代谢工程改造解脂耶氏酵母合成植物萜类化合物的研究进展

萜类化合物是一类广泛存在于植物中的天然产物,其在食品、药品和化工等多个领域中均有广泛的用途,市场潜力巨大。因此,开发生产萜类化合物等植物天然产物可再生的微生物资源来补充甚至代替原有稀少和珍贵的植物资源,具有重要的理论意义和潜在的应用价值。解脂耶氏酵母是目前使用最广泛的非常规酵母底盘细胞之一。近年来,利用代谢工程及合成生物学技术在解脂耶氏酵母底盘细胞中重构与优化萜类化合物的合成途径以实现目标代谢产物的高效合成,已经成为一项研究热点。本文系统总结了有关利用解脂耶氏酵母作为底盘细胞异源生产植物萜类化合物的具体实例和最新进展,包括所涉及的宿主菌株、关键酶、代谢途径及改造策略等,并在最后对该领域的未来发展方向进行了展望。     

植物次生代谢的分子生物学及基因工程

植物次生代谢是植物对环境的一种应用,是植物主要的防卸机制之一。植物次生代谢物为人类提供了丰富的药物、香料等资源。近年来植物次生代谢途径关键酶的基因克隆和分子调控的研究成为热点。黄酮类生物合成分子生物学研究最为深入。在异戊二烯途径中,萜类合成酶已从４种植物中克隆,包括单萜,倍半萜和二萜合成酶,这些将对农业与医药产生重要影响。     

植物底盘:天然产物合成生物学研究的新热点

天然产物广泛地存在于植物体内,是药物、食品添加剂和新型生物燃料等开发的主要来源,具有重要的商业价值,该类化合物也一直是合成生物学研究的热点之一。随着研究的深入,近年来以植物为底盘的天然产物研究日益兴起。本文中,笔者综述了近年来以植物为底盘的天然产物合成生物学研究的进展,包括该类代谢物代谢途径的解析、以植物为底盘的遗传操作技术和方法等,为相关研究者提供参考。     

14-3-3蛋白与植物细胞信号转导

14-3-3蛋白通过直接蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用对植物代谢关键酶、质膜H^＋ -ATP酶等发挥广泛调节作用。越来越多证据显示14-3-3蛋白通过与转录因子和其他信号分子结合参与调控植物细胞信号转导。对植物细胞中14-3-3蛋白调控信号转导途径,尤其是植物细胞对胁迫响应的调控机制进行了综述。     

植物表达外源蛋白研究进展及展望

植物为宿主表达外源蛋白的系统称之为分子农场，通过农杆菌将外源基因导入植物进行表达具有高效、安全、廉价的优点，特别是植物具备一系列翻译后修饰功能，因此该系统能弥补原核表达系统的缺陷。本综述首先介绍了近些年在烟草叶片瞬时表达和水稻胚乳组织特异性表达上取得的进展，特别是一些利用分子农场进行医用蛋白表达、药物合成、疫苗制备等典型案例。在优化生物反应器、提高表达效率策略上，本综述重点探讨了蛋白翻译后水平上的调控，包括蛋白酶抑制剂的作用、糖基化修饰环节以及分子伴侣共表达等对外源蛋白表达的影响。最后，围绕外源蛋白大量囤积于内质网可能引发内质网胁迫的问题，展望了通过优化内质网环境来提高外源蛋白表达效率的可行性。     

空间分辨代谢组学进展和挑战

空间分辨代谢组学即整合质谱成像和代谢组学技术,对动/植物组织和细胞中内/外源性代谢物的种类、含量和差异性空间分布进行精准测定。质谱成像技术因其具有无标记、非特异、高灵敏度、高化学覆盖、元素/分子同时检测等优势,被广泛应用于动/植物组织中各类代谢物、多肽和蛋白的时空分布研究。首先介绍了代谢组学和质谱成像技术的研究现状,然后重点综述了空间分辨代谢组学在动物组织、植物组织和单细胞水平上的前沿应用。最后展望了空间分辨代谢组学技术的现有瓶颈和未来发展方向。空间分辨代谢组学是继代谢组学之后又一门新兴的分子成像组学技术,能够无标记、可视化检测动物组织中外源性药物的吸收、分布、代谢和排泄,以及植物组织中多种代谢产物的生物合成、转运途径和积累规律。该技术将推动靶向药物发现、病理机制解析和动植物生长发育密切关联的空间代谢网络调控等前沿应用研究。     

植物类型III聚酮合酶超家族基因结构、功能及代谢产物

植物聚酮类化合物主要包括酚类、芪类及类黄酮化合物等,在植物花色、防止紫外线伤害、预防病原菌、昆虫危害以及作为植物与环境互作信号分子方面行使着重要的生物学功能。该类化合物具有显著多样的生物学活性,对人体保健及疾病治疗有显著意义。植物类型III 聚酮化合物合酶 (PKS) 在该类化合物生物合成起始反应中行使着关键作用,决定该类化合物基本分子骨架建成和代谢途径碳硫走向,为合成途径关键酶和限速酶。以查尔酮合酶为原型酶的植物类型III PKS超家族是研究系统进化和蛋白结构与功能关系的模式分子家族,目前已经分离得到14种植物类型III PKS基因,这些同祖同源基因及其表达产物既有共性,也表现出许多独特个性,这些个性赋予此类次生代谢产物结构上的多样性。以下综述了植物类型III PKS超家族基因结构、功能及代谢产物研究进展。     

