木荷属和柃木属植物的嘌呤代谢及嘌呤碱合成研究

以［8-¹⁴C］标记的腺嘌呤和黄嘌呤为底物,对两种可以合成少量咖啡碱和茶叶碱的木荷属和柃木属植物（Schima mertensiana,Eurya japonica）叶片的嘌呤代谢进行了检测研究。发现木荷属和柃木属植物中嘌呤代谢相似,¹⁴C标记的腺嘌呤可以整合到嘌呤核苷酸、RNA、酰脲（包括尿囊素和尿囊酸）、二氧化碳中。经过24 h培养,在叶片吸收的放射能中,仅有6%～7%用于甲基黄嘌呤类化合物的合成（3-甲基黄嘌呤、7-甲基黄嘌呤核苷、7-甲基黄嘌呤、茶叶碱）。和其他植物一样,绝大多数¹⁴C标记的黄嘌呤整合到嘌呤的分解代谢物中（二氧化碳和酰脲）,少量的放射能分布在3-甲基黄嘌呤及茶叶碱中。根据结果可以推断木荷属和柃木属植物具有N-甲基转移酶活性,可以用来合成咖啡碱和茶叶碱,相对于茶树而言,活性不高。综上,本文对木荷属和柃木属植物的嘌呤代谢以及嘌呤碱合成进行了研究。     

Purine Alkaloid Biosynthesis in Young Leaves of Camellia sinensis in Light and Darkness

14 C] adenine to young leaves of tea (Camellia sinensis L.). Light did not have any significant influence on the levels of radioactivity associated with the purine alkaloids. The long-term effects of light on caffeine production were studied using young shoots from plants that were maintained in almost complete darkness (1% full sunlight) by being covered with black lawn cloth. In the control shoots of the naturally-grown plants there were net increases in the total purine alkaloid contents of 2,430 nmoles shoot⁻¹, while in shoots that had been in darkness for 7 days much lower increases, 564 nmoles shoot⁻¹, were observed. Caffeine synthase (CS) activity was 332±55 pkat shoot⁻¹ in light which is ca. 40% higher than the 237±37 pkat shoot⁻¹ in plants kept darkness for 7-days. However, a similar pattern of the metabolism of [8-¹⁴C] adenine was observed in naturally-grown and dark-grown shoots. These findings indicate light is not essential for the biosynthesis of caffeine in young tea shoots. The lower net formation of caffeine in shoots maintained in darkness is an indirect consequence of the reduced growth rate of the young shoots in the absence of light. Received 17 January 2000/ Accepted in revised form 13 March 2000     

Metabolism of Caffeine and Related Purine Alkaloids in Leaves of Tea (Camellia sinensis L.)

Purine alkaloid catabolism pathways in young, mature and agedleaves of tea (Camellia sinensis L.) were investigated by incubatingleaf sections with ¹⁴C-labelled theobromine, caffeine, theophyllineand xanthine. Incorporation of label into CO₂ was determinedand methanol-soluble metabolites were analysed by high-performanceliquid chromatography-radiocounting and thin layer chro-matography.The data obtained demonstrate that theobromine is the immediateprecursor of caffeine, which accumulates in tea leaves becauseits conversion to theophylline is the rate limiting step inthe purine alkaloid catabolism pathway. The main fate of [8-¹⁴C]theophyllineincubated with mature and aged leaves, and to a lesser extentyoung leaves, is conversion to 3-methylxanthine and onto xanthinewhich is degraded to ¹⁴CO₂ via the purine catabolism pathway.However, with young leaves, sizable amounts of [8-¹⁴C]-theophyllinewere salvaged for the synthesis of caffeine via a 3-methylxanthine     

Purine Alkaloids of the Fruits of Camellia sinensis L. and Coffea arabica L. during Fruit Development

