Molecular characterization of berberine bridge enzyme genes from opium poppy.

In Papaver somniferum (opium poppy) and related species, (S)-reticuline serves as a branch-point intermediate in the biosynthesis of numerous isoquinoline alkaloids. The berberine bridge enzyme (BBE) ([S]-reticuline:oxygen oxidoreductase [methylene bridge forming], EC 1.5.3.9) catalyzes the stereospecific conversion of the N-methyl moiety of (S)-reticuline into the berberine bridge carbon of (S)-scoulerine and represents the first committed step in the pathway leading to the antimicrobial alkaloid sanguinarine. Three unique genomic clones (bbe1, bbe2, and bbe3) similar to a BBE cDNA from Eschscholtzia californica (California poppy) were isolated from opium poppy. Two clones (bbe2 and bbe3) contained frame-shift mutations of which bbe2 was identified as a putative, nonexpressed pseudogene by RNA blot hybridization using a gene-specific probe and by the lack of transient expression of a chimeric gene fusion between the bbe2 5' flanking region and a beta-glucuronidase reporter gene. Similarly, bbe1 was shown to be expressed in opium poppy plants and cultured cells. Genomic DNA blot-hybridization data were consistent with a limited number of bbe homologs. RNA blot hybridization showed that bbe genes are expressed in roots and stems of mature plants and in seedlings within 3 d after germination. Rapid and transient BBE mRNA accumulation also occurred after treatment with a fungal elicitor or with methyl jasmonate. However, sanguinarine was found only in roots, seedlings, and fungal elicitor-treated cell cultures.     

Metabolic engineering with a morphine biosynthetic P450 in opium poppy surpasses breeding

Morphine biosynthesis was genetically engineered in an industrial elite line of the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum L.), to modify the production of alkaloids in plants. The cytochrome P-450-dependent monooxygenase (S)-N-methylcoclaurine 3'-hydroxylase (CYP80B3) lies on the pathway to the benzylisoquinoline alkaloid branch point intermediate (S)-reticuline. Overexpression of cyp80b3 cDNA resulted in an up to 450% increase in the amount of total alkaloid in latex. This increase occurred either without changing the ratio of the individual alkaloids, or together with an overall increase in the ratio of morphine. Correspondingly, antisense-cyp80b3 cDNA expressed in opium poppy caused a reduction of total alkaloid in latex up to 84%, suggesting that the observed phenotypes were dependent on the presence of the transgene. This study found compelling evidence, that cyp80b3 is a key regulation step in morphine biosynthesis and provides practical means to genetically engineer valuable secondary metabolites in this important medicinal plant.     

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.     

Quantitative <Superscript>1</Superscript>H NMR metabolomics reveals extensive metabolic reprogramming of primary and secondary metabolism in elicitor-treated opium poppy cell cultures

Background  

Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) produces a diverse array of bioactive benzylisoquinoline alkaloids and has emerged as a model system to study plant alkaloid metabolism. The plant is cultivated as the only commercial source of the narcotic analgesics morphine and codeine, but also produces many other alkaloids including the antimicrobial agent sanguinarine. Modulations in plant secondary metabolism as a result of environmental perturbations are often associated with the altered regulation of other metabolic pathways. As a key component of our functional genomics platform for opium poppy we have used proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR) metabolomics to investigate the interplay between primary and secondary metabolism in cultured opium poppy cells treated with a fungal elicitor.     

Antisense RNA-mediated suppression of benzophenanthridine alkaloid biosynthesis in transgenic cell cultures of California poppy

California poppy (Eschscholzia californica Cham.) cell cultures produce several benzophenanthridine alkaloids, such as sanguinarine, chelirubine, and macarpine, with potent pharmacological activity. Antisense constructs of genes encoding two enzymes involved in benzophenanthridine alkaloid biosynthesis, the berberine bridge enzyme (BBE) and N-methylcoclaurine 3'-hydroxylase (CYP80B1), were introduced separately into California poppy cell cultures. Transformed cell lines expressing antisense BBE or antisense CYP80B1 constructs and displaying low levels of BBE or CYP80B1 mRNAs, respectively, showed reduced accumulation of benzophenanthridine alkaloids compared with control cultures transformed with a beta-glucuronidase gene. Pathway intermediates were not detected in any of the transformed cell lines. The suppression of benzophenanthridine alkaloid biosynthesis using BBE or CYP80B1 antisense RNA constructs also reduced the growth rate of the cultures. Two-dimensional (1)H-nuclear magnetic resonance and in vivo (15)N-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy showed no difference in the abundance of carbohydrate metabolites in the various transgenic cell lines. However, transformed cells with reduced benzophenanthridine alkaloid levels contained larger cellular pools of several amino acids including alanine, leucine, phenylalanine, threonine, and valine compared with controls. The relative abundance of tyrosine, from which benzophenanthridine alkaloids are derived, was less than 2-fold higher in antisense-suppressed cells relative to controls. These results show that alterations in the metabolic flux through benzophenanthridine alkaloid biosynthesis can affect the regulation of amino acid pools. These data provide new insight into the metabolic engineering of benzophenanthridine alkaloid pathways.     

Benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthesis in opium poppy

Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) is one of the world’s oldest medicinal plants and remains the only commercial source for the narcotic analgesics morphine, codeine and semi-synthetic derivatives such as oxycodone and naltrexone. The plant also produces several other benzylisoquinoline alkaloids with potent pharmacological properties including the vasodilator papaverine, the cough suppressant and potential anticancer drug noscapine and the antimicrobial agent sanguinarine. Opium poppy has served as a model system to investigate the biosynthesis of benzylisoquinoline alkaloids in plants. The application of biochemical and functional genomics has resulted in a recent surge in the discovery of biosynthetic genes involved in the formation of major benzylisoquinoline alkaloids in opium poppy. The availability of extensive biochemical genetic tools and information pertaining to benzylisoquinoline alkaloid metabolism is facilitating the study of a wide range of phenomena including the structural biology of novel catalysts, the genomic organization of biosynthetic genes, the cellular and sub-cellular localization of biosynthetic enzymes and a variety of biotechnological applications. In this review, we highlight recent developments and summarize the frontiers of knowledge regarding the biochemistry, cellular biology and biotechnology of benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthesis in opium poppy.     

野生罂粟COR、BBE基因片段融合及其RNAi载体构建

可待因酮还原酶(COR)与小檗碱桥酶(BBE)是吗啡合成代谢途径的关键酶,其活性大小直接影响着吗啡合成途径中生物碱的代谢合成。采用RT-PCR从罂粟幼叶克隆出COR和BBE基因全序列,同源性比较结果显示,它们与GenBank上已报道的COR和BBE基因高度同源。利用blast及分子生物学软件DNAStar对COR和BBE基因的cDNA序列同源性进行分析比较,分别从各基因中筛选和克隆了一段同源性极低、约400～500 bp的片段;并应用重叠PCR法将其拼接成744 bp的融合基因BC,以中间载体pHANNIBAL和植物表达载体pART27为基础,构建了以CaMV 35S启动子驱动的含有“正向BC融合片段- pdk内含子-反向BC融合片段”的ihRNAi植物表达载体,通过转化野生罂粟,初步研究了以COR和BBE基因为靶标的RNAi对内源吗啡合成的抑制效果,为进一步培育低吗啡高蒂巴因的罂粟种质提供了依据。     

Isolation and partial characterization of norcoclaurine synthase, the first committed step in benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthesis, from opium poppy

Norcoclaurine synthase (NCS) catalyzes the condensation of dopamine and 4-hydroxyphenylacetaldehyde (4-HPAA) to yield norcoclaurine, the common precursor to all benzylisoquinoline alkaloids produced in plants. In opium poppy (Papaver somniferum L.), NCS activity was detected in germinating seeds, young seedlings, and all mature plant organs, especially stems and roots. However, the highest levels of activity were found in cell-suspension cultures treated with a fungal elicitor. NCS activity was induced more than 20-fold over an 80-h period in response to elicitor treatment. Compared to opium poppy. basal NCS activity was 3-and 5-fold higher in benzylisoquinoline alkaloid-producing cell cultures of Eschscholzia californica and Thalictrum flavum ssp. glaucum, respectively. In contrast, NCS activity was not detected in cultured cells of Nicotiana tabacum and Catharanthus roseus, which do not produce benzylisoquinoline alkaloids. NCS displayed maximum activity between pH 6.5 and 7.0, and a broad temperature optimum between 42 and 55 degrees C. Enzyme activity was not affected by Ca2+ or Mg2+, and was not inhibited by a variety of benzylisoquinoline alkaloids. NCS showed hyperbolic saturation kinetics for 4-HPAA, with an apparent Km of 1.0 mM. However, the enzyme exhibited sigmoidal saturation kinetics for dopamine with a Hill coefficient of 1.84. NCS enzymes from E. californica and T. flavum displayed similar properties. These data indicate that NCS exhibits positive cooperativity between substrate-binding sites. Enzymes of this type catalyze regulatory, or rate-limiting, steps in metabolism, suggesting that NCS plays a role in controlling the rate of pathway flux in benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthesis.