药用植物博落回形态与发育解剖学研究

博落回(Macleaya cordata)是罂粟科含有异喹啉生物碱的主要药用植物, 其生物碱提取物具有多种药理活性。目前对博落回的研究主要集中在生物碱的成分、活性和药理等方面, 对与其合成、运输、储藏密切相关的发育解剖结构及生物碱组织化学定位研究还未见报道。该文报道了温室中生长的博落回植株形态特征, 并结合徒手切片和改良碘化铋钾沉淀的方法对主要器官(根、茎、叶)的发育结构和生物碱组织化学染色进行了初步分析。结果表明, 博落回发育基本遵循一般双子叶植物的规律。根中生物碱出现在中柱鞘外的薄壁细胞和导管周围。茎和叶柄中的生物碱主要出现在维管束周围, 偶尔也出现在茎的髓细胞中。总体上, 茎中的生物碱积累量少于根。     

苄基异喹啉类生物碱生物合成与代谢工程研究进展

苄基异喹啉类生物碱(benzylisoquinoline alkaloids,BIAs)是一类具有重要研究及药用价值的次生代谢产物,目前该类生物碱主要来自于植物。但是BIAs在植物中的含量低、且大部分含有BIAs的植物具有生长周期长、受环境影响大、采集困难和难以大规模种植等问题。为解决这些问题,许多研究人员致力于解析BIAs生物合成途径并利用植物与微生物代谢工程技术提高BIAs的含量与开辟新药源。本研究将从BIAs类型与生物合成途径以及微生物与植物代谢工程几个方面对BIAs的生物合成与代谢工程研究进展进行综述,有利于BIAs的深入研究。     

苄基异喳啉生物碱在木兰亚纲等植物类群中的分布

本文详细讨论了苄基异喹啉生物碱的生源和进化趋势,化学结构类型的分布规律,植物来源,药理作用以及它们之间的联系性。研究表明：苄基异喹啉生物碱主要存在于较原始的木兰亚纲植物群中,阿朴菲型、双苄基异喹啉型、原小檗碱型为普遍存在的结构类型。由于按生源路线产生的不同结构类型在植物中呈现有规律的分布,因此苄基异喹啉生物碱可作为很好的分类学指标。     

微生物异源合成植物异喹啉生物碱的新进展

植物异喹啉生物碱(plant isoquinoline alkaloids,PIAs)包括吗啡、可待因、加兰他敏及小糵碱等药用活性产物和其他天然活性产物。从植物中提取异喹啉生物碱,受制于低含量、种植季节及提取方法。人们开始研究利用微生物异源合成和改造天然异喹啉生物碱,从而获得低成本的药用活性物质。异喹啉生物碱合成途径长,反应复杂,为实现微生物异源合成带来了诸多挑战。随着合成途径和酶的解析和鉴定,合成生物学技术为在微生物中合成异喹啉生物碱提供了可能。综述了PIAs合成途径解析的最新进展,以及微生物异源合成PIAs的代谢工程策略,讨论了目前存在的问题和未来的发展趋势。     

苄基四氢异喹啉类生物碱的微生物转化

苄基四氢异喹啉类生物碱广泛分布于木兰科、防己科、番荔枝科、罂粟科、芸香科、樟科、小檗科等植物中,具有抗肿瘤、镇痛、止咳、降压、抗菌、抗炎、免疫抑制等多种生理活性,吗啡、罗通定、可待因、青藤碱、罂粟碱等多种药物已应用于临床。鉴于其广泛的临床应用,苄基四氢异喹啉类生物碱的结构修饰成为研究的热点,微生物转化由于效率高、手性及立体选择性强、反应条件温和、成本低、反应过程绿色环保等特点,在天然产物的结构修饰中应用越来越广泛。本文综述了微生物转化在苄基四氢异喹啉类生物碱结构修饰中的应用,为更深入的研究苄基四氢异喹啉类生物碱提供一定的依据。     

国家自然科学基金委员会生命科学部2013年度重点项目

项目名称 极端嗜盐古菌固碳贮碳及其代谢新途径研究 绿脓杆菌新型集成群体感应系统的功能及机理研究 链霉菌源四氢异喹啉生物碱的生物合成与抗癌新药合成生物学研究     

甘草生物碱成分的分析及含量测定

研究对主要药用甘草即乌拉尔（G.uralensis）、光果甘草（G.inflata）、胀果甘草（G.palliadiflora）、刺果甘草（G.pallidiflora）的根中生物碱成分进行了分析研究。结果表明：生物碱成分为喹啉衍生物类及异喹啉衍生物类,总含量平均为0.29%,此结果为生物碱类药物的生物及甘草的进一步开发利用提供科学依据。     