The amounts of two purine alkaloids, caffeine and theobromine,in the fruit of tea (Camellia sinensis L.) increased markedlyduring the growing season until the fruit was full-ripened anddried. In the dry fruit, the pericarp contained the most alkaloids,but there were also considerable amounts in the seed coat and,to a lesser extent, the fruit stalk and the seed. The shed seedsalso contained significant amounts of the alkaloids, especiallyin the seed coats. In contrast with the dry fruit of tea, seedsand pericarp of coffee (Coffea arabica L.) fruit contained aconsiderable amount of caffeine and a small amount of theobromide.A small amount of theophylline was also present in the pericarpof the ripened fruit. Relationships between growth and purinealkaloid content in tea and coffee fruits and their roles duringseed formation are discussed. Camellia sinensis L., tea, Coffea arabica L., coffee, purine alkaloids, fruit development, seed, seed coat, caffeine, theobromine, theophylline     

Mevalonate Biosynthesis in Plants

Referee: Guiseppe Inesi, M.D., Ph.D., Professor and Chairman, School of Medicine, Dept. of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Univeristy of Maryland, Baltimore.     

Quantitative Analysis of Purine Nucleotides Indicates That Purinosomes Increase de Novo Purine Biosynthesis

Enzymes in the de novo purine biosynthesis pathway are recruited to form a dynamic metabolic complex referred to as the purinosome. Previous studies have demonstrated that purinosome assembly responds to purine levels in culture medium. Purine-depleted medium or 2-dimethylamino-4,5,6,7-tetrabromo-1H-benzimidazole (DMAT) treatment stimulates the purinosome assembly in HeLa cells. Here, several metabolomic technologies were applied to quantify the static cellular levels of purine nucleotides and measure the de novo biosynthesis rate of IMP, AMP, and GMP. Direct comparison of purinosome-rich cells (cultured in purine-depleted medium) and normal cells showed a 3-fold increase in IMP concentration in purinosome-rich cells and similar levels of AMP, GMP, and ratios of AMP/GMP and ATP/ADP for both. In addition, a higher level of IMP was also observed in HeLa cells treated with DMAT. Furthermore, increases in the de novo IMP/AMP/GMP biosynthetic flux rate under purine-depleted condition were observed. The synthetic enzymes, adenylosuccinate synthase (ADSS) and inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH), downstream of IMP were also shown to be part of the purinosome. Collectively, these results provide further evidence that purinosome assembly is directly related to activated de novo purine biosynthesis, consistent with the functionality of the purinosome.     

植物中吡咯里西啶生物碱的检测与分析

吡咯里西啶生物碱广泛分布于植物界。很多吡咯里西啶生物碱对动物和人类有严重的毒性作用,包括肝脏毒性,肺脏毒性,致癌作用,致突变作用和神经毒性等。本文综述了植物中吡咯里西啶生物碱的分离,纯化,检测与分析。     

Biosynthesis of Riboflavine in Corynebacterium Species: the Purine Precursor

Corynebacterium species lacks the ability to convert either xanthine or guanine to adenine. This defect and the use of the purine nucleoside antibiotic decoyinine, which blocks the conversion of xanthosine monophosphate --> guanosine monophosphate, permit an experimental design in which the interconversion of purines is largely prevented. Cultures of this organism were grown in the presence of decoyinine and various purine supplements. Data obtained by comparing the radioactivity incorporated from guanine-2-(14)C or xanthine-2-(14)C into bacterial guanine, xanthine, and riboflavine indicate that guanine or a close derivative of guanine is the purine precursor of riboflavine.     

De Novo Purine Biosynthesis in Intact Cells of Cucurbita pepo

The capacity of intact cells of roots excised from summer squash plants (Cucurbita pepo L. cv Early Prolific Straightneck) to synthesize purine nucleotides de novo was investigated. Evidence that purine nucleotides are synthesized de novo included: (a) demonstration of the incorporation of [1-¹⁴C]glycine, [2-¹⁴C]glycine, NaH¹⁴CO₃, and H¹⁴COONa into total adenine nucleotides; (b) observation that the addition of azaserine or aminopterin, known inhibitors of de novo purine synthesis in other organisms, blocked the incorporation of these precursors into adenine nucleotides; and (c) demonstration that the purine ring synthesized from these precursors was labeled in a manner consistent with the pathway for de novo purine biosynthesis found in microorganisms and animal tissues. Under optimal conditions, the activity of this pathway in roots excised from 2-day-old squash plants was 244 ± 13 nanomoles (mean ± standard error, n = 17) NaH¹⁴CO₃ incorporated into ∑Ade (the sum of the adenine nucleotides, nucleoside and free base) per gram tissue during the 3-hour incubation period.

