植物萜类合酶研究进展

随着植物中许多有价值的萜类化合物被发现和应用于人类生活,萜类生物合成途径的研究倍受重视。萜类合酶催化单萜、倍半萜和二萜生物合成,即分别催化GPP、FPP和GGPP形成单萜、倍半萜和二萜。本文叙述了近年来在植物萜类合酶催化机理、克隆策略和萜类生物工程的研究进展。     

海绵的生理活性代谢产物—萜类的研究进展

海绵中含有多种多样的萜类化合物,包括单萜、倍半萜、二萜、二倍半萜和三萜。其中,倍半萜和二萜最为丰富。这些次生代谢物大部分具有强烈的生理活性。本文介绍近年来这一领域的研究进展。     

植物萜类生物合成中的后修饰酶

萜类化合物由于其结构类型丰富多样而被称为"terpenome".除了参与植物生长发育、环境应答等生理过程,萜类化合物还应用于医药、有机化工等领域.萜类的生物合成大致可分为前体形成、骨架构建以及后修饰三部分,基本骨架通常由萜类合酶催化形成,进一步在后修饰酶的作用下产生数以万计的萜类化合物.结合我们对香茶菜二萜生物合成的初步研究结果,本文主要针对近年来植物萜类生物合成中的一些有代表性的后修饰酶包括P450单氧酶、双键还原酶、酰基转移酶和糖基转移酶,进行研究现状分析与展望.     

遮阴对柠檬香茅中萜类化合物及其合成酶基因影响研究

为获取柠檬香茅(Cymbopogon citratus)中萜类化合物及其合成酶基因信息,以正常生长及遮阴下的柠檬香茅嫩叶为材料,进行代谢组学和转录组学结合q RT-PCR验证分析。代谢组分析结果表明,柠檬香茅所含萜类共23种,包括单萜4种、倍半萜4种、二萜8种、三萜3种和四萜4种。在遮阴下,柠檬香茅的二萜类银杏内酯C和四萜类虾青素相对含量更高。转录组测序结果表明,单萜生物合成涉及4类合成酶的24个基因,二萜生物合成涉及11类合成酶的49个基因,倍半萜和三萜生物合成涉及12类合成酶的58个基因,其中6类合成酶的8个基因在遮阴下的相对表达量显著提高,而前萘二烯加氧酶(c64786.0)基因正好相反。q RT-PCR分析表明,遮阴下4个FPKM值差异明显的萜类合成酶基因表达的变化趋势与转录组测序结果一致,但不同合成酶基因的差异表达量存在差异。因此,柠檬香茅所含4类共23种萜类化合物由27类合成酶共131个基因编码而来,不同光照强度影响9个合成酶基因的表达和2种萜类化合物含量。     

植物次生代谢的分子生物学及基因工程

植物次生代谢是植物对环境的一种应用,是植物主要的防卸机制之一。植物次生代谢物为人类提供了丰富的药物、香料等资源。近年来植物次生代谢途径关键酶的基因克隆和分子调控的研究成为热点。黄酮类生物合成分子生物学研究最为深入。在异戊二烯途径中,萜类合成酶已从４种植物中克隆,包括单萜,倍半萜和二萜合成酶,这些将对农业与医药产生重要影响。     

细菌中倍半萜生物合成的研究进展

萜类化合物是一大类小分子天然产物,在生物体内扮演重要的角色。植物和真菌中萜类化合物的生物合成已被广泛研究,但是在真核生物中克隆或改造萜类化合物生物合成途径还有较大难度。许多细菌同样可以产生萜类化合物。在过去十多年间细菌萜类合酶的研究进展为我们对萜类化合物生物合成的理解做出了显著的贡献。这里我们主要关注细菌中合成的倍半萜化合物,概述其化学结构、倍半萜合酶对法尼基焦磷酸环化的机制、后修饰酶特别是氧化还原酶所参与的后修饰、代谢调控以及合成途径中尚未解决的问题等。     

海洋卤代萜类的研究进展

萜类是海洋天然产物中最多的化合物,相当多的海洋萜类中含有卤素,这些卤代萜类大多是结构新颖、生理功能独特的生物活性物质。本文从国内外关于海洋萜类文献上搜集了有关海洋含卤萜类物质75种,并从其来源、结构类型及生物活性几方面进行了综述。这些化合物主要来源于海藻、海兔、海绵以及软珊瑚等海洋生物体。结构类型主要是倍半萜、二萜、单萜,三萜很少。大多含卤萜类具有细胞毒性,抗病毒、抗肿瘤及抗癌活性。     

植物来源的二萜化合物的生物合成研究

二萜化合物广泛地存在于动物、植物和微生物中。由于其化学结构多样性和良好的生物活性,越来越多的二萜类化合物作为药物走进大众的视野,并受到越来越多的科学工作者的关注。绝大多数的二萜化合物来源于植物,但是随着植物药材的长期开发,野生植物药材资源日益减少,人工种植植物药材品质日渐退化,而揭示其中关键活性成分的生物合成机制,以合成生物学的策略改造的微生物作为"细胞工厂",是解决上述问题的重要手段。该文主要以二萜合酶为线索,概述了植物来源的二萜类化合物的生物合成研究进展,探究二萜化合物结构的多样性及其生物合成研究的前景和发展趋势。     

