茉莉素介导的长春花生物碱次生代谢转录调控机制

萜类吲哚生物碱（terpeniod indole alkaloids, TIAs）是植物中产生的一类具有药理活性的次生代谢产物.药用植物长春花（Catharanthus roseus）因含有长春碱和长春新碱等重要的抗肿瘤萜类吲哚生物碱而成为研究TIAs次生代谢的主要模式植物.应用正、反向遗传学和各种代谢组学技术对长春花TIAs次生代谢途径及其调控进行了较深入的研究,相继鉴定了参与TIAs代谢途径调控的CrORCAs、CrMYCs、CrZCTs和CrWRKYs等转录因子,特别是发现茉莉素（jasmonates, JAs）介导TIAs生物合成的转录调控网络. 本文以长春花TIAs生物合成途径为模式,重点论述其代谢途径中的关键酶、参与调节的转录因子,尤其是茉莉素介导的调控网络及机制,解析植物中这些天然抗癌生物碱合成积累水平低的制约因素和组织细胞特异性,讨论基于这些新知识的长春花抗肿瘤TIAs代谢工程策略和工厂化绿色生产前景.     

Development of efficient catharanthus roseus regeneration and transformation system using agrobacterium tumefaciens and hypocotyls as explants

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: As a valuable medicinal plant, Madagascar periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus) produces many terpenoid indole alkaloids (TIAs), such as vindoline, ajamlicine, serpentine, catharanthine, vinblastine and vincristine et al. Some of them are important components of drugs treating cancer and hypertension. However, the yields of these TIAs are low in wild-type plants, and the total chemical synthesis is impractical in large scale due to high-cost and their complicated structures. The recent development of metabolic engineering strategy offers a promising solution. In order to improve the production of TIAs in C. roseus the establishment of an efficient genetic transformation method is required. RESULTS: To develop a genetic transformation method for C. roseus, A. tumefaciens strain EHA105 was employed which harbors a binary vector pCAMBIA2301 containing a report beta-glucuronidase (GUS) gene and a selectable marker neomycin phosphotransferase II gene (NTPII). The influential factors were investigated systematically and the optimal transformation condition was achieved using hypocotyls as explants, including the sonication treatment of 10 min with 80 W, A. tumefaciens infection of 30 min and co-cultivation of 2 d in 1/2 MS medium containing 100 muM acetosyringone. With a series of selection in callus, shoot and root inducing kanamycin-containing resistance mediums, we successfully obtained stable transgenic regeneration plants. The expression of GUS gene was confirmed by histochemistry, polymerase chain reaction, and genomic southern blot analysis. To prove the efficiency of the established genetic transformation system, the rate-limiting gene in TIAs biosynthetic pathway, DAT, which encodes deacetylvindoline-4-O-acetyltransferase, was transferred into C. roseus using this established system and 9 independent transgenic plants were obtained. The results of metabolite analysis using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) showed that overexpression of DAT increased the yield of vindoline in transgenic plants. CONCLUSIONS: In the present study, we report an efficient Agrobacterium-mediated transformation system for C. roseus plants with 11.11 % of transformation frequency. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the establishment of A. tumefaciens mediated transformation and regeneration of C. roseus. More importantly, the C. roseus transformation system developed in this work was confirmed in the successful transformation of C. roseus using a key gene involved in TIAs biosynthetic pathway resulting in the higher accumulation of vindoline in transgenic plants.     

Opium poppy and Madagascar periwinkle: model non-model systems to investigate alkaloid biosynthesis in plants

