Complex scaffold remodeling in plant triterpene biosynthesis

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Pena, Ricardo De La; Hodgson, Hannah; Liu, Jack Chun -Ting; Stephenson, Michael J.; Martin, Azahara C.; Owen, Charlotte; Harkess, Alex; Leebens-Mack, Jim; Jimenez, Luis E.; Osbourn, Anne; Sattely, Elizabeth S.
• 署名单位: Stanford University; UK Research & Innovation (UKRI); Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC); John Innes Center; Stanford University; University of East Anglia; UK Research & Innovation (UKRI); Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC); John Innes Center; HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology; University System of Georgia; University of Georgia; Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Stanford University
• 刊物名称: SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0036-12126
• DOI: 10.1126/science.adf1017
• 发表日期: 2023-01-27
• 页码: 361-368
• 关键词: expression; chemistry; limonoids; fruits; annotation; FAMILY

摘要

Triterpenes with complex scaffold modifications are widespread in the plant kingdom. Limonoids are an exemplary family that are responsible for the bitter taste in citrus (e.g., limonin) and the active constituents of neem oil, a widely used bioinsecticide (e.g., azadirachtin). Despite the commercial value of limonoids, a complete biosynthetic route has not been described. We report the discovery of 22 enzymes, including a pair of neofunctionalized sterol isomerases, that catalyze 12 distinct reactions in the total biosynthesis of kihadalactone A and azadirone, products that bear the signature limonoid furan. These results enable access to valuable limonoids and provide a template for discovery and reconstitution of triterpene biosynthetic pathways in plants that require multiple skeletal rearrangements and oxidations.