罗汉果查尔酮合成酶基因的生物信息学分析

查尔酮合成酶(chalcone synthase,CHS)是类黄酮生物合成的关键酶,在植物发育、防止UV损伤、抗病和逆境反应中起着重要作用。本研究通过EST测序,获得了罗汉果查尔酮合成酶基因序列(登录号:GU980155)。为了进一步了解罗汉果查尔酮合成酶基因的特征,我们将其与46种植物的查尔酮合成酶基因的核酸序列和氨基酸序列进行比对和进化分析。结果表明,罗汉果查尔酮合成酶基因的核酸序列和氨基酸序列与其它物种的查尔酮合成酶基因均具较高同源性,编码区相似性约为94%。使用PHYLIP和MEGA4分别构建了邻接树、最大似然树和最大简约树,但经bootstrap检验,最优树未能明确罗汉果查尔酮合成酶基因的系统发育地位。以紫花苜蓿查尔酮合成酶的三维结构为参考,利用同源建模的方法预测了罗汉果查尔酮合成酶的三维结构,发现罗汉果查尔酮合成酶具有保守的活性位点和空间结构。     

二氢黄酮醇 4 还原酶在花青素合成中的功能及调控研究进展

植物色素主要有花青素、类胡萝卜素和生物碱类色素三大类,其中花青素是决定大部分被子植物组织或器官颜色的重要色素。花青素通过类黄酮途径合成,该途径是生物学上研究较多且较为清楚的代谢途径之一。近年来的研究表明,在该途径中除了查尔酮合成酶(chalcone synthase,CHS)、查尔酮异构酶(chalcone isomerase,CHI)和黄烷酮-3-羟化酶(flavanone-3-hydrolase,F3H)起着关键作用外,二氢黄酮醇-4-还原酶(dihydroflavonol 4-reductase,DFR)对花青素的合成也至关重要。DFR可催化3种二氢黄酮醇和2种黄烷酮生成5种不同的花青素前体,且DFR基因家族不同成员对各个底物的催化效率不同,因此它在一定程度上决定着植物中花青素的种类和含量,从而影响植物组织或器官的颜色。该文对近年来国内外有关DFR在花青素合成过程中的生物学功能与调控,包括DFR的特征、作用机制和系统进化以及环境、转录因子和一些结构基因与DFR的关系等方面的研究进展进行了综述,以期为DFR今后的研究和利用基因工程改变植物组织或器官的颜色提供理论依据。     

大豆异黄酮合成途径相关基因差异表达分析

大豆异黄酮是一种应用广泛、具有医用和保健功能的活性物质。为揭示异黄酮合成途径相关基因表达差异,本研究采用实时定量PCR技术分析相关基因在不同大豆品种、发育时期及组织部位的表达。结果发现,苯丙氨酸解氨酶基因PAL、肉桂酸羟化酶基因C4H、香豆酸辅酶A连接酶基因4CL在高异黄酮品种中豆27 R2期叶片中的表达量显著高于低异黄酮品种楚秀;查尔酮合成酶基因CHS、异黄酮合成酶基因IFS在中豆27 R8期子粒中的表达量显著高于楚秀;细胞色素还原酶基因CPR在中豆27 R7期叶片与子粒的表达量与楚秀相比显著降低。这些差异表达的基因可能是形成大豆品种异黄酮含量高低的重要原因。     

银杏查尔酮合成酶基因表达的时间进程

查尔酮合成酶是银杏叶黄酮合成途径中的第一个关键酶。利用RACE技术克隆到银杏的一个查尔酮合成酶基因,命名为GbCHS2,其cDNA全长1608bp,包括长1173bp的读码框,编码391个氨基酸。GbCHS2蛋白与已从银杏克隆到的GbCHS1蛋白具有很高的同源性,并包含其所有相同的活性位点。用半定量RT-PCR方法研究了银杏叶生长过程中chs基因的转录水平的变化,并对CHS活性变化和黄酮含量的变化曲线进行了线性回归分析。结果显示,在整个银杏叶生长过程中,CHS活性与黄酮含量呈极显著线性相关,表明CHS是银杏叶黄酮合成途径中的一个关键限速酶;chs基因的转录水平的变化与黄酮的积累是同步的,chs基因的这种表达模式表明chs基因的转录水平可能决定了银杏叶黄酮的积累。     