Alkaloids represent a large and diverse group of compounds that are related by the occurrence of a nitrogen atom within a heterocyclic backbone. Unlike other types of secondary metabolites, the various structural categories of alkaloids are unrelated in terms of biosynthesis and evolution. Although the biology of each group is unique, common patterns have become apparent. Opium poppy ( Papaver somniferum ), which produces several benzylisoquinoline alkaloids, and Madagascar periwinkle ( Catharanthus roseus ), which accumulates an array of monoterpenoid indole alkaloids, have emerged as the premier organisms used to study plant alkaloid metabolism. The status of these species as model systems results from decades of research on the chemistry, enzymology and molecular biology responsible for the biosynthesis of valuable pharmaceutical alkaloids. Opium poppy remains the only commercial source for morphine, codeine and semi-synthetic analgesics, such as oxycodone, derived from thebaine. Catharanthus roseus is the only source for the anti-cancer drugs vinblastine and vincristine. Impressive collections of cDNAs encoding biosynthetic enzymes and regulatory proteins involved in the formation of benzylisoquinoline and monoterpenoid indole alkaloids are now available, and the rate of gene discovery has accelerated with the application of genomics. Such tools have allowed the establishment of models that describe the complex cell biology of alkaloid metabolism in these important medicinal plants. A suite of biotechnological resources, including genetic transformation protocols, has allowed the application of metabolic engineering to modify the alkaloid content of these and related species. An overview of recent progress on benzylisoquinoline and monoterpenoid indole alkaloid biosynthesis in opium poppy and C. roseus is presented.     

长春花萜类吲哚生物碱含量测定及相关基因的表达分析

采用反相高效液相色谱法(RP-HPLC)对23个长春花品种中的重要萜类吲哚生物碱文多灵、长春质碱和长春碱含量进行了测定,发现这3种生物碱的含量在不同品种中存在较大差异。相关性分析表明,文多灵、长春质碱和长春碱这3种生物碱中,文多灵含量和长春碱含量有极显著的相关性(P0.01)。利用RT-PCR分析了香叶醇10-脱羧酶基因(g10h)和异胡豆苷合成酶基因(str)在萜类吲哚生物碱含量有显著差异的品种之间的表达水平差异,并结合生物碱含量数据结果,发现g10h和str的表达水平和文多灵和长春质碱的总含量有显著的正相关性(P0.05),说明g10h和str基因可以作为长春花中文多灵和长春质碱含量的参考基因标记。该研究对为选育高萜类吲哚生物碱含量长春花品种及长春花萜类吲哚生物碱代谢工程具有重要意义。     

Quantification of metabolites in the indole alkaloid pathways of catharanthus roseus: implications for metabolic engineering

In this article, we present a review of the current state of metabolic engineering in Catharanthus roseus. A significant amount of research has contributed to characterization of several individual steps in the biosynthetic pathway of medicinally valuable alkaloids. However, knowledge of the regulation of these pathways is still sparse. Using hairy root cultures, we studied the responses of alkaloid metabolism to environmental stimulation such as light and elicitation. Through precursor feeding studies, the putative rate-limiting steps of the terpenoid pathway in hairy root cultures also have been examined. Relating this knowledge to specific events at the molecular level, and the cloning of corresponding genes are the next key steps in metabolic engineering of the C. roseus alkaloids. Copyright 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Cell type matters: competence for alkaloid metabolism differs in two seed-derived cell strains of Catharanthus roseus

Protoplasma - Since the discovery of the anticancer drugs vinblastine and vincristine, Catharanthus roseus has been intensively studied for biosynthesis of several terpene indole alkaloids (TIAs)....     

Molecular cloning and analysis of strictosidine beta-D-glucosidase, an enzyme in terpenoid indole alkaloid biosynthesis in Catharanthus roseus

Strictosidine beta-D-glucosidase (SGD) is an enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of terpenoid indole alkaloids (TIAs) by converting strictosidine to cathenamine. The biosynthetic pathway toward strictosidine is thought to be similar in all TIA-producing plants. Somewhere downstream of strictosidine formation, however, the biosynthesis diverges to give rise to the different TIAs found. SGD may play a role in creating this biosynthetic diversity. We have studied SGD at both the molecular and enzymatic levels. Based on the homology between different plant beta-glucosidases, degenerate polymerase chain reaction primers were designed and used to isolate a cDNA clone from a Catharanthus roseus cDNA library. A full-length clone gave rise to SGD activity when expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. SGD shows approximately 60% homology at the amino acid level to other beta-glucosidases from plants and is encoded by a single-copy gene. Sgd expression is induced by methyl jasmonate with kinetics similar to those of two other genes acting prior to Sgd in TIA biosynthesis. These results show that coordinate induction of the biosynthetic genes forms at least part of the mechanism for the methyl jasmonate-induced increase in TIA production. Using a novel in vivo staining method, subcellular localization studies of SGD were performed. This showed that SGD is most likely associated with the endoplasmic reticulum, which is in accordance with the presence of a putative signal sequence, but in contrast to previous localization studies. This new insight in SGD localization has significant implications for our understanding of the complex intracellular trafficking of metabolic intermediates during TIA biosynthesis.     