植物类型Ⅲ聚酮合酶超家族基因结构、功能及代谢产物

植物聚酮类化合物主要包括酚类、芪类及类黄酮化合物等,在植物花色、防止紫外线伤害、预防病原菌、昆虫危害以及作为植物与环境互作信号分子方面行使着重要的生物学功能。该类化合物具有显著多样的生物学活性,对人体保健及疾病治疗有显著意义。植物类型Ⅲ聚酮化合物合酶(PKS)在该类化合物生物合成起始反应中行使着关键作用,决定该类化合物基本分子骨架建成和代谢途径碳硫走向,为合成途径关键酶和限速酶。以查尔酮合酶为原型酶的植物类型Ⅲ PKS超家族是研究系统进化和蛋白结构与功能关系的模式分子家族,目前已经分离得到14种植物类型Ⅲ PKS基因,这些同祖同源基因及其表达产物既有共性,也表现出许多独特个性,这些个性赋予此类次生代谢产物结构上的多样性。以下综述了植物类型Ⅲ PKS超家族基因结构、功能及代谢产物研究进展。     

P450酶在植物三萜化合物生物合成中的催化与调控

植物三萜化合物是一类具有6个C₅异戊二烯单元的高附加值天然化合物,具有抗炎、护肝、抗肿瘤、抗氧化和降血压等重要药理活性。在三萜化合物生物合成过程中,细胞色素P450酶通过引入羟基、羧基、羰基以及环氧基等官能团,为丰富三萜结构的多样性起到了重要的作用。然而,目前P450酶底物催化特异性机制仍不清晰,异源底盘细胞中表达率低、与细胞色素氧化还原酶(CPR)的适配性差限制了其在植物三萜化合物微生物异源合成中的应用。本文系统地介绍了植物三萜化合物的合成途径、P450酶的催化系统组成和催化机制。通过P450酶的理性与非理性的分子改造,P450酶及其CPR的适应性匹配以及关键代谢途径的区室化研究,以期为P450酶在高效合成三萜化合物的应用提供研究思路。     

植物苯丙烷代谢及其对重金属胁迫的响应研究进展

苯丙烷代谢途径是植物中最重要的次生代谢途径之一,在植物抵抗重金属胁迫中直接或间接发挥了抗氧化作用,并能够提高植物对重金属离子的吸收与胁迫耐性。本文就苯丙烷代谢途径核心反应与关键酶系进行了总结,同时分析了木质素、类黄酮及原花青素等关键代谢产物的生物合成过程及相关机制,并以此为基础探讨了苯丙烷代谢途径关键产物响应重金属胁迫的相关机制。此外,结合当前研究现状,就苯丙烷代谢参与植物防御重金属胁迫的相关研究提出展望,以期为重金属污染环境的植物修复提供理论依据。     

Antibody production by molecular farming in plants

"Molecular farming" is the production of pharmaceutical proteins in transgenic plants and has great potential for the production of therapeutic anti-cancer antibodies and recombinant therapeutic proteins. Plants make fully functional recombinant human or animal antibodies. Cultivating transgenic plants on an agricultural scale will produce almost unlimited supplies of recombinant proteins for uses in medicine. Combinatorial library technology is a key tool for the generation and optimisation of therapeutic antibodies ahead of their expression in plants. Optimised antibody expression can be rapidly verified using transient expression assays in plants before creation of transgenic suspension cells or plant lines. Subcellular targeting signals that increase expression levels and optimise protein stability can be identified and exploited using transient expression to create high expresser plant lines. When high expresser lines have been selected, the final step is the development of efficient purification methods to retrieve functional antibody. Antibody production on an industrial scale is then possible using plant suspension cell culture in fermenters, or by the propagation of stably transformed plant lines in the field. Recombinant proteins can be produced either in whole plants or in seeds and tubers, which can be used for the long-term storage of both the protein and its production system. The review will discuss these developments and how we are moving toward the molecular farming of therapeutic antibodies becoming an economic and clinical reality.     

Plant molecular farming: systems and products

Plant molecular farming is a new and promising industry involving plant biotechnology. In this review, we describe several diverse plant systems that have been developed to produce commercially useful proteins for pharmaceutical and industrial uses. The advantages and disadvantages of each system are discussed. The first plant-derived molecular farming products have reached the marketplace and other products are poised to join them during the next few years. We explain the rationale for using plants as biofactories. We also describe the products currently on the market, and those that appear likely to join them in the near future. Lastly, we discuss the issue of public acceptance of molecular farming products.Communicated by P.P. Kumar     