化州柚查尔酮合成酶基因克隆与序列分析

利用CTAB-LiCl法提取高质量的化州柚总RNA,采用RT-PCR技术克隆查尔酮合成酶基因,获得广东道地药材化橘红资源化州柚的查尔酮合成酶基因。该基因编码区全长1176bp,编码391个氨基酸残基,与同样来源于柑橘属的查尔酮合成酶基因同源性高达98%。CTAB-LiCl法能提取高质量的化州柚总RNA,可以用于后续基因克隆和分析;克隆获得的查尔酮合成酶具有编码区,与同属植物相同基因具有高度序列同源性。     

查尔酮合酶基因转化矮牵牛：——改变花色的新途径

查尔酮合酶是花色素合成途径中的关键酶,它在植物中的表达量直接影响到花色的变化。将来源于矮牵牛中的查尔酮合酶基因正向克隆到含有ＣａＭＶ３５Ｓ启动子的中间介体中,通过土壤农杆菌介导导入矮牵牛,转基因矮牵牛花色发生了明显的变化。用Ｎｏｒｔｈｂｅｒｎ杂交分析表明,转基因植物中,内源和外源查尔酮合酶基因的转录均受到抑制。     

中间锦鸡儿查尔酮合成酶基因的克隆和表达分析

查尔酮合成酶是黄酮类化合物合成途径的第一个关键酶。本研究通过其它豆科植物已知的查尔酮合成酶保守序列设计简并引物,扩增得到中间锦鸡儿查尔酮合成酶基因的保守片段,经RACE技术扩增得到基因全长。对该基因gDNA全长和cDNA全长分析显示,它是由一个内含子和两个外显子构成,该基因cDNA全长为1 548 bp,其中ORF(open reading frame)为1 176 bp,5'UTR(untranslated regions)为175 bp,3'UTR为196 bp,编码391个氨基酸,推测蛋白质质量为43.03 kD,等电点为6.24,是一种两性蛋白。序列比对和系统进化分析表明,该基因属于查尔酮合成酶家族,命名为CiCHS。实时荧光定量PCR检测发现,CiCHS在紫外处理下受到诱导,0.5 h表达量最高,之后不断降低。     

植物类胡萝卜素生物合成及功能

详述了植物类胡萝卜素生物合成途径,并从突破类胡萝卜素合成途径中上游瓶颈限制、类胡萝卜素代谢各分支途径的改造、提高植物细胞对类胡萝卜素物质积累能力三个方面探讨了类胡萝卜素生物合成酶基因在植物基因工程中的研究现状,最后对植物类胡萝卜素代谢的研究前景进行了展望。     

植物查尔酮异构酶研究进展

黄酮类化合物属于多酚类次生代谢物,具有广泛的药用价值。查尔酮异构酶（CHI）是黄酮类代谢途径中的一个关键酶,催化分子内环化反应,使双环的查尔酮转化为有生物学活性的三环（2S）-黄烷酮。植物体内的CHI活性与类黄酮物质的合成有着密切联系,CHI转基因研究对于提高植物类黄酮含量有重要意义。简要概述了查尔酮异构酶的结构特点、催化反应机理以及CHI转基因的研究进展。     

白藜芦醇合成酶基因在基因工程中的应用及功能研究进展

白藜芦醇合成酶(Resveratrol synthase,RS)是白藜芦醇(Resveratrol,Res)合成途径中的关键酶。以往研究报道,RS基因已在多种植物和微生物中进行了转化和表达,并在植物的代谢及调控等方面发挥生物学作用。文中主要围绕RS基因对植物的转化,及异源表达后植物体内代谢产物的变化,转RS基因对植物抗病原菌活性、抗自由基活性和生长发育的影响,以及利用RS基因在微生物中生产Res的相关进展进行了综述。并对RS基因在生物工程方面的应用前景进行展望。     

Genomic evidences for the existence of a phenylpropanoid metabolic pathway in Aspergillus oryzae

Plants interact with their environment by producing a diverse array of secondary metabolites. A majority of these compounds are phenylpropanoids and flavonoids which are valued for their medicinal and agricultural properties. The phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathway proceeds with the basic C6-C3 carbon skeleton of phenylalanine, and involves a wide range of enzymes viz., phenylalanine ammonia lyase, coumarate hydroxylase, coumarate ligase, chalcone synthase, chalcone reductase and chalcone isomerase. Recently, bacteria have also been shown to contain homodimeric polyketide synthases belonging to the plant chalcone synthase superfamily linking the capabilities of plants and bacteria in the biosynthesis of flavonoids. We report here the presence of genes encoding the core enzymes of the phenylpropanoid pathway in an industrially useful fungus, Aspergillus oryzae. Although the assignment of enzyme function must be confirmed by further biochemical evidences, this work has allowed us to anticipate the phenylpropanoid metabolism profile in a filamentous fungus for the first time and paves way for research on identifying novel fungal flavonoid-like metabolites.     