谷氨酸棒状杆菌异源合成萜类化合物的研究进展

萜类化合物具有可观的商业价值,但生产过程复杂,产量低,利用微生物异源合成萜类化合物已成为热点。谷氨酸棒状杆菌内含合成萜类色素的途径,具有异源合成萜类化合物的天然优势和研究前景。首次对谷氨酸棒状杆菌合成萜类化合物进行了综述,从萜类合成途径、关键酶和全局调控机制三个方面进行了途经介绍。概述了谷氨酸棒状杆菌中单萜、倍半萜、四萜类化合物的异源合成,并对利用谷氨酸棒状杆菌高效合成萜类化合物所需解决的问题进行讨论,为谷氨酸棒状杆菌高效合成萜类化合物提供建议。     

真菌二萜环化酶的研究进展

二萜类化合物广泛存在于植物和真菌中,是一类具有重要商业价值的天然产物。二萜环化酶作为催化牻牛儿牻牛儿焦磷酸(geranylgeranyl diphosphate,GGPP)形成二萜的关键生物合成酶,在不同生物中的特异性决定了二萜化合物的结构多样性和生物活性多样性。对不同物种中二萜环化酶基因的分离、克隆和表达特征的分析有利于二萜类化合物的生物合成及调控研究。相比植物,真菌二萜化合物和二萜环化酶的研究刚刚起步。本文综述了近几年真菌二萜环化酶的研究进展,重点叙述了真菌二萜化合物的生物合成途径、二萜环化酶的特征及其克隆策略,并对二萜环化酶的代谢工程作了简要概述。     

Induction of terpene biosynthesis in dinoflagellate symbionts of Caribbean gorgonians

This report describes a series of experiments designed to determine if terpene biosynthesis is inducible in two families of marine terpenes, pseudopterosins from the gorgonian coral Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae and fuscol from Eunicea fusca. Since we have recently shown that terpene biosynthesis is not under the control of the invertebrate host, but rather occurs within a dinoflagellate preparation, we examined the terpene content of the dinoflagellate symbiont following a decrease in UV/vis radiation as well as in response to the addition of methyl jasmonate, salicylic acid and gibberellic acid. We demonstrated that pseudopterosin and fuscol biosynthesis can be markedly increased through the addition of the plant bioactive substances. We also demonstrated that, while the terpene content of P. elisabethae increases in response to decreased UV/vis light, this is due primarily to an increase in the concentration of the dinoflagellate rather than simply an induction of terpene biosynthesis.     

Isolation and characterization of terpene synthases in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum)

Cotton plants accumulate gossypol and related sesquiterpene aldehydes, which function as phytoalexins against pathogens and feeding deterrents to herbivorous insects. However, to date little is known about the biosynthesis of volatile terpenes in this crop. Herein is reported that 5 monoterpenes and 11 sesquiterpenes from extracts of a glanded cotton cultivar, Gossypium hirsutum cv. CCRI12, were detected by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). By EST data mining combined with Rapid Amplification of cDNA Ends (RACE), full-length cDNAs of three terpene synthases (TPSs), GhTPS1, GhTPS2 and GhTPS3 were isolated. By in vitro assays of the recombinant proteins, it was found that GhTPS1 and GhTPS2 are sesquiterpene synthases: the former converted farnesyl pyrophosphate (FPP) into β-caryophyllene and α-humulene in a ratio of 2:1, whereas the latter produced several sesquiterpenes with guaia-1(10),11-diene as the major product. By contrast, GhTPS3 is a monoterpene synthase, which produced α-pinene, β-pinene, β-phellandrene and trace amounts of other monoterpenes from geranyl pyrophosphate (GPP). The TPS activities were also supported by Virus Induced Gene Silencing (VIGS) in the cotton plant. GhTPS1 and GhTPS3 were highly expressed in the cotton plant overall, whereas GhTPS2 was expressed only in leaves. When stimulated by mechanical wounding, Verticillium dahliae (Vde) elicitor or methyl jasmonate (MeJA), production of terpenes and expression of the corresponding synthase genes were induced. These data demonstrate that the three genes account for the biosynthesis of volatile terpenes of cotton, at least of this Upland cotton.     

Releasing the potential power of terpene synthases by a robust precursor supply platform

Terpenoids represent the largest family of natural products. Their structural diversity is largely due to variable skeletons generated by terpene synthases. However, terpene skeletons found in nature are much more than those generated from known terpene synthases. Most promiscuous terpene synthases (i.e. those that can generate more than one product) have not been comprehensively characterised. Here, we first demonstrated that the promiscuous terpene synthases can produce more variable terpenoids in vivo by converting precursor polyisoprenoid diphosphates of different lengths (C₁₀, C₁₅, C₂₀, C₂₅). To release the synthetic potential of these enzymes, we integrated the engineered MVA pathway, combinatorial biosynthesis, and point mutagenesis to depict the comprehensive product profiles. In total, eight new terpenoids were characterised by NMR and three new skeletons were revealed. This work highlights the key role of metabolic engineering for natural product discovery.     