中国千金藤属植物化学分类概况

探讨了各结构类型的异喹啉类生物碱在千金藤属植物中的分布规律及千金藤属植物的亲缘关系,在较原始的类群中,生物碱的结构类型和数量均较少,而在较进化的类群中内,其结构类型得到较大的发展,化合物的数量也相对增多,显示异喹啉类生物碱的结构类型及数量与属内植物群的进化有一定的对应关系,一些结构类型特化的生物碱和在植物界中分布极为狭窄的化学成分对亚属下各植物组的划分起着重要作用。     

异胡豆苷合成酶在烟草亚细胞区室的表达(英)

异胡豆苷合成酶 (strictosidinesynthase,STR)是吲哚生物碱生物合成的一种关键酶 ,将色胺 (tryptamine)和裂环马钱子 (secologanin)耦合成为吲哚生物碱的前体化合物异胡豆苷。将异胡豆苷合成酶标定在烟草植物不同的亚细胞区室———叶绿体、液泡和内质网中表达 ,通过蛋白免疫印迹分析和STR酶活性的测定 ,表明STR在叶绿体、液泡和内质网中有效表达。STR体外酶活性分析采用间接荧光法检测色胺在反应体系的消耗。STR的酶活性分析表明了STR在烟草中不同的亚细胞区室得以活性表达。分离纯化转基因烟草的叶绿体 ,通过对其分离的不同部分的蛋白免疫印迹分析 ,确定了将STR正确标定在烟草的叶绿体中表达。     

异胡豆苷合成酶在烟草亚细胞区室的表达

异胡豆苷合成酶(strictosidine synthase,STR)是吲哚生物碱生物合成的一种关键酶,将色胺(tryptamine)和裂环马钱子(secologanin)耦合成为吲哚生物碱的前体化合物异胡豆苷.将异胡豆苷合成酶标定在烟草植物不同的亚细胞区室--叶绿体、液泡和内质网中表达,通过蛋白免疫印迹分析和STR酶活性的测定,表明STR在叶绿体、液泡和内质网中有效表达.STR体外酶活性分析采用间接荧光法检测色胺在反应体系的消耗.STR的酶活性分析表明了STR在烟草中不同的亚细胞区室得以活性表达.分离纯化转基因烟草的叶绿体,通过对其分离的不同部分的蛋白免疫印迹分析,确定了将STR正确标定在烟草的叶绿体中表达.     

Synthesis and trafficking of alkaloid biosynthetic enzymes

The biosynthesis of plant natural products involves a large number of enzymes that create and elaborate a bewildering array of chemical structures, which are generally involved in ecophysiological interactions. Alkaloids are one of the largest groups of natural products and are generally produced through an assortment of intricate pathways. The application of molecular biochemical approaches to investigate the cell biology of alkaloid pathways has revealed a paradigm for the complex, yet highly ordered, organization of biosynthetic enzymes at both the cellular and subcellular levels. Many different cell types have been implicated in alkaloid formation and storage, in one case suggesting the intercellular transport of enzymes. The localization of enzymes to numerous cellular compartments shows the importance of protein targeting in the assembly of alkaloid pathways. Recent studies have also pointed to the possible interaction of biosynthetic enzymes in multi-enzyme complexes. These processes must be considered to be integral components of the mechanisms that regulate alkaloid biosynthesis and perhaps other natural product pathways.     

Enzymatic oxidations in the biosynthesis of complex alkaloids

The biosynthesis of complex alkaloids in plants involves enzymes that, due to high substrate specificity, appear to have evolved solely for a role in secondary metabolism. At least one class of these enzymes, the oxidoreductases, catalyze transformations that are in some cases difficult to chemically mimick with an equivalent stereo- or regiospecificity and yield. Oxidoreductases are frequently catalyzing reactions that result in the formation of parent ring systems, thereby determining the class of alkaloid that a plant will produce. The oxidoreductases of alkaloid formation are a potential target for the biotechnological exploitation of medicinal plants in that they could be used for biomimetic syntheses of alkaloids. Analyzing the molecular genetics of alkaloid biosynthetic oxidations is requisite to eventual commercial application of these enzymes. To this end, a wealth of knowledge has been gained on the biochemistry of select monoterpenoid indole and isoquinoline biosynthetic pathways, and in recent years this has been complemented by molecular genetic analyses. As the nucleotide sequences of the oxidases of alkaloid synthesis become known, consensus sequences specific to select classes of enzymes can be identified. These consensus sequences will potentially facilitate the direct cloning of alkaloid biosynthetic genes without the need to purify the native enzyme for partial amino acid sequence determination or for antibody production prior to cDNA isolation. The current state of our knowledge of the biochemistry and molecular genetics of oxidases involved in alkaloid biosynthesis is reviewed herein.     