Structure and function of enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of phenylpropanoids

As a major component of plant specialized metabolism, phenylpropanoid biosynthetic pathways provide anthocyanins for pigmentation, flavonoids such as flavones for protection against UV photodamage, various flavonoid and isoflavonoid inducers of Rhizobium nodulation genes, polymeric lignin for structural support and assorted antimicrobial phytoalexins. As constituents of plant-rich diets and an assortment of herbal medicinal agents, the phenylpropanoids exhibit measurable cancer chemopreventive, antimitotic, estrogenic, antimalarial, antioxidant and antiasthmatic activities. The health benefits of consuming red wine, which contains significant amounts of 3,4',5-trihydroxystilbene (resveratrol) and other phenylpropanoids, highlight the increasing awareness in the medical community and the public at large as to the potential dietary importance of these plant derived compounds. As recently as a decade ago, little was known about the three-dimensional structure of the enzymes involved in these highly branched biosynthetic pathways. Ten years ago, we initiated X-ray crystallographic analyses of key enzymes of this pathway, complemented by biochemical and enzyme engineering studies. We first investigated chalcone synthase (CHS), the entry point of the flavonoid pathway, and its close relative stilbene synthase (STS). Work soon followed on the O-methyl transferases (OMTs) involved in modifications of chalcone, isoflavonoids and metabolic precursors of lignin. More recently, our groups and others have extended the range of phenylpropanoid pathway structural investigations to include the upstream enzymes responsible for the initial recruitment of phenylalanine and tyrosine, as well as a number of reductases, acyltransferases and ancillary tailoring enzymes of phenylpropanoid-derived metabolites. These structure-function studies collectively provide a comprehensive view of an important aspect of phenylpropanoid metabolism. More specifically, these atomic resolution insights into the architecture and mechanistic underpinnings of phenylpropanoid metabolizing enzymes contribute to our understanding of the emergence and on-going evolution of specialized phenylpropanoid products, and underscore the molecular basis of metabolic biodiversity at the chemical level. Finally, the detailed knowledge of the structure, function and evolution of these enzymes of specialized metabolism provide a set of experimental templates for the enzyme and metabolic engineering of production platforms for diverse novel compounds with desirable dietary and medicinal properties.     

Construction of a Corynebacterium glutamicum platform strain for the production of stilbenes and (2S)-flavanones

Corynebacterium glutamicum is an important organism in industrial biotechnology for the microbial production of bulk chemicals, in particular amino acids. However, until now activity of a complex catabolic network for the degradation of aromatic compounds averted application of C. glutamicum as production host for aromatic compounds of pharmaceutical or biotechnological interest. In the course of the construction of a suitable C. glutamicum platform strain for plant polyphenol production, four gene clusters comprising 21 genes involved in the catabolism of aromatic compounds were deleted. Expression of plant-derived and codon-optimized genes coding for a chalcone synthase (CHS) and a chalcone isomerase (CHI) in this strain background enabled formation of 35 mg/L naringenin and 37 mg/L eriodictyol from the supplemented phenylpropanoids p-coumaric acid and caffeic acid, respectively. Furthermore, expression of genes coding for a 4-coumarate: CoA-ligase (4CL) and a stilbene synthase (STS) led to the production of the stilbenes pinosylvin, resveratrol and piceatannol starting from supplemented phenylpropanoids cinnamic acid, p-coumaric acid and caffeic acid, respectively. Stilbene concentrations of up to 158 mg/L could be achieved. Additional engineering of the amino acid metabolism for an optimal connection to the synthetic plant polyphenol pathways enabled resveratrol production directly from glucose. The construction of these C. glutamicum platform strains for the synthesis of plant polyphenols opens the door towards the microbial production of high-value aromatic compounds from cheap carbon sources with this microorganism.     

