | - Severina Pacifico
- Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 81100 Caserta, Italy; (C.G.); (M.F.); (A.E.); (S.P.)
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Zhao Z, Yang D, Guo J, Liu X, Li Q, Su P, Wang J, Ma Y, Huang L. Functional Study and Efficient Catalytic Element Mining of CYP76AHs in Salvia Plants. Molecules 2023; 28:4711. [PMID: 37375266 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28124711] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2023] [Revised: 06/04/2023] [Accepted: 06/08/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Salvia is a large genus with hundreds of species used in traditional Chinese medicine. Tanshinones are a highly representative class of exclusive compounds found in the Salvia genus that exhibit significant biological activity. Tanshinone components have been identified in 16 Salvia species. The CYP76AH subfamily (P450) is crucial for the synthesis of tanshinone due to its catalytic generation of polyhydroxy structures. In this study, a total of 420 CYP76AH genes were obtained, and phylogenetic analysis showed their clear clustering relationships. Fifteen CYP76AH genes from 10 Salvia species were cloned and studied from the perspectives of evolution and catalytic efficiency. Three CYP76AHs with significantly improved catalytic efficiency compared to SmCYP76AH3 were identified, providing efficient catalytic elements for the synthetic biological production of tanshinones. A structure-function relationship study revealed several conserved residues that might be related to the function of CYP76AHs and provided a new mutation direction for the study of the directed evolution of plant P450.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zhenyu Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China
| | - Dongfeng Yang
- Key Laboratory of Plant Secondary Metabolism and Regulation in Zhejiang Province, College of Life Sciences and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Juan Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China
| | - Xiuyu Liu
- College of Pharmacy, Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou 450008, China
| | - Qishuang Li
- School of Traditional Chinese Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Ping Su
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China
| | - Jian Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China
| | - Ying Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China
| | - Luqi Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
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.
Collapse
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
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Wei J, Yang Y, Peng Y, Wang S, Zhang J, Liu X, Liu J, Wen B, Li M. Biosynthesis and the Transcriptional Regulation of Terpenoids in Tea Plants ( Camellia sinensis). Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24086937. [PMID: 37108101 PMCID: PMC10138656 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24086937] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2023] [Revised: 03/26/2023] [Accepted: 04/05/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Terpenes, especially volatile terpenes, are important components of tea aroma due to their unique scents. They are also widely used in the cosmetic and medical industries. In addition, terpene emission can be induced by herbivory, wounding, light, low temperature, and other stress conditions, leading to plant defense responses and plant-plant interactions. The transcriptional levels of important core genes (including HMGR, DXS, and TPS) involved in terpenoid biosynthesis are up- or downregulated by the MYB, MYC, NAC, ERF, WRKY, and bHLH transcription factors. These regulators can bind to corresponding cis-elements in the promoter regions of the corresponding genes, and some of them interact with other transcription factors to form a complex. Recently, several key terpene synthesis genes and important transcription factors involved in terpene biosynthesis have been isolated and functionally identified from tea plants. In this work, we focus on the research progress on the transcriptional regulation of terpenes in tea plants (Camellia sinensis) and thoroughly detail the biosynthesis of terpene compounds, the terpene biosynthesis-related genes, the transcription factors involved in terpene biosynthesis, and their importance. Furthermore, we review the potential strategies used in studying the specific transcriptional regulation functions of candidate transcription factors that have been discriminated to date.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Junchi Wei
- College of Tea Science, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
| | - Yun Yang
- College of Tea Science, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
| | - Ye Peng
- College of Tea Science, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
| | - Shaoying Wang
- College of Tea Science, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
| | - Jing Zhang
- College of Tea Science, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
| | - Xiaobo Liu
- College of Tea Science, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
| | - Jianjun Liu
- College of Tea Science, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
| | - Beibei Wen
- College of Tea Science, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
| | - Meifeng Li
- College of Tea Science, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Sun Y, Shao J, Liu H, Wang H, Wang G, Li J, Mao Y, Chen Z, Ma K, Xu L, Wang Y. A chromosome-level genome assembly reveals that tandem-duplicated CYP706V oxidase genes control oridonin biosynthesis in the shoot apex of Isodon rubescens. MOLECULAR PLANT 2023; 16:517-532. [PMID: 36518072 DOI: 10.1016/j.molp.2022.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Revised: 11/17/2022] [Accepted: 12/08/2022] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
The ent-kaurenoids (e.g., oridonin and enmein) from the Isodon genus (Lamiaceae) are one class of diterpenoids with rich structural diversity and intriguing pharmaceutical activity. In contrast to the well-established gibberellin pathway, oxidative modifications diversifying the ent-kaurene skeleton in Isodon have remained undetermined for half a century. Here we report a chromosome-level genome assembly of I. rubescens, a well-recognized oridonin producer long favored by Asian people as a traditional herb with antitumor effects. The shoot apex was confirmed to be the actual region actively producing ent-kaurene diterpenoids. Through comparative genomics and phylogenetic analyses, we discovered a cluster of tandem-duplicated CYP706V oxygenase-encoding genes located on an ancient genomic block widely distributed in eudicots, whereas almost exclusively emerged in Isodon plants. In the shoot apex, IrCYP706V2 and IrCYP706V7 oxidized the ent-kaurene core in the initial stage of oridonin biosynthesis. Loss of CYP706Vs in other Lamiaceae plants offered an explanation for the specific kaurenoid production in Isodon plants. Moreover, we found that the Isodon genomes encode multiple diterpenoid synthases that are potentially involved in generating diterpenoid diversity. These findings provided new insights into the evolution of the lineage-specific diterpenoid pathway and laid a foundation for improving production of bioactive ent-kaurene-type diterpenoids by molecular breeding and synthetic biology approaches.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yuwei Sun
- CAS-Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Jie Shao
- CAS-Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, China
| | - Haili Liu
- CAS-Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Hua Wang
- National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Guangyi Wang
- CAS-Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, China
| | - Jianhua Li
- CAS-Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Yaping Mao
- CAS-Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, China
| | - Zhuo Chen
- CAS-Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, China
| | - Ke Ma
- CAS-Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, China
| | - Lin Xu
- National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Yong Wang
- CAS-Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China.
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Li H, Wu S, Lin R, Xiao Y, Malaco Morotti AL, Wang Y, Galilee M, Qin H, Huang T, Zhao Y, Zhou X, Yang J, Zhao Q, Kanellis AK, Martin C, Tatsis EC. The genomes of medicinal skullcaps reveal the polyphyletic origins of clerodane diterpene biosynthesis in the family Lamiaceae. MOLECULAR PLANT 2023; 16:549-570. [PMID: 36639870 DOI: 10.1016/j.molp.2023.01.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2022] [Revised: 11/21/2022] [Accepted: 01/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
The presence of anticancer clerodane diterpenoids is a chemotaxonomic marker for the traditional Chinese medicinal plant Scutellaria barbata, although the molecular mechanisms behind clerodane biosynthesis are unknown. Here, we report a high-quality assembly of the 414.98 Mb genome of S. barbata into 13 pseudochromosomes. Using phylogenomic and biochemical data, we mapped the plastidial metabolism of kaurene (gibberellins), abietane, and clerodane diterpenes in three species of the family Lamiaceae (Scutellaria barbata, Scutellaria baicalensis, and Salvia splendens), facilitating the identification of genes involved in the biosynthesis of the clerodanes, kolavenol, and isokolavenol. We show that clerodane biosynthesis evolved through recruitment and neofunctionalization of genes from gibberellin and abietane metabolism. Despite the assumed monophyletic origin of clerodane biosynthesis, which is widespread in species of the Lamiaceae, our data show distinct evolutionary lineages and suggest polyphyletic origins of clerodane biosynthesis in the family Lamiaceae. Our study not only provides significant insights into the evolution of clerodane biosynthetic pathways in the mint family, Lamiaceae, but also will facilitate the production of anticancer clerodanes through future metabolic engineering efforts.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Haixiu Li
- National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Song Wu
- National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Ruoxi Lin
- National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Yiren Xiao
- National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Ana Luisa Malaco Morotti
- National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Ya Wang
- National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Meytal Galilee
- National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Haowen Qin
- National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Tao Huang
- Novogene Bioinformatics Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Yong Zhao
- Novogene Bioinformatics Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Xun Zhou
- Novogene Bioinformatics Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Jun Yang
- National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, 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
| | - Qing Zhao
- National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, 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
| | - Angelos K Kanellis
- Group of Biotechnology of Pharmaceutical Plants, Lab. of Pharmacognosy, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | | | - Evangelos C Tatsis
- National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China; CEPAMS - CAS-JIC Centre of Excellence for Plant and Microbial Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China.