The possible occurrence of alternative enzymic reactions for the first steps of de novo purine biosynthesis was also investigated. No conclusive evidence was obtained to support the operation of alternative enzymic reactions in the intact cell of C. pepo.

     

Cyclic Purine Mononucleotides: Induction of Gibberellin Biosynthesis in Barley Endosperm

The de novo synthesis of α-amylase in barley endosperm and isolated aleurone layers is induced by 3′,5′-cyclic purine mononucleotides and gibberellic acid. The induction of α-amylase by cyclic purine mononucleotides is prevented by 2,4-DNP, inhibitors of RNA and protein syntheses, CCC, AMO-1618 and phosfon. The induction of α-amylase formation by 3′,5′-cyclic purine mononucleotides, but not by gibberellic acid, is also blocked by inhibitors of DNA synthesis. Extracts from cyclic AMP-treated endosperm halves exhibit a characteristic gibberellin-like activity which is detectable within 12 hours from the addition of the cyclic AMP. On paper chromatograms this gibberellin-like activity is located at the Rf typical for GA₃. Its formation is prevented by inhibitors of DNA synthesis, CCC and AMO-1618. Glucose inhibits the formation of α-amylase induced by gibberellic acid. Glucose has no effect on the cAMP-induced gibberellin biosynthesis. The evidence shows that the cyclic purine mononucleotides induce DNA synthesis, which results in gibberellin biosynthesis, which in turn activates the synthesis of α-amylase.     

Biosynthesis of Caffeine in Flower Buds of Camellia sinensis

The biosynthesis of purine alkaloids in flower buds of tea plantswas investigated. More than 25% of total radioactivity of [8-¹⁴C]adeninetaken up by stamens isolated from tea flower buds was foundto have been incorporated into purine alkaloids, namely, theobromineand caffeine, 24 h after administration of the labelled compound.Pulse-chase experiments indicated that [8-¹⁴C]adenine takenup by the stamens was converted to adenine nucleotides and subsequentlyincorporated into theobromine and caffeine. Since 5 µMcoformycin, an inhibitor of AMP deaminase, inhibited the incorporationof radioactivity into the purine alkaloids, synthesis of caffeinefrom adenine nucleotides seems to be initiated by the reactionof AMP deaminase. Although most of the radioactivity from [8-¹⁴C]inosinewas recovered as CO₂ and ureides, considerable amounts of radioactivitywere recovered as purine alkaloids. The incorporation of radioactivityfrom [8-¹⁴C]inosine into the purine alkaloids was not affectedby coformycin. The five enzymes involved in synthesis of 5-phosphoribosyl-1-pyrophosphatefrom glucose were present in the stamens and petals of tea flowerbuds. From present and previous results, the pathway for thebiosynthesis of caffeine from adenine nucleotides in flowerbuds of tea is discussed.Copyright 1993, 1999 Academic Press Camellia sinensis, tea, stamen, flower, biosynthesis, purine alkaloids, caffeine, theobromine, adenine nucleotides, nucleotide biosynthesis     

Metabolic Engineering of Terpenoid Biosynthesis in Plants

Metabolic engineering of terpenoids in plants is a fascinating research topic from two main perspectives. On the one hand, the various biological activities of these compounds make their engineering a new tool for improving a considerable number of traits in crops. These include for example enhanced disease resistance, weed control by producing allelopathic compounds, better pest management, production of medicinal compounds, increased value of ornamentals and fruit and improved pollination. On the other hand, the same plants altered in the profile of terpenoids and their precursor pools make a most important contribution to fundamental studies on terpenoid biosynthesis and its regulation. In this review we describe our recent results with terpenoid engineering, focusing on two terpenoid classes the monoterpenoids and sesquiterpenoids. The emerging picture is that engineering of these compounds and their derivatives in plant cells is feasible, although with some requirements and limitations. For example, in terpenoid engineering experiments crucial factors are the subcellular localisation of both the precursor pool and the introduced enzymes, the activity of endogenous plant enzymes which modify the introduced terpenoid skeleton, the costs of engineering in terms of effects on other pathways sharing the same precursor pool and the phytotoxicity of the introduced terpenoids. Finally, we will show that transgenic plants altered in their terpenoid profile exert novel biological activities on their environment, for example influencing insect behaviour.A. Aharoni is an Incumbent of the Adolfo and Evelyn Blum Career Development chair     