Chalcone isomerase family and fold: no longer unique to plants

Chalcone isomerase, an enzyme in the isoflavonoid pathway in plants, catalyzes the cyclization of chalcone into (2S)-naringenin. Chalcone isomerase sequence family and three-dimensional fold appeared to be unique to plants and has been proposed as a plant-specific gene marker. Using sensitive methods of sequence comparison and fold recognition, we have identified genes homologous to chalcone isomerase in all completely sequenced fungi, in slime molds, and in many gammaproteobacteria. The residues directly involved in the enzyme's catalytic function are among the best conserved across species, indicating that the newly discovered homologs are enzymatically active. At the same time, fungal and bacterial species that have chalcone isomerase-like genes tend to lack the orthologs of the upstream enzyme chalcone synthase, suggesting a novel variation of the pathway in these species.     

Temporal and spatial control of expression of anthocyanin biosynthetic genes in developing flowers of Antirrhinum majus

The co-ordination of expression of anthocyanin biosynthetic genes was studied in developing flowers. Four genes encoding enzymes operating late in the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway are induced together during flower development but the early steps appear to be induced more rapidly. Co-ordination of expression could imply a common regulatory mechanism controlling the expression of metabolically related genes. The data presented here show that while four genes may share such a mechanism for the control of their expression during flower development, different control processes regulate the early steps of the pathway. Spatially, gene expression is patterned across the flower and appears to be very similar for all the biosynthetic genes. However, the observed influence of the regulatory gene Delila shows that the spatial co-ordination of gene expression must involve more than one regulatory system. Delila itself appears to have a dual function, being required for activation of expression of the later genes in the flower tube but repressing chalcone synthase gene expression in the mesophyll of the corolla lobes. It is postulated that common signals induce the expression of genes in the pathway during flower development. The data presented here suggest that the same regulatory mechanism interprets these signals for four of the genes encoding the later biosynthetic enzymes, but that different or modified mechanisms interpret the signals to control expression of chalcone synthase and chalcone isomerase genes in Antirrhinum flowers.     

Expression of genes involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis in relation to anthocyanin,proanthocyanidin, and flavonol levels during bilberry fruit development

The production of anthocyanins in fruit tissues is highly controlled at the developmental level. We have studied the expression of flavonoid biosynthesis genes during the development of bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) fruit in relation to the accumulation of anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins, and flavonols in wild berries and in color mutants of bilberry. The cDNA fragments of five genes from the flavonoid pathway, phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, chalcone synthase, flavanone 3-hydroxylase, dihydroflavonol 4-reductase, and anthocyanidin synthase, were isolated from bilberry using the polymerase chain reaction technique, sequenced, and labeled with a digoxigenin-dUTP label. These homologous probes were used for determining the expression of the flavonoid pathway genes in bilberries. The contents of anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins, and flavonols in ripening bilberries were analyzed with high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector and were identified using a mass spectrometry interface. Our results demonstrate a correlation between anthocyanin accumulation and expression of the flavonoid pathway genes during the ripening of berries. At the early stages of berry development, procyanidins and quercetin were the major flavonoids, but the levels decreased dramatically during the progress of ripening. During the later stages of ripening, the content of anthocyanins increased strongly and they were the major flavonoids in the ripe berry. The expression of flavonoid pathway genes in the color mutants of bilberry was reduced. A connection between flavonol and anthocyanin synthesis in bilberry was detected in this study and also in previous data collected from flavonol and anthocyanin analyses from other fruits. In accordance with this, models for the connection between flavonol and anthocyanin syntheses in fruit tissues are presented.     

Molecular regulation of catechins biosynthesis in tea [Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze

Catechins are bioprospecting molecules present in tea and any effort towards metabolic engineering of this important moiety would require knowledge on gene regulation. These are synthesized through the activities of phenylpropanoid and flavonoid pathways. Expression regulation of various genes of these pathways namely phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (CsPAL), cinnamate 4-hydroxylase (CsC4H), p-coumarate:CoA ligase (Cs4CL), flavanone 3-hydroxylase (CsF3H), dihydroflavonol 4-reductase (CsDFR) and anthocyanidin reductase (CsANR) was accomplished previously. In depth analyses of the remaining genes namely, chalcone synthase (CsCHS), chalcone isomerase (CsCHI), flavonoid 3'5'-hydroxylase (CsF3'5'H) and anthocyanidin synthase (CsANS) were lacking. The objective of the work was to clone and analyze these genes so as to generate a comprehensive knowledge on the critical genes of catechins biosynthesis pathway. Gene expression analysis was carried out in response to leaf age and external cues (drought stress, abscisic acid, gibberellic acid treatments and wounding). A holistic analysis suggested that CsCHI, CsF3H, CsDFR, CsANS and CsANR were amongst the critical regulatory genes in regulating catechins content.