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Wang Z, Nelson DR, Zhang J, Wan X, Peters RJ. Plant (di)terpenoid evolution: from pigments to hormones and beyond. Nat Prod Rep 2023; 40:452-469. [PMID: 36472136 PMCID: PMC9945934 DOI: 10.1039/d2np00054g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Covering: up to 2014-2022.Diterpenoid biosynthesis in plants builds on the necessary production of (E,E,E)-geranylgeranyl diphosphate (GGPP) for photosynthetic pigment production, with diterpenoid biosynthesis arising very early in land plant evolution, enabling stockpiling of the extensive arsenal of (di)terpenoid natural products currently observed in this kingdom. This review will build upon that previously published in the Annual Review of Plant Biology, with a stronger focus on enzyme structure-function relationships, as well as additional insights into the evolution of (di)terpenoid metabolism since generated.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zhibiao Wang
- School of Life Sciences, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China.,Roy J. Carver Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50014, USA.
| | - David R Nelson
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Biochemistry, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
| | - Juan Zhang
- Zhongzhi International Institute of Agricultural Biosciences, Shunde Innovation School, Research Center of Biology and Agriculture, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100024, China.
| | - Xiangyuan Wan
- Zhongzhi International Institute of Agricultural Biosciences, Shunde Innovation School, Research Center of Biology and Agriculture, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100024, China.
| | - Reuben J Peters
- Roy J. Carver Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50014, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Raza S, Miller M, Hamberger B, Vermaas JV. Plant Terpenoid Permeability through Biological Membranes Explored via Molecular Simulations. J Phys Chem B 2023; 127:1144-1157. [PMID: 36717085 PMCID: PMC9923751 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c07209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Plants synthesize small molecule diterpenes composed of 20 carbons from precursor isopentenyl diphosphate and dimethylallyl disphosphate, manufacturing diverse compounds used for defense, signaling, and other functions. Industrially, diterpenes are used as natural aromas and flavoring, as pharmaceuticals, and as natural insecticides or repellents. Despite diterpene ubiquity in plant systems, it remains unknown how plants control diterpene localization and transport. For many other small molecules, plant cells maintain transport proteins that control compound compartmentalization. However, for most diterpene compounds, specific transport proteins have not been identified, and so it has been hypothesized that diterpenes may cross biological membranes passively. Through molecular simulation, we study membrane transport for three complex diterpenes from among the many made by members of the Lamiaceae family to determine their permeability coefficient across plasma membrane models. To facilitate accurate simulation, the intermolecular interactions for leubethanol, abietic acid, and sclareol were parametrized through the standard CHARMM methodology for incorporation into molecular simulations. To evaluate the effect of membrane composition on permeability, we simulate the three diterpenes in two membrane models derived from sorghum and yeast lipidomics data. We track permeation events within our unbiased simulations, and compare implied permeation coefficients with those calculated from Replica Exchange Umbrella Sampling calculations using the inhomogeneous solubility diffusion model. The diterpenes are observed to permeate freely through these membranes, indicating that a transport protein may not be needed to export these small molecules from plant cells. Moreover, the permeability is observed to be greater for plant-like membrane compositions when compared against animal-like membrane models. Increased permeability for diterpene molecules in plant membranes suggest that plants have tailored their membranes to facilitate low-energy transport processes for signaling molecules.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Saad Raza
- Plant
Research Laboratory, College of Natural Science, Michigan State University, East LansingMichigan48824, United States
| | - Mykayla Miller
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California
State University, Fullerton, Fullerton, California92831, United States
| | - Björn Hamberger
- Department
Of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Natural Science, Michigan State University, East LansingMichigan48824, United States
| | - Josh V. Vermaas
- Plant
Research Laboratory, College of Natural Science, Michigan State University, East LansingMichigan48824, United States,Department
Of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Natural Science, Michigan State University, East LansingMichigan48824, United States,E-mail: . Phone: +1 (517) 884-6937
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Bryson AE, Lanier ER, Lau KH, Hamilton JP, Vaillancourt B, Mathieu D, Yocca AE, Miller GP, Edger PP, Buell CR, Hamberger B. Uncovering a miltiradiene biosynthetic gene cluster in the Lamiaceae reveals a dynamic evolutionary trajectory. Nat Commun 2023; 14:343. [PMID: 36670101 PMCID: PMC9860074 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-35845-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2022] [Accepted: 01/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
The spatial organization of genes within plant genomes can drive evolution of specialized metabolic pathways. Terpenoids are important specialized metabolites in plants with diverse adaptive functions that enable environmental interactions. Here, we report the genome assemblies of Prunella vulgaris, Plectranthus barbatus, and Leonotis leonurus. We investigate the origin and subsequent evolution of a diterpenoid biosynthetic gene cluster (BGC) together with other seven species within the Lamiaceae (mint) family. Based on core genes found in the BGCs of all species examined across the Lamiaceae, we predict a simplified version of this cluster evolved in an early Lamiaceae ancestor. The current composition of the extant BGCs highlights the dynamic nature of its evolution. We elucidate the terpene backbones generated by the Callicarpa americana BGC enzymes, including miltiradiene and the terpene (+)-kaurene, and show oxidization activities of BGC cytochrome P450s. Our work reveals the fluid nature of BGC assembly and the importance of genome structure in contributing to the origin of metabolites.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Abigail E Bryson
- Department of Biochemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Emily R Lanier
- Department of Biochemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Kin H Lau
- Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
- Bioinformatics and Biostatistics Core, Van Andel Institute, Grand Rapids, MI, USA
| | - John P Hamilton
- Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
- Center for Applied Genetic Technologies, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Brieanne Vaillancourt
- Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
- Center for Applied Genetic Technologies, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Davis Mathieu
- Department of Biochemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Alan E Yocca
- Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
- Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Garret P Miller
- Department of Biochemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Patrick P Edger
- Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - C Robin Buell
- Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
- Plant Resilience Institute, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Björn Hamberger
- Department of Biochemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Integrating Metabolomics and Transcriptomics to Unveil Atisine Biosynthesis in Aconitum gymnandrum Maxim. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms232113463. [DOI: 10.3390/ijms232113463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2022] [Revised: 10/16/2022] [Accepted: 11/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Diterpene alkaloids (DAs) are characteristic compounds in Aconitum, which are classified into four skeletal types: C18, C19, C20, and bisditerpenoid alkaloids. C20-DAs are thought to be the precursor of the other types. Their biosynthetic pathway, however, is largely unclear. Herein, we combine metabolomics and transcriptomics to unveil the methyl jasmonate (MJ) inducible biosynthesis of DAs in the sterile seedling of A. gymnandrum, the only species in the Subgenus Gymnaconitum (Stapf) Rapaics. Target metabolomics based on root and aerial portions identified 51 C19-DAs and 15 C20-DAs, with 40 inducible compounds. The highest content of C20-DA atisine was selected for further network analysis. PacBio Isoform sequencing integrated with RNA sequencing not only provided the full-length transcriptome but also their response to induction, revealing 1994 genes that exhibited up-regulated expression. Further, 38 genes involved in terpenoid biosynthesis were identified, including 7 diterpene synthases. In addition to the expected function of the four diterpene synthases, AgCPS5 was identified to be a new ent-8,13-CPP synthase in Aconitum and could also combine with AgKSL1 to form the C20-DAs precursor ent-atiserene. Combined with multiple network analyses, six CYP450 and seven 2-ODD genes predicted to be involved in the biosynthesis of atisine were also identified. This study not only sheds light on diterpene synthase evolution in Aconitum but also provides a rich dataset of full-length transcriptomes, systemic metabolomes, and gene expression profiles, setting the groundwork for further investigation of the C20-DAs biosynthesis pathway.