Selective uptake of pyrrolizidine N-oxides by cell suspension cultures from pyrrolizidine alkaloid producing plants

The N-oxides of pyrrolizidine alkaloids such as senecionine or monocrotaline are rapidly taken up and accumulated by cell suspension cultures obtained from plants known to produce pyrrolizidines, i.e. Senecio vernalis, vulgaris, viscosus (Asteraceae) and Symphytum officinale (Boraginaceae). The transport of the N-oxides into the cells is a specific and selective process. Other alkaloid N-oxides such as sparteine N-oxide are not taken up. Cell cultures from plant species which do not synthesize pyrrolizidine alkaloids are unable to accumulate pyrrolizidine N-oxides. The suitability of the pyrrolizidine N-oxides in alkaloid storage and accumulation is emphasized.     

Localization of the Enzymes of Quinolizidine Alkaloid Biosynthesis in Leaf Chloroplasts of Lupinus polyphyllus

Studies with purified chloroplasts of Lupinus polyphyllus LINDL. leaflets indicate that the first two enzymes of quinolizidine alkaloid biosynthesis, lysine decarboxylase and 17-oxosparteine synthase, are localized in the chloroplast stroma. Thus, both enzymes share the same subcellular compartment as the biosynthetic pathway of lysine, the precursor of quinolizidine alkaloids. The activity of diaminopimelate decarboxylase, the final enzyme in lysine biosynthesis, is about two to three orders of magnitude higher than that of the enzymes of alkaloid formation.     

Response of Drosophila melanogaster to selection for P450-mediated resistance to isoquinoline alkaloids

Several species of columnar cacti in the Sonoran Desert contain isoquinoline alkaloids that are toxic to all but the resident drosophilids that feed and breed in necrotic stems. Cytochrome P450 enzymes are known to be involved in the metabolic detoxification of these alkaloids by the desert Drosophila and are consequently responsible for their ability to utilize these substrates. D. melanogaster is not normally exposed to these xenobiotic compounds and cannot live in necrotic cactus tissue. However, a previous study found evidence of a phenobarbital-inducible P450 in adults of this species that is capable of metabolizing cactus alkaloids. The current investigation sought to determine whether D. melanogaster responds to selection for alkaloid resistance. Significant increases in larval viability and adult longevity as well as shorter larvae-to-adult development times were observed after 16 generations of selection on medium containing isoquinoline alkaloids. The selected lines that exhibited a positive response can now be used to assay for changes in gene regulation as a possible mechanism of their response. This information will contribute to the understanding of evolution of P450-mediated resistance in insects.     

Developmental regulation of benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthesis in opium poppy plants and tissue cultures

Summary Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum L.) contains a number of pharmaceutically important alkaloids of the benzylisoquinoline type including morphine, codeine, papaverine, and sanguinarine. Although these alkaloids accumulate to high concentrations in various organs of the intact plant, only the phytoalexin sanguinarine has been found at significant levels in opium poppy cell cultures. Moreover, even sanguinarine biosynthesis is not constitutive in poppy cell suspension cultures, but is typically induced only after treatment with a funga-derived elicitor. The absence of appreciable quantities of alkaloids in dedifferentiated opium poppy cell cultures suggests that benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthesis is developmentally regulated and requires the differentiation of specific tissues. In the 40 yr since opium poppy tissues were first culturedin vitro, a number of reports on the redifferentiation of roots and buds from callus have appeared. A requirement for the presence of specialized laticifer cells has been suggested before certain alkaloids, such as morphine and codeine, can accumulate. Laticifers represent a complex internal secretory system in about 15 plant families and appear to have multiple evolutionary origins. Opium poppy laticifers differentiate from procambial cells and undergo articulation and anastomosis to form a continuous network of elements associated with the phloem throughout much of the intact plant. Latex is the combined cytoplasm of fused laticifer vessels, and contains numerous large alkaloid vesicles in which latex-associated poppy alkaloids are sequestered. The formation of alkaloid vesicles, the subcellular compartmentation of alkaloid biosynthesis, and the tissue-specific localization and control of these processes are important unresolved problems in plant cell biology. Alkaloid biosynthesis in opium poppy is an excellent model system to investigate the developmental regulation and cell biology of complex metabolic pathways, and the relationship between metabolic regulation and cell-type specific differentiation. In this review, we summarize the literature on the roles of cellular differentiation and plant development in alkaloid biosynthesis in opium poppy plants and tissue cultures.     