Intensive sampling identifies previously unknown chemotypes,population divergence and biosynthetic connections among terpenoids in Eucalyptus tricarpa

Australian members of the Myrtaceae produce large quantities of ecologically and economically important terpenes and display abundant diversity in both yield and composition of their oils. In a survey of the concentrations of leaf terpenes in Eucalyptus tricarpa (L.A.S. Johnson) L.A.S. Johnson & K.D. Hill, which were previously known from few samples, exceptional variability was found in composition. The aim was to characterize the patterns of variation and covariation among terpene components in this species and to use this information to enhance our understanding of their biosynthesis. There were marked discontinuities in the distributions of numerous compounds, including the overall proportions of mono- and sesquiterpenes, leading us to delineate three distinct chemotypes. Overall, positive covariation predominated, but negative covariation suggested competitive interactions involved in monoterpene synthesis. Two groups of covarying monoterpenes were found, each of which was positively correlated with a group of sesquiterpenes and negatively correlated with the alternate sesquiterpene group. These results imply substantial cross-talk between mono- and sesquiterpene biosynthesis pathways. However, only those compounds hypothesized to share final carbocation intermediates or post-processing steps were strongly positively correlated within chemotypes. This suggests that the broader patterns of covariation among groups of compounds may result from co-regulation of multiple biosynthetic genes, controlling the complex terpene profiles of the chemotypes of Eucalyptus.     

The diverse sesquiterpene profile of patchouli, Pogostemon cablin, is correlated with a limited number of sesquiterpene synthases

Pogostemon cablin (patchouli), like many plants within the Lamiaceae, accumulates large amounts of essential oil. Patchouli oil is unique because it consists of over 24 different sesquiterpenes, rather than a blend of different mono-, sesqui- and di-terpene compounds. To determine if this complex mixture of sesquiterpenes arises from an equal number of unique sesquiterpene synthases, we developed a RT-PCR strategy to isolate and functionally characterize the respective patchouli oil synthase genes. Unexpectedly, only five terpene synthase cDNA genes were isolated. Four of the cDNAs encode for synthases catalyzing the biosynthesis of one major sesquiterpene, including a gamma-curcumene synthase, two germacrene D synthases, and a germacrene A synthase. The fifth cDNA encodes for a patchoulol synthase, which catalyzes the conversion of FPP to patchoulol plus at least 13 additional sesquiterpene products. Equally intriguing, the yield of the different in vitro reaction products resembles quantitatively and qualitatively the profile of sesquiterpenes found in patchouli oil extracted from plants, suggesting that a single terpene synthase is responsible for the bulk and diversity of terpene products produced in planta.     

The Effect of Bleaching on the Terpene Chemistry of Plexaurella fusifera: Evidence that Zooxanthellae Are Not Responsible for Sesquiterpene Production

The close association between marine invertebrates, zooxanthellae, and numerous bacteria gives rise to the question of the identity of the actual producer of secondary metabolites. In fall of 2005, a widespread bleaching event occurred throughout the Caribbean Sea in which some colonies of the gorgonian coral Plexaurella fusifera bleached. This study investigated whether zooxanthellae play a key role in the biosynthesis of secondary metabolite terpenes from P. fusifera. The extent of bleaching was examined by chlorophyll A analysis and also by zooxanthellae isolation and cell counting. The bleached and unbleached colonies were found to contain similar concentrations of eremophilene as the major terpene, and both exhibited similar biosynthetic capability as evaluated by the transformation of [C(1)-(3)H]-farnesyl diphosphate to the sesquiterpenes. Differences in bacterial communities between the bleached and unbleached colonies were analyzed using molecular techniques, and preliminary indications are that unbleached and bleached corals are dominated by low G + C firmicutes and gammaproteobacteria, respectively. It therefore appears that terpene biosynthesis can proceed independently of the zooxanthellae in P. fusifera, suggesting that the coral or a bacterium is the biosynthetic source.     

盐胁迫条件下玉米萜类合成相关基因的表达分析

萜类是植物生长发育中具有重要作用的次级代谢产物,某些萜类可被生物和非生物胁迫诱导产生。用200 mmol/L NaCl溶液处理商用玉米品种天塔五号（F1）及其父母本三叶期幼苗,qRT-PCR结果发现萜类合成途径中的萜烯合酶基因2（terpene synthase 2, TPS2）、萜烯合酶基因3（terpene synthase 3, TPS3）、牻牛儿基牻牛儿基焦磷酸合成酶基因4（geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase 4, GGPS4）在三组材料中表达量随胁迫时间延长均先上调再下调,且F1表达量显著高于亲本。F1自交F2代耐盐性及基因表达情况分析表明,F2代中三个基因表达仍与耐盐性呈正相关。对盐胁迫条件下总类胡萝卜素及各成分含量、生物量、光合指标、叶绿素和脯氨酸含量进行测定,发现F1耐盐能力明显优于亲本,表明 TPS2、TPS3、GGPS4 基因高水平表达与F1发挥耐盐优势、抵御逆境胁迫有一定相关性。