高等植物的3-羟基-3-甲基戊二酰辅酶A还原酶

介绍了植物3-羟基-3-甲基戊二酰辅酶A还原酶(HMGR)的结构和调控,并简略讨论了HMGR调控与植物类异戊二烯途径的关系.     

南京椴HMGR基因的克隆和功能验证

3-羟基-3-甲基戊二酰辅酶A还原酶（3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase,HMGR）是植物萜类代谢中甲羟戊酸途径的关键酶,本研究运用cDNA末端快速扩增（RACE）技术,首次从珍稀植物南京椴中克隆出HMGR的全长基因TmiHMGR,其长度为2 160 bp,包含一个1 758 bp的开放阅读框,其推导蛋白TmiHMGR编码585个氨基酸残基,相对分子量为62.9 kD,pI为6.11。将TmiHMGR与其他植物HMGR氨基酸序列构建进化树,结果显示TmiHMGR与苹果的HMGR聚为一枝。采用半定量RT-PCR分析TmiHMGR在根、茎和叶中的表达情况,结果表明该基因在茎中的表达量最高,根和叶中的表达量相对较弱。验证功能的颜色互补实验结果显示,TmiHMGR能够使代谢流明显朝类胡萝卜素合成的方向进行,说明TmiHMGR在萜类产物生物合成中是一个重要因子。     

油橄榄HMGR基因家族的克隆表达及功能验证

3-羟基-3-甲基戊二酸单酰辅酶A还原酶(HMGR),催化3-羟基-3-甲基戊二酸单酰辅酶A(HMG-Co A)生成甲羟戊酸(MVA),是MVA途径中第一个关键酶。油橄榄是一种重要的经济油料作物,其含有的萜类物质具有重要营养价值,但关于调控萜类物质代谢途径的关键基因研究较少。为研究萜类合成途径关键酶基因HMGR,本研究采用RT-PCR法克隆油橄榄HMGR基因,进行生物信息学分析及构建原核表达载体,对表达蛋白生物活性进行功能验证,并采用荧光定量PCR分析HMGR在油橄榄不同生长阶段的表达量。结果表明:克隆出油橄榄HMGR基因家族的三个基因,分别命名为Oe HMGR1、Oe HMGR2、Oe HMGR3,m RNA ORF的长度分别为1 713 bp、1 773 bp、1 737 bp,编码570、590、578个氨基酸;基因编码蛋白均有2个跨膜区及HMGR催化活性的结构域,不含信号肽;构建了原核表达载体p ET30b(+)-Oe HMGR,转入到大肠杆菌BL21中成功表达,3个重组酶蛋白分子量大小均在66.2~68.0 k D之间,分离纯化重组蛋白进行功能验证,GC-MS检测表明该蛋白具有HMGR催化活性功能;荧光定量PCR分析表明该家族基因在果实和叶片中表达量较高,而在根、茎、花中表达量较低,在开花后45 d、90 d、120 d表达量较低,但在花后165 d表达量上升至较高水平。该研究为进一步鉴定Oe HMGR的功能及油橄榄萜类物质的合成生物学研究奠定基础。     

大戟甲羟戊酸途径关键酶基因hmgr的克隆与分析

通过比较6种植物8条甲羟戊酸途径关键酶3-羟基-3-甲基戊二酰辅酶A还原酶(HMGR)基因同源区域,设计简并引物,利用RT-PCR技术成功地从大戟(Euphorbia pekinensis)叶中扩增出458bp的基因片段。通过BlastP比较,所推断的大戟HMGR蛋白序列与杜仲Eucommia ulmoides(AAV54051)、穿心莲Andrographis paniculata(AAP14352)、胡黄连Picrorhiza kurrooa(ABC74565)、橡胶树Hevea brasiliensis(AAU08214)、海岛棉Gossypium barba-dense(ABC71314)、龙胆草Gentiana lutea(BAE92730)的一致性分别达到90%、86%、86%、92%、87%和88%。蛋白质保守区、特征区以及进化树分析,初步证实该基因为hmgr基因,这是首次报道从药用植物大戟中克隆到甲羟戊酸途径关键酶HMGR的基因片段。     

大戟甲羟戊酸途径关键酶基因hmgr的克隆与分析

通过比较6种植物8条甲羟戊酸途径关键酶3-羟基-3-甲基戊二酰辅酶A还原酶(HMGR)基因同源区域,设计简并引物,利用RT-PCR技术成功地从大戟(Euphorbia pekinensis)叶中扩增出458bp的基因片段。通过BlastP比较,所推断的大戟HMGR蛋白序列与杜仲Eucommia ulmoides(AAV54051)、穿心莲Andrographis paniculata(AAP14352)、胡黄连Picrorhiza kurrooa(ABC74565)、橡胶树Hevea brasiliensis(AAU08214)、海岛棉Gossypium barbadense(ABC71314)、龙胆草Gentiana lutea(BAE92730)的一致性分别达到90%、86%、86%、92%、87%和88%。蛋白质保守区、特征区以及进化树分析,初步证实该基因为hmgr基因,这是首次报道从药用植物大戟中克隆到甲羟戊酸途径关键酶HMGR的基因片段。     

播娘蒿hmgr基因保守区片段的克隆与分析

通过比较6种植物的8条甲羟戊酸途径关键酶3-羟基-3-甲基戊二酰辅酶A还原酶(HMGR)基因同源区域,设计简并引物,利用RT-PCR技术成功地从播娘蒿叶中扩增出458bp的基因片段。通过BlastP比较,所推断的播娘蒿HMGR蛋白序列与拟南芥(NP_177775)、萝卜(CAA48610)、杜仲(AAV54051)、胡黄连(ABC74565)、喜树(AAB69726)、龙胆草(BAE92730)的一致性分别达到98%、96%、88%、89%、86%和87%。通过对蛋白质保守区、特征区以及进化树分析,证实该片段确为hmgr基因片段,该结果为首次报道。     

苹果中α-法尼烯的代谢途径及其分子调控

概述了苹果中α-法尼烯在虎皮病诱导和昆虫诱导中的作用、代谢途径及其分子调控机制,尤其是3-羟基-3-甲基戊二酸单酰辅酶A还原酶(HMGR)对其合成的调控.     

橡胶草HMGR基因的克隆及表达分析

通过比较9种植物的9条甲羟戊酸途径关键酶3-羟基-3甲基戊二酸单酰辅酶A还原酶（HMGR）氨基酸同源区域,设计简并引物,利用RT-PCR和RACE技术首次从橡胶草（Taraxacum kok-saghyz）中克隆了一个HMGR基因,命名为TKHMGR。通过氨基酸序列同源性比对与系统进化分析表明,TKHMGR属于HMGR基因家族的新成员。同时,利用荧光定量方法分析了该基因在不同组织的表达情况。     

细纹豆芫菁3-羟甲基戊二酰辅酶A-还原酶基因全长cDNA克隆及生物信息学分析

3-羟甲基戊二酰辅酶A-还原酶（3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase, HMGR）是甲羟戊酸途径的关键酶。获得芫菁体内HMGR基因信息是确定甲羟戊酸途径与斑蝥素合成相关性的基础。本研究利用RACE技术从细纹豆芫菁Epicauta mannerheimi (Maklin)体内克隆获得HMGR基因全长cDNA序列, 命名为EmHMGR（GenBank登录号为JQ690539）。该基因全长3 118 bp, 其中5′端非翻译区178 bp, 3′端非翻译区414 bp, 开放阅读框2 526 bp, 编码842个氨基酸。推测的蛋白质分子量为92.8 kDa, 理论等电点为6.0, 预测分子式为C₄₁₃₅H₆₆₀₄N1₀₉₈O₁₂₁₆S₅₀, 不稳定系数为43.37, 总亲水性系数为0.091, 为疏水性不稳定蛋白。序列分析发现该基因编码的蛋白与已报道的其他昆虫HMGR的氨基酸序列一致性达50%以上, 而且包含HMGR_Class I保守功能域、 固醇敏感多肽区及HMGR蛋白的其他保守功能位点。系统进化分析发现该基因与叶甲科昆虫HMGR基因的关系最近。本研究首次从芫菁科昆虫体内克隆获得甲羟戊酸途径的关键酶EmHMGR基因, 为后期芫菁体内斑蝥素生物合成途径的研究奠定了基础。     

代谢工程改造酿酒酵母生产β-胡萝卜素

β-胡萝卜素在食品、药品和化妆品领域有广泛用途。为获得生产β-胡萝卜素的微生物细胞工厂,本研究首先在酿酒酵母BY4742中过表达甲羟戊酸(MVA)途径的限速酶3-羟基-3-甲基戊二酰辅酶A还原酶(HMGR)基因及二萜化合物合成的关键酶牻牛儿基牻牛儿基焦磷酸合酶(GGPS)基因,来提高牻牛儿基牻牛儿基焦磷酸(GGPP)的供给。在酿酒酵母底盘菌BY4742-T2的基础上整合来源于成团泛菌和红法夫酵母的β-胡萝卜素合成基因,比较酿酒酵母工程菌生产β-胡萝卜素的差别。结果表明提高酿酒酵母中HMGR和GGPS酶基因的表达能将工程菌中β-胡萝卜素的产量提高26.0倍。另外,来源于真核生物红法夫酵母的合成基因相比成团泛菌,更有利于酿酒酵母生产β-胡萝卜素。最终获得的酿酒酵母工程菌BW02能生产1.56 mg/g细胞干重的β-胡萝卜素,为进一步获得高产β-胡萝卜素细胞工厂提供基础。     

