A wound inducible chalcone synthase gene from Dysoxylum gotadhora (DbCHS) regulates flavonoid biosynthesis

Chalcone synthase (CHS) is a type III polyketide synthase and a key enzyme of the phenylpropanoid pathway that generates precursors for flavonoid biosynthesis. The tree species D. gotadhora is known for having an abundance of rohitukine, which has anti-inflammatory and immune-modulating effects. In this study, we used the leaves of D. gotadhora to clone CHS gene (DbCHS). The 1188-bp open reading frame (ORF) was part of the 1373-bp full-length DbCHS clone. Compared to other parts of the plant, DbCHS is expressed more in the leaves and fruits. This is linked to anti-microbial action against a panel of microbes in these tissues. The leaves and seeds extracts inhibit Bacillus subtilis, Streptococcus pyogenes, Bacillus cereus, and Candida albicans. When a plant is hurt, it leaves its tissues open to attack by microbes. To protect themselves, plants often make chemicals that kill microbes. We found that wounding had a big effect on the production of DbCHS. Based on these tests and the results of phylogenetic analysis and molecular docking, we believe that DbCHS is a wound-inducible enzyme that is needed to make flavonoids, which may give the plant antimicrobial properties.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12298-023-01344-2.

Riboswitch-guided chalcone synthase engineering and metabolic flux optimization for enhanced production of flavonoids

Flavonoids are a group of secondary metabolites from plants that have received attention as high value-added pharmacological substances. Recently, a robust and efficient bioprocess using recombinant microbes has emerged as a promising approach to supply flavonoids. In the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway, the rate of chalcone synthesis, the first committed step, is a major bottleneck. However, chalcone synthase (CHS) engineering was difficult because of high-level conservation and the absence of effective screening tools, which are limited to overexpression or homolog-based combinatorial strategies. Furthermore, it is necessary to precisely regulate the metabolic flux for the optimum availability of malonyl-CoA, a substrate of chalcone synthesis. In this study, we engineered CHS and optimized malonyl-CoA availability to establish a platform strain for naringenin production, a key molecular scaffold for various flavonoids. First, we engineered CHS through synthetic riboswitch-based high-throughput screening of rationally designed mutant libraries. Consequently, the catalytic efficiency (k_cat/K_m) of the optimized CHS enzyme was 62% higher than that of the wild-type enzyme. In addition to CHS engineering, we designed genetic circuits using transcriptional repressors to fine-tune the malonyl-CoA availability. The best mutant with synergistic effects of the engineered CHS and the optimized genetic circuit produced 98.71 mg/L naringenin (12.57 mg naringenin/g glycerol), which is the highest naringenin concentration and yield from glycerol in similar culture conditions reported to date, a 2.5-fold increase compared to the parental strain. Overall, this study provides an effective strategy for efficient production of flavonoids.

Chalcone synthases (CHSs): the symbolic type III polyketide synthases

Present review provides a thorough insight on some significant aspects of CHSs over a period of about past three decades with a better outlook for future studies toward comprehending the structural and mechanistic intricacy of this symbolic enzyme. Polyketide synthases (PKSs) form a large family of iteratively acting multifunctional proteins that are involved in the biosynthesis of spectrum of natural products. They exhibit remarkable versatility in the structural configuration and functional organization with an incredible ability to generate different classes of compounds other than the characteristic secondary metabolite constituents. Architecturally, chalcone synthase (CHS) is considered to be the simplest representative of Type III PKSs. The enzyme is pivotal for phenylpropanoid biosynthesis and is also well known for catalyzing the initial step of the flavonoid/isoflavonoid pathway. Being the first Type III enzyme to be discovered, CHS has been subjected to ample investigations which, to a greater extent, have tried to understand its structural complexity and promiscuous functional behavior. In this context, we vehemently tried to collect the fragmented information entirely focussed on this symbolic enzyme from about past three-four decades. The aim of this review is to selectively summarize data on some of the fundamental aspects of CHSs viz, its history and distribution, localization, structure and analogs in non-plant hosts, promoter analyses, and role in defense, with an emphasis on mechanistic studies in different species and vis-à-vis mutation-led changes, and evolutionary significance which has been discussed in detail. The present review gives an insight with a better perspective for the scientific community for future studies devoted towards delimiting the mechanistic and structural basis of polyketide biosynthetic machinery vis-à-vis CHS.