Collapse
|
18
|
Li CY, Yang L, Liu Y, Xu ZG, Gao J, Huang YB, Xu JJ, Fan H, Kong Y, Wei YK, Hu WL, Wang LJ, Zhao Q, Hu YH, Zhang YJ, Martin C, Chen XY. The sage genome provides insight into the evolutionary dynamics of diterpene biosynthesis gene cluster in plants. Cell Rep 2022; 40:111236. [PMID: 35977487 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2021] [Revised: 05/29/2022] [Accepted: 07/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022] Open
Abstract
The widely cultivated medicinal and ornamental plant sage (Salvia officinalis L.) is an evergreen shrub of the Lamiaceae family, native to the Mediterranean. We assembled a high-quality sage genome of 480 Mb on seven chromosomes, and identified a biosynthetic gene cluster (BGC) encoding two pairs of diterpene synthases (diTPSs) that, together with the cytochromes P450 (CYPs) genes located inside and outside the cluster, form two expression cascades responsible for the shoot and root diterpenoids, respectively, thus extending BGC functionality from co-regulation to orchestrating metabolite production in different organs. Phylogenomic analysis indicates that the Salvia clades diverged in the early Miocene. In East Asia, most Salvia species are herbaceous and accumulate diterpenoids in storage roots. Notably, in Chinese sage S. miltiorrhiza, the diterpene BGC has contracted and the shoot cascade has been lost. Our data provide genomic insights of micro-evolution of growth type-associated patterning of specialized metabolite production in plants.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chen-Yi Li
- 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, Fenglin Road 300, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Lei Yang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics and Resources, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Fenglin Road 300, Shanghai 201602, China
| | - Yan Liu
- 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, Fenglin Road 300, Shanghai 200032, China; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics and Resources, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Fenglin Road 300, Shanghai 201602, China
| | - Zhou-Geng Xu
- 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, Fenglin Road 300, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Jian Gao
- 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, Fenglin Road 300, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Yan-Bo Huang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics and Resources, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Fenglin Road 300, Shanghai 201602, China
| | - Jing-Jing Xu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics and Resources, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Fenglin Road 300, Shanghai 201602, China
| | - Hang Fan
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics and Resources, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Fenglin Road 300, Shanghai 201602, China
| | - Yu Kong
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics and Resources, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Fenglin Road 300, Shanghai 201602, China
| | - Yu-Kun Wei
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics and Resources, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Fenglin Road 300, Shanghai 201602, China
| | - Wen-Li Hu
- 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, Fenglin Road 300, 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, Fenglin Road 300, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Qing Zhao
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics and Resources, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Fenglin Road 300, Shanghai 201602, China
| | - Yong-Hong Hu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics and Resources, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Fenglin Road 300, Shanghai 201602, China
| | - Yi-Jing Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Collaborative Innovation Center of Genetics and Development, Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Plant Biology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Cathie Martin
- John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK
| | - 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, Fenglin Road 300, Shanghai 200032, China; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics and Resources, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Fenglin Road 300, Shanghai 201602, China.
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Overcoming Metabolic Constraints in the MEP-Pathway Enrich Salvia sclarea Hairy Roots in Therapeutic Abietane Diterpenes. APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/app12147116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abietane diterpenoids (e.g., carnosic acid, aethiopinone, 1-oxoaethiopinone, salvipisone, and ferruginol) synthesized in the roots of several Salvia species have proved to have promising biological activities, but their use on a large scale is limited by the very low content extracted from in vivo roots. In this review, we summarized our efforts and the achieved results aimed at optimizing the synthesis of these diterpenes in Salvia sclarea hairy roots by either elicitation or by modifying the expression of genes encoding enzymes of the MEP-pathway, the biosynthetic route from which they derive. Stable S. sclarea hairy roots (HRs) were treated with methyl jasmonate or coronatine, or genetically engineered, by tuning the expression of genes controlling enzymatic rate-limiting steps (DXS, DXR, GGPPS, CPPS alone or in combination), by silencing of the Ent-CPPS gene, encoding an enzyme acting at gibberellin lateral competitive route or by coordinate up-regulation of biosynthetic genes mediated by transcription factors (WRKY and MYC2). Altogether, these different approaches successfully increased the amount of abietane diterpenes in S. sclarea HRs from to 2 to 30 times over the content found in the control HR line.
Collapse
|
20
|
Schenck CA, Busta L. Using interdisciplinary, phylogeny-guided approaches to understand the evolution of plant metabolism. PLANT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2022; 109:355-367. [PMID: 34816350 DOI: 10.1007/s11103-021-01220-1] [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: 08/09/2021] [Accepted: 11/05/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
To cope with relentless environmental pressures, plants produce an arsenal of structurally diverse chemicals, often called specialized metabolites. These lineage-specific compounds are derived from the simple building blocks made by ubiquitous core metabolic pathways. Although the structures of many specialized metabolites are known, the underlying metabolic pathways and the evolutionary events that have shaped the plant chemical diversity landscape are only beginning to be understood. However, with the advent of multi-omics data sets and the relative ease of studying pathways in previously intractable non-model species, plant specialized metabolic pathways are now being systematically identified. These large datasets also provide a foundation for comparative, phylogeny-guided studies of plant metabolism. Comparisons of metabolic traits and features like chemical abundances, enzyme activities, or gene sequences from phylogenetically diverse plants provide insights into how metabolic pathways evolved. This review highlights the power of studying evolution through the lens of comparative biochemistry, particularly how placing metabolism into a phylogenetic context can help a researcher identify the metabolic innovations enabling the evolution of structurally diverse plant metabolites.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Craig A Schenck
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA.
| | - Lucas Busta
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Minnesota Duluth, Duluth, MN, USA
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Zeng T, Chen Y, Jian Y, Zhang F, Wu R. Chemotaxonomic investigation of plant terpenoids with an established database (TeroMOL). THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2022; 235:662-673. [PMID: 35377469 DOI: 10.1111/nph.18133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2022] [Accepted: 03/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Terpenoids constitute the biggest class of plant-derived natural products with diverse chemical structures and extensive biological activities. Interpreting enzyme functions and mining new structures of terpenoids could be inspired by the cheminformatic and chemotaxonomic analysis, whereas it is hampered by the incompleteness of available data for terpenoids. Here a dedicated terpenoids database, TeroMOL, is developed to collect more than 170 000 terpenoids and their derivatives annotated with reported biological sources, along with a user-friendly and freely accessible webserver to visualise and analyse the terpenoids skeletons and organism sources. The quantitative distributions as well as the qualitative trends between terpenoid skeletons and organism sources in plant kingdom are revealed from a chemotaxonomic view, while no comparisons are attempted due to the inherent data biases. Nevertheless, the terpenoid chemomarkers in several organisms are discussed based on the available data with highly enriched and exclusive carbon skeletons. We believe that the TeroMOL database and its accessory computational tools will be very promising for exploring the chemical space and biological sources of terpenoids, and assisting the terpenoid research community in the future.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tao Zeng
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Yuxinxin Chen
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Yongxing Jian
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Fan Zhang
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Ruibo Wu
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Wang J, Mao Y, Ma Y, Yang J, Jin B, Lin H, Tang J, Zeng W, Zhao Y, Gao W, Peters RJ, Guo J, Cui G, Huang L. Diterpene synthases from Leonurus japonicus elucidate epoxy-bridge formation of spiro-labdane diterpenoids. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 2022; 189:99-111. [PMID: 35157086 PMCID: PMC9070827 DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiac056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2021] [Accepted: 01/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Spiro-9,13-epoxy-labdane diterpenoids are commonly found in Leonurus species, particularly in Leonurus japonicus Houtt., which is a medicinal herb of long-standing use in Asia and in which such spiro-heterocycles are present in at least 38 diterpenoids. Here, through generation of a transcriptome and functional characterization of six diterpene synthases (diTPSs) from L. japonicus, including three class II diTPSs (LjTPS1, LjTPS3, and LjTPS4) and three class I diTPSs (LjTPS5, LjTPS6, and LjTPS7), formation of the spiro-9,13-epoxy-labdane backbone was elucidated, along with identification of the relevant diTPSs for production of other labdane-related diterpenes. Similar to what has been found with diTPSs from other plant species, while LjTPS3 specifically produces the carbon-9 (C9) hydroxylated bicycle peregrinol diphosphate (PPP), the subsequently acting LjTPS6 yields a mixture of four products, largely labda-13(16),14-dien-9-ol, but with substantial amounts of viteagnusin D and the C13-S/R epimers of 9,13-epoxy-labda-14-ene. Notably, structure-function analysis identified a critical residue in LjTPS6 (I420) in which single site mutations enable specific production of the 13S epimer. Indeed, extensive mutagenesis demonstrated that LjTPS6:I420G reacts with PPP to both specifically and efficiently produce 9,13S-epoxy-labda-14-ene, providing a specialized synthase for further investigation of derived diterpenoid biosynthesis. The results reported here provide a strong foundation for future studies of the intriguing spiro-9,13-epoxy-labdane diterpenoid metabolism found in L. japonicus.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jian Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China
| | - Yaping Mao
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Ying Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China
| | - Jian Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China
| | - Baolong Jin
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China
| | - Huixin Lin
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China
| | - Jinfu Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China
| | - Wen Zeng
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China
| | - Yujun Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China
| | - Wei Gao
- Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 10038, China
| | - Reuben J Peters
- Roy J. Carver Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA
| | - Juan Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China
| | - Guanghong Cui
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China
| | - Luqi Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Wang Z, Peters RJ. Tanshinones: Leading the way into Lamiaceae labdane-related diterpenoid biosynthesis. CURRENT OPINION IN PLANT BIOLOGY 2022; 66:102189. [PMID: 35196638 PMCID: PMC8940693 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbi.2022.102189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2021] [Revised: 01/06/2022] [Accepted: 01/14/2022] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Tanshinones are the bioactive diterpenoid constituents of the traditional Chinese medicinal herb Danshen (Salvia miltiorrhiza), and are examples of the phenolic abietanes widely found within the Lamiaceae plant family. Due to the significant interest in these labdane-related diterpenoid natural products, their biosynthesis has been intensively investigated. In addition to providing the basis for metabolic engineering efforts, this work further yielded pioneering insights into labdane-related diterpenoid biosynthesis in the Lamiaceae more broadly. This includes stereochemical foreshadowing of aromatization, with novel protein domain loss in the relevant diterpene synthase, as well as broader phylogenetic conservation of the relevant enzymes. Beyond such summary of more widespread metabolism, formation of the furan ring that characterizes the tanshinones also has been recently elucidated. Nevertheless, the biocatalysts for the pair of demethylations remain unknown, and the intriguing potential connection of these reactions to the further aromatization observed in the tanshinones are speculated upon here.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zhibiao Wang
- School of Life Sciences, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China; 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.
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Song JJ, Fang X, Li CY, Jiang Y, Li JX, Wu S, Guo J, Liu Y, Fan H, Huang YB, Wei YK, Kong Y, Zhao Q, Xu JJ, Hu YH, Chen XY, Yang L. A 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase converts dihydrofuran to furan in Salvia diterpenoids. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 2022; 188:1496-1506. [PMID: 34893909 PMCID: PMC8896610 DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiab567] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2021] [Accepted: 11/16/2021] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
Tanshinone ⅡA (TⅡA), a diterpene quinone with a furan ring, is a bioactive compound found in the medicinal herb redroot sage (Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge), in which both furan and dihydrofuran analogs are present in abundance. Progress has been made recently in elucidating the tanshinone biosynthetic pathway, including heterocyclization of the dihydrofuran D-ring by cytochrome P450s; however, dehydrogenation of dihydrofuran to furan, a key step of furan ring formation, remains uncharacterized. Here, by differential transcriptome mining, we identified six 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase (2-ODD) genes whose expressions corresponded to tanshinone biosynthesis. We showed that Sm2-ODD14 acts as a dehydrogenase catalyzing the furan ring aromatization. In vitro Sm2-ODD14 converted cryptotanshinone to TⅡA and thus was designated TⅡA synthase (SmTⅡAS). Furthermore, SmTⅡAS showed a strict substrate specificity, and repression of SmTⅡAS expression in hairy root by RNAi led to increased accumulation of total dihydrofuran-tanshinones and decreased production of furan-tanshinones. We conclude that SmTⅡAS controls the metabolite flux from dihydrofuran- to furan-tanshinones, which influences medicinal properties of S. miltiorrhiza.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jiao-Jiao Song
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics and Resources, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Shanghai 201602, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, 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
| | - Chen-Yi Li
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences/Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Yan Jiang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics and Resources, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Shanghai 201602, China
- School of Life Sciences, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China
| | - Jian-Xu Li
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences/Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Sheng Wu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics and Resources, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Shanghai 201602, China
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Riverside, California 92521, USA
| | - Juan Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China
| | - Yan Liu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics and Resources, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Shanghai 201602, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Hang Fan
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics and Resources, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Shanghai 201602, China
| | - Yan-Bo Huang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics and Resources, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Shanghai 201602, China
| | - Yu-Kun Wei
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics and Resources, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Shanghai 201602, China
| | - Yu Kong
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics and Resources, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Shanghai 201602, China
| | - Qing Zhao
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics and Resources, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Shanghai 201602, China
| | - Jing-Jing Xu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics and Resources, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Shanghai 201602, China
| | - Yong-Hong Hu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics and Resources, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Shanghai 201602, China
| | - Xiao-Ya Chen
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics and Resources, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Shanghai 201602, China
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences/Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Lei Yang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics and Resources, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Shanghai 201602, China
- Author for communication:
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Chan EWC, Wong SK, Chan HT. An overview of the chemistry and anticancer properties of rosemary extract and its diterpenes. JOURNAL OF HERBMED PHARMACOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.34172/jhp.2022.02] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.), a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae, has promising anticancer activity. This overview has updated the current knowledge on the chemistry and anticancer properties of rosemary extract, carnosic acid, carnosol, and rosmanol, focusing on colon and prostate cancer cells since they are the most susceptible. The information was procured from Google, Google Scholar, PubMed, PubMed Central, Science Direct, J-Stage, and PubChem. Phenolic compounds isolated from the aerial parts of R. officinalis are flavonoids, phenolic acids, diterpenes, triterpenes, terpenoids, and phenylpropanoids. Some of the compounds are new to science, to the genus, and to the species. Almost 30 compounds possess anticancer properties. Rosemary extracts contain abietane diterpenes, with carnosic acid, carnosol, and rosmanol being the most common. Their molecular structures are similar to three fused aromatic rings. Carnosic acid has a –COOH group at C20, carnosol has a lactone ring occurs across the B ring, and rosmanol has a –OH group at C7. Against colon and prostate cancer cells, the rosemary extract and diterpenes inhibited cell viability and induced apoptosis and G2/M phase cell cycle arrest. The inhibition of cell migration and adhesion has also been reported. The rosemary extract and diterpenes also inhibited colon and prostate cancer xenograft in mice. Rosemary extract is more cytotoxic than the diterpenes due to its polyphenols such as flavonoids and triterpenes. In vitro and in vivo cytotoxic activities involve different molecular targets and signalling pathways. Some prospects and areas for future research are suggested.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eric Wei Chiang Chan
- Faculty of Applied Sciences, UCSI University, 56000 Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Siu Kuin Wong
- School of Foundation Studies, Xiamen University Malaysia, Bandar Sunsuria, 43900 Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Hung Tuck Chan
- Secretariat of International Society for Mangrove Ecosystems (ISME), Faculty of Agriculture, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa 903-0129, Japan
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Grayer RJ, Paton AJ, Simmonds MSJ, Howes MJR. Differences in diterpenoid diversity reveal new evidence for separating the genus Coleus from Plectranthus. Nat Prod Rep 2021; 38:1720-1728. [PMID: 34676834 DOI: 10.1039/d0np00081g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Covering: up to 2019The large and medicinally important tropical plant genus Plectranthus (Lamiaceae) was recently split into three separate genera on the basis of molecular and morphological evidence; Plectranthus sensu stricto, Coleus and Equilabium. We found striking differences between the diterpenoids which strongly support this taxonomic split. Coleus is characterised by abietanes oxygenated at C-14 such as royleanones, spirocoleons and acylhydroquinones, which could be useful chemotaxonomic markers to distinguish this genus from Plectranthus s.s. In contrast, the abietanes in Plectranthus s.s. lack C-14 oxygenation, but are often acylated with unusual acids. Equilabium species do not seem to produce diterpenoids. The structures of the nearly 240 abietanes so far reported from Coleus and Plectranthus and their distribution are presented. The aim of this Highlight is to provide an overview of the differences in diterpenoid diversity between these newly defined genera, which are relevant to predict which previously understudied species could hold untapped potential for their medicinal and other economic uses, and to underpin future research on how these plants have evolved to synthesise distinct abietane types.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Renée J Grayer
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3DS, UK.
| | - Alan J Paton
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3DS, UK.