Molecular farming of pharmaceutical proteins

Molecular farming is the production of pharmaceutically important and commercially valuable proteins in plants. Its purpose is to provide a safe and inexpensive means for the mass production of recombinant pharmaceutical proteins. Complex mammalian proteins can be produced in transformed plants or transformed plant suspension cells. Plants are suitable for the production of pharmaceutical proteins on a field scale because the expressed proteins are functional and almost indistinguishable from their mammalian counterparts. The breadth of therapeutic proteins produced by plants range from interleukins to recombinant antibodies. Molecular farming in plants has the potential to provide virtually unlimited quantities of recombinant proteins for use as diagnostic and therapeutic tools in health care and the life sciences. Plants produce a large amount of biomass and protein production can be increased using plant suspension cell culture in fermenters, or by the propagation of stably transformed plant lines in the field. Transgenic plants can also produce organs rich in a recombinant protein for its long-term storage. This demonstrates the promise of using transgenic plants as bioreactors for the molecular farming of recombinant therapeutics, including vaccines, diagnostics, such as recombinant antibodies, plasma proteins, cytokines and growth factors. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

植物生物反应器表达药用蛋白研究新进展

植物生物反应器被称为"分子农田",它具有无限生产重组蛋白的巨大潜力。利用转基因植物表达的重组蛋白具备原有的理化性质和生物活性,从而为人类提供了一种大量生产药用蛋白的安全可靠、经济、方便的新生产体系。目前已广泛运用于工业、农业尤其是生命科学以及医学制造领域。用植物生物反应器产重组疫苗、重组抗体和其他药用蛋白已成为国内外基因工程研究热点之一。然而,转基因植物产物的表达量、下游加工等问题却也成为利用植物生物反应器应用的限制因素。本文就其优势、近三年内国内外转基因植物生产药用蛋白的研究进展、存在问题及对策作一综述。     

Tobacco,a highly efficient green bioreactor for production of therapeutic proteins

Molecular farming of pharmaceuticals in plants has the potential to provide almost unlimited amounts of recombinant proteins for use in disease diagnosis, prevention or treatment. Tobacco has been and will continue to be a major crop for molecular farming and offers several practical advantages over other crops. It produces significant leaf biomass, has high soluble protein content and is a non-food crop, minimizing the risk of food-chain contamination. This, combined with its flexibility and highly-efficient genetic transformation/regeneration, has made tobacco particularly well suited for plant-based production of biopharmaceutical products. The goal of this review is to provide an update on the use of tobacco for molecular farming of biopharmaceuticals as well the technologies developed to enhance protein production/purification/efficacy. We show that tobacco is a robust biological reactor with a multitude of applications and may hold the key to success in plant molecular farming.     

Production of recombinant human lactoferrin from transgenic plants

Molecular farming provides a powerful tool for low cost production of recombinant proteins with pharmaceutical value. The use of transgenic plants has been increasingly tested as alternative system for obtaining biologically active human lactoferrin in plants. Precise selection of plant species, transformation techniques and expression cassettes, in addition to conduction of detailed glycosylation and immunogenicity studies, serves as basis of obtaining safe recombinant human lactoferrin in high concentrations for the use of pharmacy. On the other hand, expression of antimicrobial protein lactoferrin in plants is a promising opportunity for crop quality improvement by increasing plant disease resistance.     

Home Gardens Sustain Crop Diversity and Improve Farm Resilience in Candelaria Loxicha,Oaxaca, Mexico

Home gardens are land use units embedded in a larger land use system, in this case in Candelaria Loxicha, Oaxaca, Mexico. Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, we investigated how home gardens are integrated into local farming practices and how these influence biodiversity. Our findings suggest that home gardens harbour high levels of biodiversity, which are maintained and enriched by farmers’ practices, particularly plant and seed exchange. Plant diversity is higher in younger home gardens and in home gardens where owners actively exchange plant material with other people. Through plant exchange, seed storage, and the dispersion of seeds and plants in different land uses, farmers encourage plant diversity and consequently increase the resilience of their farming system in changing climatic, demographic and economic conditions. Both men and women participate in the establishment, care and management of home gardens, but they are responsible for different plants and home garden functions. For economic reasons, the inhabitants of Candelaria Loxicha are increasingly engaging in international migration. Migrants, upon their return bring new ideas and plants that might transform the rural landscape.     

Plant cell culture initiation

The use of cultured plant cells in either organized or unorganized form has increased vey considerably in the last 10–15 yr. Many new technologies have been developed and applications in both fundamental and applied research have led to the development of some powerful tools for improving our knowledge of botanical systems and for gaining external influence over some of the key processes involved in inter-and intracellular organization. This is particularly the case when cell culture techniques are combined with those for the genetic modification of plant cells. Being able to regenerate whole plants that have gained or lost the expression of one or more specific genes has revolutionized the way in which we approach scientific questions and has opened up many additional possibilities for the molecular dissection of plants. The success or fall of all plant cell culture technologies lies with culture initiation. The choice of plant material, its physiologival state and cultivation history, the media used, and their means of preparation are just some of the factors that can greatly influence whether the desired end result will be achieved. In this article are described some of the practical aspects involved in successful plant cell culture initiation and the choices that have to be made. Attention is given to some of the pitfalls that can occur and how to avoid them. A good start is half the work