植物单萜合酶研究进展

单萜广泛存在于植物树脂和挥发油中,在植物生长发育和进化过程中发挥着重要作用,且在医药和生态农业等方面有着重要应用.这类物质是由质体内的5-磷酸脱氧木酮糖(1-deoxy-D-xylulose-5-phosphate,DXP)途径合成,单萜合酶(monoterpene synthases,mono-TPS)是单萜生物合成的关键酶,决定了单萜结构的多样性.综述了植物单萜合酶催化机理、系统发育与谱系分化、基因表达调控、基因克隆及代谢工程等方面的研究进展,探讨了其生态学研究意义和发展前景.

The progress of the research on plant monoterpene synthases

Monoterpenes are common constituents of plant resins and essential oils that play a vital role in plant growth, development and evolvement, with valuable applications in the medicinal and ecological agricultural fields. They are all synthesized in the plastid through 1-deoxy-D-xylulose-5-phosphate (DXP) pathway. Monoterpene synthases are the key enzymes of monoterpenes biosynthesis, which to a large extent responsible for the diversity of monoterpene structures. This paper focuses on the progress of the research on the catalysis mechanism, phylogeny, genetic expression and regulation, molecular cloning and metabolic engineering of monoterpene synthases. The ecological significance and developmental prospect of monoterpene synthases are also discussed.