| | | | - Melanie-Jayne R Howes
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3DS, UK. .,Institute of Pharmaceutical Science, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King's College London, SE1 9NH, UK
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Mao L, Jin B, Chen L, Tian M, Ma R, Yin B, Zhang H, Guo J, Tang J, Chen T, Lai C, Cui G, Huang L. Functional identification of the terpene synthase family involved in diterpenoid alkaloids biosynthesis in Aconitum carmichaelii. Acta Pharm Sin B 2021; 11:3310-3321. [PMID: 34729318 PMCID: PMC8546855 DOI: 10.1016/j.apsb.2021.04.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2021] [Revised: 03/22/2021] [Accepted: 04/02/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Aconitum carmichaelii is a high-value medicinal herb widely used across China, Japan, and other Asian countries. Aconitine-type diterpene alkaloids (DAs) are the characteristic compounds in Aconitum. Although six transcriptomes, based on short-read next generation sequencing technology, have been reported from the Aconitum species, the terpene synthase (TPS) corresponding to DAs biosynthesis remains unidentified. We apply a combination of Pacbio isoform sequencing and RNA sequencing to provide a comprehensive view of the A. carmichaelii transcriptome. Nineteen TPSs and five alternative splicing isoforms belonging to TPS-b, TPS-c, and TPS-e/f subfamilies were identified. In vitro enzyme reaction analysis functional identified two sesqui-TPSs and twelve diTPSs. Seven of the TPS-c subfamily genes reacted with GGPP to produce the intermediate ent-copalyl diphosphate. Five AcKSLs separately reacted with ent-CPP to produce ent-kaurene, ent-atiserene, and ent-13-epi-sandaracopimaradie: a new diterpene found in Aconitum. AcTPSs gene expression in conjunction DAs content analysis in different tissues validated that ent-CPP is the sole precursor to all DAs biosynthesis, with AcKSL1, AcKSL2s and AcKSL3-1 responsible for C20 atisine and napelline type DAs biosynthesis, respectively. These data clarified the molecular basis for the C20-DAs biosynthetic pathway in A. carmichaelii and pave the way for further exploration of C19-DAs biosynthesis in the Aconitum species.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Liuying Mao
- College of Pharmacy, Shandong University of Chinese Medicine, Jinan 250355, China
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China
| | - Baolong Jin
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China
| | - Lingli Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China
| | - Mei Tian
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China
| | - Rui Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China
| | - Biwei Yin
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China
| | - Haiyan Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China
| | - Juan Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China
| | - Jinfu Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China
| | - Tong Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China
| | - Changjiangsheng Lai
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China
| | - Guanghong Cui
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China
| | - Luqi Huang
- College of Pharmacy, Shandong University of Chinese Medicine, Jinan 250355, China
- State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Yang Z, Xie C, Zhan T, Li L, Liu S, Huang Y, An W, Zheng X, Huang S. Genome-Wide Identification and Functional Characterization of the Trans-Isopentenyl Diphosphate Synthases Gene Family in Cinnamomum camphora. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2021; 12:708697. [PMID: 34589098 PMCID: PMC8475955 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.708697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2021] [Accepted: 07/28/2021] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Trans-isopentenyl diphosphate synthases (TIDSs) genes are known to be important determinants for terpene diversity and the accumulation of terpenoids. The essential oil of Cinnamomum camphora, which is rich in monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, and other aromatic compounds, has a wide range of pharmacological activities and has therefore attracted considerable interest. However, the TIDS gene family, and its relationship to the camphor tree (C. camphora L. Presl.), has not yet been characterized. In this study, we identified 10 TIDS genes in the genome of the C. camphora borneol chemotype that were unevenly distributed on chromosomes. Synteny analysis revealed that the TIDS gene family in this species likely expanded through segmental duplication events. Furthermore, cis-element analyses demonstrated that C. camphora TIDS (CcTIDS) genes can respond to multiple abiotic stresses. Finally, functional characterization of eight putative short-chain TIDS proteins revealed that CcTIDS3 and CcTIDS9 exhibit farnesyl diphosphate synthase (FPPS) activity, while CcTIDS1 and CcTIDS2 encode geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthases (GGPPS). Although, CcTIDS8 and CcTIDS10 were found to be catalytically inactive alone, they were able to bind to each other to form a heterodimeric functional geranyl diphosphate synthase (GPPS) in vitro, and this interaction was confirmed using a yeast two-hybrid assay. Furthermore, transcriptome analysis revealed that the CcTIDS3, CcTIDS8, CcTIDS9, and CcTIDS10 genes were found to be more active in C. camphora roots as compared to stems and leaves, which were verified by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). These novel results provide a foundation for further exploration of the role of the TIDS gene family in camphor trees, and also provide a potential mechanism by which the production of camphor tree essential oil could be increased for pharmacological purposes through metabolic engineering.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zerui Yang
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
- National Engineering Research Center for Healthcare Devices, Institute of Medicine and Health, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China,
- National Engineering Research Center for Modernization of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Chunzhu Xie
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Ting Zhan
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Linhuan Li
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Shanshan Liu
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yuying Huang
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Wenli An
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiasheng Zheng
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Song Huang
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
- National Engineering Research Center for Modernization of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Ntana F, Bhat WW, Johnson SR, Jørgensen HJL, Collinge DB, Jensen B, Hamberger B. A Sesquiterpene Synthase from the Endophytic Fungus Serendipita indica Catalyzes Formation of Viridiflorol. Biomolecules 2021; 11:biom11060898. [PMID: 34208762 PMCID: PMC8234273 DOI: 10.3390/biom11060898] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2021] [Revised: 06/11/2021] [Accepted: 06/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Interactions between plant-associated fungi and their hosts are characterized by a continuous crosstalk of chemical molecules. Specialized metabolites are often produced during these associations and play important roles in the symbiosis between the plant and the fungus, as well as in the establishment of additional interactions between the symbionts and other organisms present in the niche. Serendipita indica, a root endophytic fungus from the phylum Basidiomycota, is able to colonize a wide range of plant species, conferring many benefits to its hosts. The genome of S. indica possesses only few genes predicted to be involved in specialized metabolite biosynthesis, including a putative terpenoid synthase gene (SiTPS). In our experimental setup, SiTPS expression was upregulated when the fungus colonized tomato roots compared to its expression in fungal biomass growing on synthetic medium. Heterologous expression of SiTPS in Escherichia coli showed that the produced protein catalyzes the synthesis of a few sesquiterpenoids, with the alcohol viridiflorol being the main product. To investigate the role of SiTPS in the plant-endophyte interaction, an SiTPS-over-expressing mutant line was created and assessed for its ability to colonize tomato roots. Although overexpression of SiTPS did not lead to improved fungal colonization ability, an in vitro growth-inhibition assay showed that viridiflorol has antifungal properties. Addition of viridiflorol to the culture medium inhibited the germination of spores from a phytopathogenic fungus, indicating that SiTPS and its products could provide S. indica with a competitive advantage over other plant-associated fungi during root colonization.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Fani Ntana
- Department of Environmental Science, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark;
| | - Wajid W. Bhat
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, 603 Wilson Rd, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA;
| | - Sean R. Johnson
- New England Biolabs, Inc., 240 County Road, Ipswich, MA 01938, USA;
| | - Hans J. L. Jørgensen
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences and Copenhagen Plant Science Centre, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871 Copenhagen, Denmark; (H.J.L.J.); (D.B.C.); (B.J.)
| | - David B. Collinge
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences and Copenhagen Plant Science Centre, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871 Copenhagen, Denmark; (H.J.L.J.); (D.B.C.); (B.J.)
| | - Birgit Jensen
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences and Copenhagen Plant Science Centre, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871 Copenhagen, Denmark; (H.J.L.J.); (D.B.C.); (B.J.)