Polyamines and plant alkaloids

Naturally occurring alkaloids are nitrogenous compounds that constitute the pharmacogenically active basic principles of flowering plants. Alkaloids are classified into several biogenically related groups. Tobacco alkaloids are metabolised from polyamines and diamines putrescine and cadaverine. N-methyl transferase is the first enzyme in alkaloid biosynthetic pathway which drives the flow of nitrogen away from polyamine biosynthesis to alkaloid biosynthesis. Arginine decarboxylase has been suggested to be primarily responsible for providing putrescine for nicotine synthesis. Tryptophan is the precursor of indole alkaloids. However, the biosynthetic pathway of tropane and isoquinoline alkaloids are not clear. Genes for several key biosynthetic enzymes like arginine decarboxylase, ornithine decarboxylase, putrescine N-methyl transferase and spermidine synthase, hyoscyamine 6 beta hydroxylase,tryptophan decarboxylase etc have been cloned from different plant species. These genes are regulated by plant hormones, light, different kinds of stress and elicitors like jasmonates and their strong expression is primarily in the cultured roots. In view of this, the axenic hairy root cultures induced by Agrobacterium rhizogenes have been utilised to synthesise secondary metabolites. The current development in the knowledge of alkaloid biosynthesis, particularly molecular analysis, has been discussed in this review that may help to open up new avenues of investigation for the researchers.     

Characterization of vacuolar transport of the endogenous alkaloid berberine in Coptis japonica

Alkaloids comprise one of the largest groups of plant secondary metabolites. Many of them exhibit strong biological activities, and, in most cases, they are accumulated in the central vacuole of alkaloid-producing plants after synthesis. However, the mechanisms involved in alkaloid transport across the tonoplast are only poorly understood. In this study, we analyzed the vacuolar transport mechanism of an isoquinoline alkaloid, berberine, which is produced and accumulated in the vacuole of cultured cells of Coptis japonica. The characterization of berberine transport using intact vacuoles and a tonoplast vesicle system showed that berberine uptake was stimulated by Mg/ATP, as well as GTP, CTP, UTP, and Mg/pyrophosphate. Berberine uptake was strongly inhibited by NH4(+) and bafilomycin A1, while vanadate, which is commonly used to inhibit ATP-binding cassette transporters, had only a slight effect, which suggests the presence of a typical secondary transport mechanism. This is contrary to the situation in the plasma membrane of this plant cell, where the ATP-binding cassette transporter is involved in berberine transport. Model experiments with liposomes demonstrated that an ion-trap mechanism was hardly implicated in berberine transport. Further studies suggested that berberine was transported across the tonoplast via an H+/berberine antiporter, which has a Km value of 43.7 microM for berberine. Competition experiments using various berberine analogs, as well as other classes of alkaloids, revealed that this transporter is fairly specific, but not exclusive, for berberine.     

A highly selective alkaloid uptake system in vacuoles of higher plants

Vacuoles were isolated from different plant cell cultures and the transport mechanism for alkaloid uptake at the tonoplast membrane, as well as the compartmentation of enzymes and products inside the cells were investigated. While serpentine, the major alkaloid of Catharanthus roseus cells, is definitely located inside the vacuole, two key enzymes of the indole-alkaloid pathway, strictosidine synthase and a specific glucosidase, are located in the cytosol. Transport of alkaloids across the tonoplast into the vacuolar space has been characterized as an active, engergy-requiring mechanism, which is sensitive to the temperature and pH of the surrounding medium, stimulated by K⁺ and Mg²⁺, and inhibited by N,N-dicyclohexylcarbodiimid and Cu²⁺. The alkaloids accumulate inside the vacuoles against a concentration gradient, and the uptake system is specific for alkaloids indigenous to the plant from which the vacuoles have been isolated.Abbreviation DCCD N,N-dicyclohexylcarbodiimid Dedicated to Professor Dr. Hubert Ziegler on the occasion of his 60th birthday