Species-Specific Expansion and Molecular Evolution of the 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl Coenzyme A Reductase (HMGR) Gene Family in Plants

The terpene compounds represent the largest and most diverse class of plant secondary metabolites which are important in plant growth and development. The 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMGR; EC 1.1.1.34) is one of the key enzymes contributed to terpene biosynthesis. To better understand the basic characteristics and evolutionary history of the HMGR gene family in plants, a genome-wide analysis of HMGR genes from 20 representative species was carried out. A total of 56 HMGR genes in the 14 land plant genomes were identified, but no genes were found in all 6 algal genomes. The gene structure and protein architecture of all plant HMGR genes were highly conserved. The phylogenetic analysis revealed that the plant HMGRs were derived from one ancestor gene and finally developed into four distinct groups, two in the monocot plants and two in dicot plants. Species-specific gene duplications, caused mainly by segmental duplication, led to the limited expansion of HMGR genes in Zea mays, Gossypium raimondii, Populus trichocarpa and Glycine max after the species diverged. The analysis of Ka/Ks ratios and expression profiles indicated that functional divergence after the gene duplications was restricted. The results suggested that the function and evolution of HMGR gene family were dramatically conserved throughout the plant kingdom.     

Isolation of a monocot 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase gene that is elicitor-inducible

The rice (Oryza sativa) phytoalexins, momilactones and oryzalexins, are synthesized by the isoprenoid pathway. An early step in this pathway, one that is rate-limiting in mammalian systems, is catalyzed by the enzyme 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMGR). A gene that encodes this enzyme has been isolated from rice, and found to contain an open reading frame of 1527 bases. The encoded protein sequence of the rice HMGR appears to be conserved with respect to other HMGR proteins, and 1 or 2 membrane-spanning domains characteristic of plant HMGRs are predicted by a hydropathy plot of the amino acid sequence. The protein is truncated at its 5 end, and shows reduced sequence conservation in this region as compared to other plant sequences. The rice genome contains a small family of HMGR genes. The isolated gene, HMGR I, is expressed at low levels in both vegetative and floral organs of rice plants. It is not induced in plants by wounding, but is strongly and rapidly induced in suspension cells by a fungal cell wall elicitor from the pathogenMagnaporthe grisea, causal agent of rice blast disease. This suggests that HMGR I may be important in the induction of rice phytoalexin biosynthesis in response to pathogen attack, and therefore may play a key role as a component of the inducible defense mechanism in rice.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Agrobacterium tumefaciens</Emphasis>-mediated transformation of a medicinal plant <Emphasis Type="Italic">Taraxacum platycarpum</Emphasis>

Dandelion plants, the genus Taraxacum, are used in herbal medicine owing to their choleretic, diuretic and anti-carcinogenic activities and several medicinal compounds have been isolated from the roots of these plants. Metabolic manipulation of secondary metabolite biosynthesis is a potential strategy to improve the production of high-value secondary metabolites. The enzyme 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGR) is known to control a key regulatory step in the isoprenoid pathway. We report an efficient transformation protocol for stable introduction of HMGR into dandelion plants (Taraxacum platycarpum H. Dablstaed), which is essential for the biotechnological approach. The Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain EHA105 containing the binary vector, pCAMBIA1301, with GUS and HMGR genes, showed high transformation efficiency after 3–5 week hygromycin selection. Southern blotting, GUS staining and RT-PCR analyses demonstrated stable integration of one copy of the HMGR gene into the dandelion genome. Expression of the integrated genes was particularly eminent in root tissues of primary transformant plants. The establishment of an efficient transformation method may facilitate the improvement of medicinal plant in terms of the accumulation levels of secondary metabolites.     

Bioinformatics study of the 3-hydroxy-3-methylglotaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMGR) gene in Gramineae

Isoprenoids or terpenoids are synthesized by two important units' including dimethylallyl diphosphate and isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP). Plants use two different methods for formation of IPP, which is a cytosolic and a plastidial method. The 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGR, EC 1.1.1.34) catalyzes the conversion of HMG-CoA to mevalonate, which is the first stage in the cytosolic pathway for biosynthesis of isoprenoid in plants. In this study, a total of fifty HMGR protein sequences from Gramineae and three animal samples including human, mouse and fruit fly were aligned and analyzed by computational tools to predict the protein properties, such as molecular mass, pI, signal peptide, transmembrane and conserved domains, secondary and spatial structures. Sequence comparison analysis revealed that there is high identity between plants and animals. Three catalytic regions including L domain, N domain and S domain were detected by structural modeling of HMGR. The tertiary structure model of Oryza sativa HMGR (Accession Number: NP_001063541) was further checked by PROCHECK algorithm, and showed that 90.3?% of the amino acid residues were located in the most favored regions in Ramachandran plot, indicating that the simulated three-dimensional structure was reliable. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that there is a relationship among species of Gramineae and other organisms. According to these results, HMGRs should be derived from a common ancestor.     

Complex histories of genes encoding 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoenzymeA reductase

The mevalonate pathway for the synthesis of isoprenoids can be found in organisms from all domains of life. It has been previously demonstrated that the first gene specific to that pathway, which encodes the enzyme 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoenzymeA reductase (HMGR), has been transferred between domains by lateral gene transfer on several occasions. Here we look within the domain Bacteria at lateral acquisition of HMGR, whether as a single gene or as part of a mevalonate pathway cluster. We observe a complex history of multiple transfer events probably reflecting the fact that HMGR could be beneficial in a variety of physiological and genetic contexts. We demonstrate that even in Vibrio species, where HMGR is not clustered with other genes to form an operon or a metabolic cluster, it is under strong purifying selection.     

Cloning and characterization of a novel 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase gene from Salvia miltiorrhiza involved in diterpenoid tanshinone accumulation

The 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGR) catalyzes the conversion of HMG-CoA to mevalonate (MVA), which is a rate-limiting step in the isoprenoid biosynthesis via the MVA pathway. In this study, the full-length cDNA encoding HMGR (designated as SmHMGR2, GenBank accession no. FJ747636) was isolated from Salvia miltiorrhiza by rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). The cloned gene was then transformed into the hairy root of S. miltiorrhiza, and the enzyme activity and production of diterpenoid tanshinones and squalene were monitored. The full-length cDNA of SmHMGR2 comprises 1959 bp, with a 1653-bp open reading frame encoding a 550-amino-acid protein. Molecular modeling showed that SmHMGR2 is a new HMGR with a spatial structure similar to other plant HMGRs. SmHMGR2 contains two HMG-CoA-binding motifs and two NADP(H)-binding motifs. The SmHMGR2 catalytic domain can form a homodimer. The deduced protein has an isoelectric point of 6.28 and a calculated molecular weight of approximately 58.67 kDa. Sequence comparison analysis showed that SmHMGR2 had the highest homology to HMGR from Atractylodes lancea. As expected, a phylogenetic tree analysis indicates that SmHMGR2 belongs to plant HMGR group. Tissue expression pattern analysis shows that SmHMGR2 is strongly expressed in the leaves, stem, and roots. Functional complementation of SmHMGR2 in HMGR-deficient mutant yeast JRY2394 demonstrates that SmHMGR2 mediates the MVA biosynthesis in yeasts. Overexpression of SmHMGR2 increased enzyme activity and enhanced the production of tanshinones and squalene in cultured hairy roots of S. miltiorrhiza. Our DNA gel blot analysis has confirmed the presence and integration of the associated SmHMGR2 gene. SmHMGR2 is a novel and important enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of diterpenoid tanshinones in S. miltiorrhiza.     

Overexpressing 3-Hydroxy-3-Methylglutaryl Coenzyme A Reductase (HMGR) in the Lactococcal Mevalonate Pathway for Heterologous Plant Sesquiterpene Production

Isoprenoids are a large and diverse group of metabolites with interesting properties such as flavour, fragrance and therapeutic properties. They are produced via two pathways, the mevalonate pathway or the 2-C-methyl-D-erythritol-4-phosphate (MEP) pathway. While plants are the richest source of isoprenoids, they are not the most efficient producers. Escherichia coli and yeasts have been extensively studied as heterologous hosts for plant isoprenoids production. In the current study, we describe the usage of the food grade Lactococcus lactis as a potential heterologous host for the production of sesquiterpenes from a local herbaceous Malaysian plant, Persicaria minor (synonym Polygonum minus). A sesquiterpene synthase gene from P. minor was successfully cloned and expressed in L. lactis. The expressed protein was identified to be a β-sesquiphellandrene synthase as it was demonstrated to be functional in producing β-sesquiphellandrene at 85.4% of the total sesquiterpenes produced based on in vitro enzymatic assays. The recombinant L. lactis strain developed in this study was also capable of producing β-sesquiphellandrene in vivo without exogenous substrates supplementation. In addition, overexpression of the strain’s endogenous 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme-A reductase (HMGR), an established rate-limiting enzyme in the eukaryotic mevalonate pathway, increased the production level of β-sesquiphellandrene by 1.25–1.60 fold. The highest amount achieved was 33 nM at 2 h post-induction.