| | - Björn Hamberger
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, 603 Wilson Rd, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA;
- Correspondence:
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Costa RPO, Lucena LF, Silva LMA, Zocolo GJ, Herrera-Acevedo C, Scotti L, Da-Costa FB, Ionov N, Poroikov V, Muratov EN, Scotti MT. The SistematX Web Portal of Natural Products: An Update. J Chem Inf Model 2021; 61:2516-2522. [PMID: 34014674 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.1c00083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Natural products and their secondary metabolites are promising starting points for the development of drug prototypes and new drugs, as many current treatments for numerous diseases are directly or indirectly related to such compounds. State-of-the-art, curated, integrated, and frequently updated databases of secondary metabolites are thus highly relevant to drug discovery. The SistematX Web Portal, introduced in 2018, is undergoing development to address this need and documents crucial information about plant secondary metabolites, including the exact location of the species from which the compounds were isolated. SistematX also allows registered users to log in to the data management area and gain access to administrative pages. This study reports recent updates and modifications to the SistematX Web Portal, including a batch download option, the generation and visualization of 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectra, and the calculation of physicochemical (drug-like and lead-like) properties and biological activity profiles. The SistematX Web Portal is freely available at http://sistematx.ufpb.br.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Renan P O Costa
- Laboratory of Cheminformatics, Instituto de Pesquisa em Fármacos e Medicamentos (IPeFarM), Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Campus I, Cidade Universitária, João Pessoa 58051-900, PB, Brazil
| | - Lucas F Lucena
- Laboratory of Cheminformatics, Instituto de Pesquisa em Fármacos e Medicamentos (IPeFarM), Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Campus I, Cidade Universitária, João Pessoa 58051-900, PB, Brazil
| | - Lorena Mara A Silva
- Laboratório Multiusuário de Química de Produtos Naturais, Embrapa Agroindústria Tropical, Rua Doutora Sara Mesquita 2270, Planalto do Pici, Fortaleza 60511110, CE, Brazil
| | - Guilherme Julião Zocolo
- Laboratório Multiusuário de Química de Produtos Naturais, Embrapa Agroindústria Tropical, Rua Doutora Sara Mesquita 2270, Planalto do Pici, Fortaleza 60511110, CE, Brazil
| | - Chonny Herrera-Acevedo
- Laboratory of Cheminformatics, Instituto de Pesquisa em Fármacos e Medicamentos (IPeFarM), Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Campus I, Cidade Universitária, João Pessoa 58051-900, PB, Brazil
| | - Luciana Scotti
- Laboratory of Cheminformatics, Instituto de Pesquisa em Fármacos e Medicamentos (IPeFarM), Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Campus I, Cidade Universitária, João Pessoa 58051-900, PB, Brazil
| | - Fernando Batista Da-Costa
- AsterBioChem Research Team, Laboratory of Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Av do café s/n, Ribeirão Preto 14040-903, SP, Brazil
| | - Nikita Ionov
- Laboratory of Structure-Function Based Drug Design, Department of Bioinformatics, Institute of Biomedical Chemistry, Pogodinskaya Str. 10, bldg. 8, Moscow 119121, Russia
| | - Vladimir Poroikov
- Laboratory of Structure-Function Based Drug Design, Department of Bioinformatics, Institute of Biomedical Chemistry, Pogodinskaya Str. 10, bldg. 8, Moscow 119121, Russia
| | - Eugene N Muratov
- Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States
| | - Marcus T Scotti
- Laboratory of Cheminformatics, Instituto de Pesquisa em Fármacos e Medicamentos (IPeFarM), Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Campus I, Cidade Universitária, João Pessoa 58051-900, PB, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
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.
Collapse
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
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Ma Y, Cui G, Chen T, Ma X, Wang R, Jin B, Yang J, Kang L, Tang J, Lai C, Wang Y, Zhao Y, Shen Y, Zeng W, Peters RJ, Qi X, Guo J, Huang L. Expansion within the CYP71D subfamily drives the heterocyclization of tanshinones synthesis in Salvia miltiorrhiza. Nat Commun 2021; 12:685. [PMID: 33514704 PMCID: PMC7846762 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-20959-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2020] [Accepted: 01/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Tanshinones are the bioactive nor-diterpenoid constituents of the Chinese medicinal herb Danshen (Salvia miltiorrhiza). These groups of chemicals have the characteristic furan D-ring, which differentiates them from the phenolic abietane-type diterpenoids frequently found in the Lamiaceae family. However, how the 14,16-epoxy is formed has not been elucidated. Here, we report an improved genome assembly of Danshen using a highly homozygous genotype. We identify a cytochrome P450 (CYP71D) tandem gene array through gene expansion analysis. We show that CYP71D373 and CYP71D375 catalyze hydroxylation at carbon-16 (C16) and 14,16-ether (hetero)cyclization to form the D-ring, whereas CYP71D411 catalyzes upstream hydroxylation at C20. In addition, we discover a large biosynthetic gene cluster associated with tanshinone production. Collinearity analysis indicates a more specific origin of tanshinones in Salvia genus. It illustrates the evolutionary origin of abietane-type diterpenoids and those with a furan D-ring in Lamiaceae.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ying Ma
- State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Guanghong Cui
- State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
| | - Tong Chen
- State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaohui Ma
- College of Pharmaceutical Science, Yunnan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Kunming, China
| | - Ruishan Wang
- State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Baolong Jin
- State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jian Yang
- State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Liping Kang
- State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jinfu Tang
- State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Changjiangsheng Lai
- State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yanan Wang
- State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yujun Zhao
- State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Ye Shen
- State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Wen Zeng
- State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Reuben J Peters
- Roy J. Carver Dep. of Biochem., Biophys. & Mol. Biol., Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
| | - Xiaoquan Qi
- Institute of Botany, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
| | - Juan Guo
- State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
| | - Luqi Huang
- State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
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.
Collapse
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
| |
Collapse
|
34
|
Hamilton JP, Godden GT, Lanier E, Bhat WW, Kinser TJ, Vaillancourt B, Wang H, Wood JC, Jiang J, Soltis PS, Soltis DE, Hamberger B, Buell CR. Generation of a chromosome-scale genome assembly of the insect-repellent terpenoid-producing Lamiaceae species, Callicarpa americana. Gigascience 2020; 9:giaa093. [PMID: 32893861 PMCID: PMC7476102 DOI: 10.1093/gigascience/giaa093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2020] [Revised: 07/03/2020] [Accepted: 08/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Plants exhibit wide chemical diversity due to the production of specialized metabolites that function as pollinator attractants, defensive compounds, and signaling molecules. Lamiaceae (mints) are known for their chemodiversity and have been cultivated for use as culinary herbs, as well as sources of insect repellents, health-promoting compounds, and fragrance. FINDINGS We report the chromosome-scale genome assembly of Callicarpa americana L. (American beautyberry), a species within the early-diverging Callicarpoideae clade of Lamiaceae, known for its metallic purple fruits and use as an insect repellent due to its production of terpenoids. Using long-read sequencing and Hi-C scaffolding, we generated a 506.1-Mb assembly spanning 17 pseudomolecules with N50 contig and N50 scaffold sizes of 7.5 and 29.0 Mb, respectively. In all, 32,164 genes were annotated, including 53 candidate terpene synthases and 47 putative clusters of specialized metabolite biosynthetic pathways. Our analyses revealed 3 putative whole-genome duplication events, which, together with local tandem duplications, contributed to gene family expansion of terpene synthases. Kolavenyl diphosphate is a gateway to many of the bioactive terpenoids in C. americana; experimental validation confirmed that CamTPS2 encodes kolavenyl diphosphate synthase. Syntenic analyses with Tectona grandis L. f. (teak), a member of the Tectonoideae clade of Lamiaceae known for exceptionally strong wood resistant to insects, revealed 963 collinear blocks and 21,297 C. americana syntelogs. CONCLUSIONS Access to the C. americana genome provides a road map for rapid discovery of genes encoding plant-derived agrichemicals and a key resource for understanding the evolution of chemical diversity in Lamiaceae.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- John P Hamilton
- Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, 612 Wilson Road, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Grant T Godden
- Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, 3215 Hull Road, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Emily Lanier
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, 603 Wilson Rd, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Wajid Waheed Bhat
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, 603 Wilson Rd, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Taliesin J Kinser
- Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, 3215 Hull Road, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, 876 Newell Dr, Gainesville, Florida, 32611 USA
| | - Brieanne Vaillancourt
- Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, 612 Wilson Road, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Haiyan Wang
- Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, 612 Wilson Road, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Joshua C Wood
- Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, 612 Wilson Road, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Jiming Jiang
- Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, 612 Wilson Road, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, 1066 Bogue St, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- MSU AgBioResearch, Michigan State University, 446 W. Circle Drive, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Pamela S Soltis
- Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, 3215 Hull Road, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Douglas E Soltis
- Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, 3215 Hull Road, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, 876 Newell Dr, Gainesville, Florida, 32611 USA
| | - Bjoern Hamberger
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, 603 Wilson Rd, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- MSU AgBioResearch, Michigan State University, 446 W. Circle Drive, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - C Robin Buell
- Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, 612 Wilson Road, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- MSU AgBioResearch, Michigan State University, 446 W. Circle Drive, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- Plant Resilience Institute, Michigan State University, 612 Wilson Road, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| |
Collapse
|
35
|
Zhou F, Pichersky E. More is better: the diversity of terpene metabolism in plants. CURRENT OPINION IN PLANT BIOLOGY 2020; 55:1-10. [PMID: 32088555 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbi.2020.01.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 126] [Impact Index Per Article: 31.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2019] [Revised: 01/15/2020] [Accepted: 01/21/2020] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
All plants synthesize a diverse array of terpenoid metabolites. Some are common to all, but many are synthesized only in specific taxa and presumably evolved as adaptations to specific ecological conditions. While the basic terpenoid biosynthetic pathways are common in all plants, recent discoveries have revealed many variations in the way plants synthesized specific terpenes. A major theme is the much greater number of substrates that can be used by enzymes belonging to the terpene synthase (TPS) family. Other recent discoveries include non-TPS enzymes that catalyze the formation of terpenes, and novel transport mechanisms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Fei Zhou