The Biosynthesis of Steryl Glucosides in Plants

Mitochondrial preparations from pea root (Pisum sativum L. var. Alaska) cauliflower inflorescence (Brassica cauliflora Gars.) and avocado inner mesocarp (Persea americana Mill. var. Fuerte), and chloroplast preparations from spinach leaf (Spinacia oleracea L. var. Bloomsdale) incorporate glucose into steryl glucoside and acylated steryl glucoside when either uridine diphosphate-glucose or uridine diphosphate-galactose is supplied as precursor. In the case of pea root mitochondria, galactosyl diglycerides are not formed from either nucleotide sugar. In the case of spinach chloroplasts only 3% of the metabolized uridine diphosphate-galactose is found as steryl glycosides. Time course experiments indicate that the steryl glucoside is the precursor of the acylated steryl glucoside. The effect of pH on the over-all reaction and analysis of the reaction products suggest that the glucosylation of the sterol has a pH optimum of 8 to 9, and the pH optimum for the acylation of the steryl glucoside is 6.5 to 7. The synthesis of steryl glucoside and acylated steryl glucoside, catalyzed by acetone powders of pea root mitochondria, is stimuated by added sitosterol and stigmasterol.     

植物花色素苷生物合成的转录调控

转录调节是植物花色素苷生物合成途径中调节其结构基因表达的重要环节之一。近十多年来,通过调节转录因子的表达激活或抑制有效地调控植物中花色素苷的合成成了众多植物学家研究的重点。现简要介绍了花色素苷的合成运输过程与液泡的沉积扣押、转录因子与调控及转录调节在遗传改良中的应用等方面的研究进展。     

嘌呤核苷及其衍生物的代谢工程

嘌呤核苷及其衍生物被广泛应用于食品和医药领域。利用诱变筛选技术可以获得嘌呤核苷类产品的工业生产菌株,但往往耗时,效率低,而且获得的某些高产菌株还存在不稳定的缺陷。菌株代谢调控与生理生化的研究为代谢工程优化嘌呤核苷类产品的合成提供了理论基础,利用代谢工程改造菌株合成嘌呤核苷也引起了研究人员的关注。系统地介绍了微生物嘌呤生物合成途径及其调控机制,综述了嘌呤核苷类产品及其衍生物的代谢工程研究进展,最后讨论了利用代谢工程改造菌株合成这些产品面临的问题及今后的研究方向。     

Marine Pyridoacridine Alkaloids: Biosynthesis and Biological Activities

Pyridoacridines are a class of strictly marine‐derived alkaloids that constitute one of the largest chemical families of marine alkaloids. During the last few years, both natural pyridoacridines and their analogues have constituted excellent targets for synthetic works. They have been the subject of intense study due to their significant biological activities; cytotoxic, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, insecticidal, anti‐HIV, and anti‐parasitic activities. In the present review, 95 pyridoacridine alkaloids isolated from marine organisms are discussed in term of their occurrence, biosynthesis, biological activities, and structural assignment.     

重组酵母菌生物合成麻黄碱的特性及L-Phe对其合成的影响

目的：探讨12株重组酵母菌生物合成麻黄碱的特性及L-Phe对麻黄碱生物合成的影响。方法：以葡萄糖为碳源、NaNO3为氮源对重组酵母菌进行培养,在相同条件下,在液体培养基中添加5mg/L的L-Phe,利用反向高压液相色谱（RP-HPLC）测定重组酵母菌培养液中麻黄碱和伪麻黄碱的含量。结果：重组酵母菌培养液中麻黄碱和伪麻黄碱的最高产量分别为18.85mg/L和4.11mg/L;L-Phe对各重组菌株生物合成麻黄碱的调控作用各不相同。结论：通过L-Phe对重组酵母菌生物合成麻黄碱和伪麻黄碱调控作用的探讨,将为研究重组菌株的遗传多样性提供依据。