Hypericum perforatum hydroxyalkylpyrone synthase involved in sporopollenin biosynthesis--phylogeny, site-directed mutagenesis, and expression in nonanther tissues

Anther-specific chalcone synthase-like enzyme (ASCL), an ancient plant type III polyketide synthase, is involved in the biosynthesis of sporopollenin, the stable biopolymer found in the exine layer of the wall of a spore or pollen grain. The gene encoding polyketide synthase 1 from Hypericum perforatum (HpPKS1) was previously shown to be expressed mainly in young flower buds, but also in leaves and other tissues at lower levels. Angiosperm ASCLs, identified by sequence and phylogenetic analyses, are divided into two sister clades, the Ala-clade and the Val-clade, and HpPKS1 belongs to the Ala-clade. Recombinant HpPKS1 produced triketide and, to a lesser extent, tetraketide alkylpyrones from medium-chain (C6) to very long-chain (C24) fatty acyl-CoA substrates. Like other ASCLs, HpPKS1 also preferred hydroxyl fatty acyl-CoA esters over the analogous unsubstituted fatty acyl-CoA esters. To study the structural basis of the substrate preference, mutants of Ala200 and Ala215 at the putative active site and Arg202 and Asp211 at the modeled acyl-binding tunnel were constructed. The A200T/A215Q mutant accepted decanoyl-CoA, a poor substrate for the wild-type enzyme, possibly because of active site constriction by bulkier substitutions. The substrate preference of the A215V and A200T/A215Q mutants shifted toward nonhydroxylated, medium-chain to long-chain fatty acyl-CoA substrates. The R202L/D211V double mutant was selective for acyl-CoA with chain lengths of C16-C18, and showed a diminished preference for the hydroxylated acyl-CoA substrates. Transient upregulation by abscisic acid and downregulation by jasmonic acid and wounding suggested that HpPKS1, and possibly other Ala-clade ASCLs, may be involved in the biosynthesis of minor cell wall components in nonanther tissues.

Enzymatic properties and mutational studies of chalcone synthase from Physcomitrella patens

PpCHS is a member of the type III polyketide synthase family and catalyses the synthesis of the flavonoid precursor naringenin chalcone from p-coumaroyl-CoA. Recent research reports the production of pyrone derivatives using either hexanoyl-CoA or butyryl-CoA as starter molecule. The Cys-His-Asn catalytic triad found in other plant chalcone synthase predicted polypeptides is conserved in PpCHS. Site directed mutagenesis involving these amino acids residing in the active-site cavity revealed that the cavity volume of the active-site plays a significant role in the selection of starter molecules as well as product formation. Substitutions of Cys 170 with Arg and Ser amino acids decreased the ability of the PpCHS to utilize hexanoyl-CoA as a starter molecule, which directly effected the production of pyrone derivatives (products). These substitutions are believed to have a restricted number of elongations of the growing polypeptide chain due to the smaller cavity volume of the mutant’s active site.

Genome-wide analysis of the chalcone synthase superfamily genes of Physcomitrella patens

Enzymes of the chalcone synthase (CHS) superfamily catalyze the production of a variety of secondary metabolites in bacteria, fungi and plants. Some of these metabolites have played important roles during the early evolution of land plants by providing protection from various environmental assaults including UV irradiation. The genome of the moss, Physcomitrella patens, contains at least 17 putative CHS superfamily genes. Three of these genes (PpCHS2b, PpCHS3 and PpCHS5) exist in multiple copies and all have corresponding ESTs. PpCHS11 and probably also PpCHS9 encode non-CHS enzymes, while PpCHS10 appears to be an ortholog of plant genes encoding anther-specific CHS-like enzymes. It was inferred from the genomic locations of genes comprising it that the moss CHS superfamily expanded through tandem and segmental duplication events. Inferred exon-intron architectures and results from phylogenetic analysis of representative CHS superfamily genes of P. patens and other plants showed that intron gain and loss occurred several times during evolution of this gene superfamily. A high proportion of P. patens CHS genes (7 of 14 genes for which the full sequence is known and probably 3 additional genes) are intronless, prompting speculation that CHS gene duplication via retrotransposition has occurred at least twice in the moss lineage. Analyses of sequence similarities, catalytic motifs and EST data indicated that a surprisingly large number (as many as 13) of the moss CHS superfamily genes probably encode active CHS. EST distribution data and different light responsiveness observed with selected genes provide evidence for their differential regulation. Observed diversity within the moss CHS superfamily and amenability to gene manipulation make Physcomitrella a highly suitable model system for studying expansion and functional diversification of the plant CHS superfamily of genes.