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Eran Pichersky
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
36
|
Lichman BR, Godden GT, Buell CR. Gene and genome duplications in the evolution of chemodiversity: perspectives from studies of Lamiaceae. CURRENT OPINION IN PLANT BIOLOGY 2020; 55:74-83. [PMID: 32344371 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbi.2020.03.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2019] [Revised: 02/19/2020] [Accepted: 03/04/2020] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Plants are reservoirs of extreme chemical diversity, yet biosynthetic pathways remain underexplored in the majority of taxa. Access to improved, inexpensive genomic and computational technologies has recently enhanced our understanding of plant specialized metabolism at the biochemical and evolutionary levels including the elucidation of pathways leading to key metabolites. Furthermore, these approaches have provided insights into the mechanisms of chemical evolution, including neofunctionalization and subfunctionalization, structural variation, and modulation of gene expression. The broader utilization of genomic tools across the plant tree of life, and an expansion of genomic resources from multiple accessions within species or populations, will improve our overall understanding of chemodiversity. These data and knowledge will also lead to greater insight into the selective pressures contributing to and maintaining this diversity, which in turn will enable the development of more accurate predictive models of specialized metabolism in plants.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin R Lichman
- Centre for Novel Agricultural Products, Department of Biology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Grant T Godden
- Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Carol Robin Buell
- Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, 612 Wilson Road, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA; Plant Resilience Institute, Michigan State University, 612 Wilson Road, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA; MSU AgBioResearch, Michigan State University, 446 West Circle Drive, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
37
|
Lau KH, Bhat WW, Hamilton JP, Wood JC, Vaillancourt B, Wiegert-Rininger K, Newton L, Hamberger B, Holmes D, Hamberger B, Buell CR. Genome assembly of Chiococca alba uncovers key enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of unusual terpenoids. DNA Res 2020; 27:dsaa013. [PMID: 32642754 PMCID: PMC7433921 DOI: 10.1093/dnares/dsaa013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2020] [Accepted: 06/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Chiococca alba (L.) Hitchc. (snowberry), a member of the Rubiaceae, has been used as a folk remedy for a range of health issues including inflammation and rheumatism and produces a wealth of specialized metabolites including terpenes, alkaloids, and flavonoids. We generated a 558 Mb draft genome assembly for snowberry which encodes 28,707 high-confidence genes. Comparative analyses with other angiosperm genomes revealed enrichment in snowberry of lineage-specific genes involved in specialized metabolism. Synteny between snowberry and Coffea canephora Pierre ex A. Froehner (coffee) was evident, including the chromosomal region encoding caffeine biosynthesis in coffee, albeit syntelogs of N-methyltransferase were absent in snowberry. A total of 27 putative terpene synthase genes were identified, including 10 that encode diterpene synthases. Functional validation of a subset of putative terpene synthases revealed that combinations of diterpene synthases yielded access to products of both general and specialized metabolism. Specifically, we identified plausible intermediates in the biosynthesis of merilactone and ribenone, structurally unique antimicrobial diterpene natural products. Access to the C. alba genome will enable additional characterization of biosynthetic pathways responsible for health-promoting compounds in this medicinal species.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Bjoern Hamberger
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
- MSU AgBioResearch
| | - C Robin Buell
- Department of Plant Biology
- MSU AgBioResearch
- Plant Resilience Institute, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| |
Collapse
|
38
|
Tiedge K, Muchlinski A, Zerbe P. Genomics-enabled analysis of specialized metabolism in bioenergy crops: current progress and challenges. Synth Biol (Oxf) 2020; 5:ysaa005. [PMID: 32995549 PMCID: PMC7445794 DOI: 10.1093/synbio/ysaa005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2020] [Revised: 05/03/2020] [Accepted: 05/25/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Plants produce a staggering diversity of specialized small molecule metabolites that play vital roles in mediating environmental interactions and stress adaptation. This chemical diversity derives from dynamic biosynthetic pathway networks that are often species-specific and operate under tight spatiotemporal and environmental control. A growing divide between demand and environmental challenges in food and bioenergy crop production has intensified research on these complex metabolite networks and their contribution to crop fitness. High-throughput omics technologies provide access to ever-increasing data resources for investigating plant metabolism. However, the efficiency of using such system-wide data to decode the gene and enzyme functions controlling specialized metabolism has remained limited; due largely to the recalcitrance of many plants to genetic approaches and the lack of 'user-friendly' biochemical tools for studying the diverse enzyme classes involved in specialized metabolism. With emphasis on terpenoid metabolism in the bioenergy crop switchgrass as an example, this review aims to illustrate current advances and challenges in the application of DNA synthesis and synthetic biology tools for accelerating the functional discovery of genes, enzymes and pathways in plant specialized metabolism. These technologies have accelerated knowledge development on the biosynthesis and physiological roles of diverse metabolite networks across many ecologically and economically important plant species and can provide resources for application to precision breeding and natural product metabolic engineering.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kira Tiedge
- Department of Plant Biology, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Andrew Muchlinski
- Department of Plant Biology, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Philipp Zerbe
- Department of Plant Biology, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| |
Collapse
|
39
|
Zeng T, Liu Z, Zhuang J, Jiang Y, He W, Diao H, Lv N, Jian Y, Liang D, Qiu Y, Zhang R, Zhang F, Tang X, Wu R. TeroKit: A Database-Driven Web Server for Terpenome Research. J Chem Inf Model 2020; 60:2082-2090. [PMID: 32286817 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.0c00141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Natural products are the major resource of drug discovery, and terpenoids represent the largest family of natural products. Terpenome is defined as all terpenoid-like and terpenoid-derived natural compounds, including the terpenoids, steroids, and their derivatives. Herein, aiming to navigate the chemical and biological space of terpenome, the first comprehensive database dedicated to terpenome research has been developed by collecting over 110 000 terpenome molecules from various resources, distributed in 14 351 species, belonging to 1109 families, and showing activity against 1366 biological targets. Much of the publically available information or computationally predicted properties for each terpenome molecule is annotated and integrated into TeroKit (http://terokit.qmclab.com/), serving as free Web server for academic use. Moreover, several practical toolkits, such as target profiling and conformer generation modules, are also implemented to facilitate the drug discovery of terpenome.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tao Zeng
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Design and Evaluation, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhihong Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Culture Collection and Application, Guangdong Open Laboratory of Applied Microbiology, Guangdong Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China
| | - Jingyuan Zhuang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Design and Evaluation, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, People's Republic of China
| | - Yitao Jiang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Design and Evaluation, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, People's Republic of China
| | - Wengan He
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Design and Evaluation, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, People's Republic of China
| | - Hongjuan Diao
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Design and Evaluation, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, People's Republic of China
| | - Nan Lv
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Design and Evaluation, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, People's Republic of China
| | - Yongxing Jian
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Design and Evaluation, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, People's Republic of China
| | - Danhong Liang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Design and Evaluation, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, People's Republic of China
| | - Yufan Qiu
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Design and Evaluation, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, People's Republic of China
| | - Rong Zhang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Design and Evaluation, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, People's Republic of China
| | - Fan Zhang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Design and Evaluation, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiaowen Tang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Design and Evaluation, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, People's Republic of China
| | - Ruibo Wu
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Design and Evaluation, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, People's Republic of China
| |
Collapse
|
40
|
Hao DC, Xiao PG. Pharmaceutical resource discovery from traditional medicinal plants: Pharmacophylogeny and pharmacophylogenomics. CHINESE HERBAL MEDICINES 2020; 12:104-117. [PMID: 36119793 PMCID: PMC9476761 DOI: 10.1016/j.chmed.2020.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2019] [Revised: 09/11/2019] [Accepted: 09/25/2019] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
The worldwide botanical and medicinal culture diversity are astonishing and constitute a Pierian spring for innovative drug R&D. Here, the latest awareness and the perspectives of pharmacophylogeny and pharmacophylogenomics, as well as their expanding utility in botanical drug R&D, are systematically summarized and highlighted. Chemotaxonomy is based on the fact that closely related plants contain the same or similar chemical profiles. Correspondingly, it is better to combine morphological characters, DNA markers and chemical markers in the inference of medicinal plant phylogeny. Medicinal plants within the same phylogenetic groups may have the same or similar therapeutic effects, thus forming the core of pharmacophylogeny. Here we systematically review and comment on the versatile applications of pharmacophylogeny in (1) looking for domestic resources of imported drugs, (2) expanding medicinal plant resources, (3) quality control, identification and expansion of herbal medicines, (4) predicting the chemical constituents or active ingredients of herbal medicine and assisting in the identification and determination of chemical constituents, (5) the search for new drugs sorting out, and (6) summarizing and improving herbal medicine experiences, etc. Such studies should be enhanced within the context of deeper investigations of molecular biology and genomics of traditional medicinal plants, phytometabolites and metabolomics, and ethnomedicine-based pharmacological activity, thus enabling the sustainable conservation and utilization of traditional medicinal resources.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Da-cheng Hao
- Biotechnology Institute, School of Environment and Chemical Engineering, Dalian Jiaotong University, Dalian 116028, China
- Corresponding author.
| | - Pei-gen Xiao
- Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
| |
Collapse
|
41
|
Barbosa Silva Cavalcanti A, Costa Barros RP, Costa VCDO, Sobral da Silva M, Fechine Tavares J, Scotti L, Scotti MT. Computer-Aided Chemotaxonomy and Bioprospecting Study of Diterpenes of the Lamiaceae Family. Molecules 2019; 24:molecules24213908. [PMID: 31671588 PMCID: PMC6864738 DOI: 10.3390/molecules24213908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2019] [Revised: 10/25/2019] [Accepted: 10/27/2019] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Lamiaceae is one of the largest families of angiosperms and is classified into 12 subfamilies that are composed of 295 genera and 7775 species. It presents a variety of secondary metabolites such as diterpenes that are commonly found in their species, and some of them are known to be chemotaxonomic markers. The aim of this work was to construct a database of diterpenes and to use it to perform a chemotaxonomic analysis among the subfamilies of Lamiaceae, using molecular descriptors and self-organizing maps (SOMs). The 4115 different diterpenes corresponding to 6386 botanical occurrences, which are distributed in eight subfamilies, 66 genera, 639 different species and 4880 geographical locations, were added to SistematX. Molecular descriptors of diterpenes and their respective botanical occurrences were used to generate the SOMs. In all obtained maps, a match rate higher than 80% was observed, demonstrating a separation of the Lamiaceae subfamilies, corroborating with the morphological and molecular data proposed by Li et al. Therefore, through this chemotaxonomic study, we can predict the localization of a diterpene in a subfamily and assist in the search for secondary metabolites with specific structural characteristics, such as compounds with potential biological activity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Andreza Barbosa Silva Cavalcanti
- Post-Graduate Program in Natural Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraiba, João Pessoa 58051-900, Paraíba, Brazil.
| | - Renata Priscila Costa Barros
- Post-Graduate Program in Natural Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraiba, João Pessoa 58051-900, Paraíba, Brazil.
| | - Vicente Carlos de Oliveira Costa
- Post-Graduate Program in Natural Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraiba, João Pessoa 58051-900, Paraíba, Brazil.
| | - Marcelo Sobral da Silva
- Post-Graduate Program in Natural Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraiba, João Pessoa 58051-900, Paraíba, Brazil.
| | - Josean Fechine Tavares
- Post-Graduate Program in Natural Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraiba, João Pessoa 58051-900, Paraíba, Brazil.
| | - Luciana Scotti
- Post-Graduate Program in Natural Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraiba, João Pessoa 58051-900, Paraíba, Brazil.
| | - Marcus Tullius Scotti
- Post-Graduate Program in Natural Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraiba, João Pessoa 58051-900, Paraíba, Brazil.
| |
Collapse
|
42
|
Conserved bases for the initial cyclase in gibberellin biosynthesis: from bacteria to plants. Biochem J 2019; 476:2607-2621. [PMID: 31484677 DOI: 10.1042/bcj20190479] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2019] [Revised: 09/02/2019] [Accepted: 09/03/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
All land plants contain at least one class II diterpene cyclase (DTC), which utilize an acid-base catalytic mechanism, for the requisite production of ent-copalyl diphosphate (ent-CPP) in gibberellin A (GA) phytohormone biosynthesis. These ent-CPP synthases (CPSs) are hypothesized to be derived from ancient bacterial origins and, in turn, to have given rise to the frequently observed additional DTCs utilized in more specialized plant metabolism. However, such gene duplication and neo-functionalization has occurred repeatedly, reducing the utility of phylogenetic analyses. Support for evolutionary scenarios can be found in more specific conservation of key enzymatic features. While DTCs generally utilize a DxDD motif as the catalytic acid, the identity of the catalytic base seems to vary depending, at least in part, on product outcome. The CPS from Arabidopsis thaliana has been found to utilize a histidine-asparagine dyad to ligate a water molecule that serves as the catalytic base, with alanine substitution leading to the production of 8β-hydroxy-ent-CPP. Here this dyad and effect of Ala substitution is shown to be specifically conserved in plant CPSs involved in GA biosynthesis, providing insight into plant DTC evolution and assisting functional assignment. Even more strikingly, while GA biosynthesis arose independently in plant-associated bacteria and fungi, the catalytic base dyad also is specifically found in the relevant bacterial, but not fungal, CPSs. This suggests functional conservation of CPSs from bacteria to plants, presumably reflecting an early role for derived diterpenoids in both plant development and plant-microbe interactions, eventually leading to GA, and a speculative evolutionary scenario is presented.
Collapse
|
43
|
Zeng T, Liu Z, Liu H, He W, Tang X, Xie L, Wu R. Exploring Chemical and Biological Space of Terpenoids. J Chem Inf Model 2019; 59:3667-3678. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.9b00443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Tao Zeng
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510006, P.R. China
| | - Zhihong Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Culture Collection and Application, Guangdong Open Laboratory of Applied Microbiology, Guangdong Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, P.R. China
| | - Huawei Liu
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510006, P.R. China
| | - Wengan He
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510006, P.R. China
| | - Xiaowen Tang
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510006, P.R. China
| | - Liwei Xie
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Culture Collection and Application, Guangdong Open Laboratory of Applied Microbiology, Guangdong Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, P.R. China
| | - Ruibo Wu
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510006, P.R. China
| |
Collapse
|
44
|
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.
Collapse
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
| |
Collapse
|
45
|
Jia M, Mishra SK, Tufts S, Jernigan RL, Peters RJ. Combinatorial biosynthesis and the basis for substrate promiscuity in class I diterpene synthases. Metab Eng 2019; 55:44-58. [PMID: 31220664 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2019.06.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2019] [Revised: 06/04/2019] [Accepted: 06/14/2019] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Terpene synthases are capable of mediating complex reactions, but fundamentally simply catalyze lysis of allylic diphosphate esters with subsequent deprotonation. Even with the initially generated tertiary carbocation this offers a variety of product outcomes, and deprotonation further can be preceded by the addition of water. This is particularly evident with labdane-related diterpenes (LRDs) where such lysis follows bicyclization catalyzed by class II diterpene cyclases (DTCs) that generates preceding structural variation. Previous investigation revealed that two diterpene synthases (DTSs), one bacterial and the other plant-derived, exhibit extreme substrate promiscuity, but yet still typically produce exo-ene or tertiary alcohol LRD derivatives, respectively (i.e., demonstrating high catalytic specificity), enabling rational combinatorial biosynthesis. Here two DTSs that produce either cis or trans endo-ene LRD derivatives, also plant and bacterial (respectively), were examined for their potential analogous utility. Only the bacterial trans-endo-ene forming DTS was found to exhibit significant substrate promiscuity (with moderate catalytic specificity). This further led to investigation of the basis for substrate promiscuity, which was found to be more closely correlated with phylogenetic origin than reaction complexity. Specifically, bacterial DTSs exhibited significantly more substrate promiscuity than those from plants, presumably reflecting their distinct evolutionary context. In particular, plants typically have heavily elaborated LRD metabolism, in contrast to the rarity of such natural products in bacteria, and the lack of potential substrates presumably alleviates selective pressure against such promiscuity. Regardless of such speculation, this work provides novel biosynthetic access to almost 19 LRDs, demonstrating the power of the combinatorial approach taken here.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Meirong Jia
- Roy J. Carver Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 50011, USA
| | - Sambit K Mishra
- Roy J. Carver Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 50011, USA
| | - Samuel Tufts
- Roy J. Carver Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 50011, USA
| | - Robert L Jernigan
- 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.
| |
Collapse
|
46
|
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.
Collapse
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
| |
Collapse
|