Catharanthus terpenoid indole alkaloids: biosynthesis and regulation

Catharanthus roseus is still the only source for the powerful antitumour drugs vinblastine and vincristine. Some other pharmaceutical compounds from this plant, ajmalicine and serpentine are also of economical importance. Although C. roseus has been studied extensively and was subject of numerous publications, a full characterization of its alkaloid pathway is not yet achieved. Here we review some of the recent work done on this plant. Most of the work focussed on early steps of the pathway, particularly the discovery of the 2-C-methyl-d-erythritol 4-phosphate (MEP)-pathway leading to terpenoids. Both mevalonate and MEP pathways are utilized by plants with apparent cross-talk between them across different compartments. Many genes of the early steps in Catharanthus alkaloid pathway have been cloned and overexpressed to improve the biosynthesis. Research on the late steps in the pathway resulted in cloning of several genes. Enzymes and genes involved in indole alkaloid biosynthesis and various aspects of their localization and regulation are discussed. Much progress has been made at alkaloid regulatory level. Feeding precursors, growth regulators treatments and metabolic engineering are good tools to increase productivity of terpenoid indole alkaloids. But still our knowledge of the late steps in the Catharanthus alkaloid pathway and the genes involved is limited.     

外源乙烯对长春花生理水平和生物碱积累的影响

药用植物长春花中含有100多种萜类吲哚生物碱（TIAs）,其中具有抗肿瘤功效的长春碱和长春新碱受到关注。为了研究外源乙烯处理对长春花生长情况、生理状态和萜类吲哚生物碱合成的整体影响,本文以长春花幼苗为实验材料,使用外源乙烯处理后对比了不同生长条件下长春花的生物量积累、根茎伸长、光合参数以及生物碱含量等指标,分析了生物碱合成与其他指标之间的相关性。结果表明,外源乙烯处理使长春花乙稀释放量上升,乙烯信号响应因子erf基因表达量提高。乙烯利抑制长春花幼苗生物量积累、根纵向生长,促进茎秆横向加粗生长,由非气孔因素导致净光合速率（P_n）和气孔导度（G_s）下降。外源乙烯促进异胡豆苷（STR）、长春质碱（CAT）、文多灵（VIN）和长春碱（VINB）积累,并且促进长春碱合成途径中关键酶基因str和CrPRX上调表达。相关性分析结果表明,次生代谢产物的积累、生长指标、光合参数之间存在明显的相关性;长春质碱、文多灵、长春碱与茎秆直径（SD）显著正相关（P < 0.05）,与生物量（B）、株高（H）、根长（RL）、净光合速率（P_n）呈显著负相关（P < 0.05）。本文为研究外源乙烯调控长春花生物碱积累的机制提供理论基础。     

Metabolic Engineering of Tropane Alkaloid Biosynthesis in Plants

Over the past decade, the evolving commercial importance of so-called plant secondary metabolites has resulted in a great interest in secondary metabolism and, particularly, in the possibilities to enhance the yield of fine metabolites by means of genetic engineering. Plant alkaloids, which constitute one of the largest groups of natural products, provide many pharmacologically active compounds. Several genes in the tropane alkaloids biosynthesis pathways have been cloned, making the metabolic engineering of these alkaloids possible. The content of the target chemical scopolamine could be significantly increased by various approaches, such as introducing genes encoding the key biosynthetic enzymes or genes encoding regulatory proteins to overcome the specific rate-limiting steps. In addition, antisense genes have been used to block competitive pathways. These investigations have opened up new, promising perspectives for increased production in plants or plant cell culture. Recent achievements have been made in the metabolic engineering of plant tropane alkaloids and some new powerful strategies are reviewed in the present paper.