南方红豆杉枝叶中6种紫杉烷类化合物含量季节变化

紫杉醇(taxol)是主要来源于红豆杉属植物的一种天然抗肿瘤药物,紫杉烷(taxane)是紫杉醇的代谢前体或支路代谢产物,同样具有开发成为抗肿瘤新药的潜质。本文采用高效液相色谱法研究了紫杉醇(Taxol)、10-去乙酰巴卡亭Ⅲ(10-DAB)、7-木-10-去乙酰紫杉醇(7-xyl-10-DAT)、10-去乙酰紫杉醇(10-DAT)、三尖杉宁碱(CE)和7-表-10-去乙酰紫杉醇(7-epi-10-DAT)6种紫杉烷类化合物在南方红豆杉枝叶中含量的季节变化,结果显示Taxol和10-DAT在8、9月份含量最低,10-DAB和7-xyl-10-DAT在8、9月份含量相对最高,Taxol含量季节变化和10-DAB呈负相关,与CE呈显著正相关。7-xyl-10-DAT含量季节变化和10-DAB、10-DAT分别呈正相关。本文为研究南方红豆杉中紫杉醇及相关紫杉烷的代谢、积累规律提供了依据,不但有助于阐明紫杉醇的生物合成的关键步骤及调控的生理机制,而且对红豆杉资源的深度开发具有指导意义。     

Effects of amino acids, nitrate, and ammonium on the growth and taxol production in cell cultures of Taxus yunnanensis

The effects of concentration of amino acids, nitrate, and ammonium on the growth and taxol production in cultures of cell line TY-21 of Taxus yunnanensis were investigated. Addition of 20 different amino acids each at 15–20 mg l^–1 to B5 medium significantly improved callus growth but inhibited taxol formation in the cultures. The optimum nitrate concentration was 20–30 mM for both growth and taxol production. Ammonium greatly suppressed growth but strongly promoted taxol formation in the cells when it was the sole inorganic nitrogen in the medium. Culturing the suspension cells in nitrate-containing medium for 15 days and then in a medium in which ammonium was the sole inorganic nitrogen for 7 days increased taxol yield by 104%, reaching up to 28.1 mg l^–1.     

Expression of recombinant alpha and beta tubulins from the yew Taxus cuspidata and analysis of the microtubule assembly in the presence of taxol

Taxol was originally isolated from the yew Taxus brevifolia. Because taxol inhibits the depolymerization of microtubules, the presence of a self-resistance mechanism in Taxus spp. was hypothesized. The cloning of the cDNA for alpha and beta tubulins from Taxus cuspidata and those from the human embryonic kidney cell line HEK293T revealed that the ²⁶Asp, ³⁵⁹Arg, and ³⁶¹Leu residues in the human beta tubulin, which are important for taxol binding, were replaced with Glu, Trp, and Met in the beta tubulin of T. cuspidata, respectively. The microtubule assembly of the recombinant alpha and beta tubulins was monitored turbidimetrically, and the results clearly demonstrated that the microtubule from T. cuspidata is less sensitive to taxol than that from HEK293T cells. The Taxus microtubule composed of the wild-type alpha tubulin and the beta tubulin with the E26D mutation restored the sensitivity to taxol. We thus postulated that the mutation identified in the beta tubulin of T. cuspidata plays a role in the self-resistance of this species against taxol.     

Taxol from fungal endophytes and the issue of biodiversity

Fungi represent one of the most understudied and diverse group of organisms. Commonly, these organisms make associations with higher life forms and may proceed to biochemically mimic the host organism. An excellent example of this is the anticancer drug, taxol, which had been previously supposed to occur only in the plant genusTaxus (yew). However, taxol has been reported in a novel endophytic fungus—Taxomyces andreanae, but also has been demonstrated to occur in a number of unrelated fungal endophytes includingPestalotia, Pestalotiopsis, Fusarium, Alternaria, Pithomyces, Monochaetia and others. Thus, this report presents information on the presence of taxol among disparate fungal genera, and uses these observations as an additional argument to support efforts to study fungal endophytes and preserve their associated host plants.     

穗花杉中不存在紫杉醇的化学及分子生物学证据

穗花杉(Amentotaxus argotaenia(Hance)Pilger)是红豆杉科穗花杉属的一个种。由于穗花杉与红豆杉属植物具有较近的亲缘关系,有研究者认为穗花杉也可以合成紫杉醇,并利用HPLC法测到其含有紫杉醇。但这仅仅是依靠HPLC中出峰时间来判断,并没有质谱结果。该研究利用LC-MS对穗花杉茎叶的化学提取物分析结果显示,穗花杉的茎叶中均未发现紫杉醇。为了进一步证明穗花杉不能合成紫杉醇,该研究利用欧洲红豆杉(Taxus baccata L.)紫杉醇生物合成关键基因-紫杉二烯合成酶基因(Taxadiene synthase gene,TbTS)的序列TBLASTN比对穗花杉本地转录组,从中找出并克隆得到与TbTS同源性最高的AarTSL1基因;利用原核表达分析AarTSL1基因的编码蛋白,结果发现该基因不具有紫杉二烯合成酶编码基因的功能。该研究从化学和生物学两个方面均证明穗花杉无法合成紫杉醇,为以后通过植物学和化学分类学等研究穗花杉的分类学地位提供了新的有用信息。     

Effects of paclitaxel-producing fungal endophytes on growth and paclitaxel formation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Taxus cuspidata</Emphasis> cells

Effects of a fungal endophyte, Fusarium mairei, on growth and paclitaxel formation of Taxus cuspidata cells were investigated by adding fungal endophyte culture supernatant (FECS) to suspension cultures of T. cuspidata cells. The main effective chemical responsible for paclitaxel formation in FECS was an exopolysaccharide (EPS) of molecular weight ~2 kDa. FECS fractions except EPS stimulated growth of Taxus cells but had no effects on paclitaxel accumulation. Additionally, elicitation efficiency of FECS based on different culture conditions was studied. EPS content in FECS was related to FECS culture conditions. FECS with long cultivation and high-aeration cultivation contained higher EPS content and resulted in higher paclitaxel yield than that with short cultivation and low-aeration cultivation. The maximum yield of paclitaxel from Taxus cultures, elicited by FECS with 9-day cultivation, was 4.7-fold that of the control cultures.     

Yew (Taxus x media Rehd.) cell suspension cultures as a source of taxanes

Natural resources of paclitaxel, an effective anticancer compound, were threatened with extinction soon after the discovery of this valuable substance. Cell suspension cultures derived from different Taxus species have rapidly become an alternative source of paclitaxel and other taxanes. In this paper we provide some insight into cell growth characteristics in cell suspension culture of Taxus x media cv. Hicksii, with emphasis on the effects of jasmonic acid (JA) on taxane production in cell lines with different initial taxane content. Additionally cell growth characteristics of two cell lines was followed during cultivation of cell suspension culture of Taxus x media cv. Hicksii. Packed cell volume (PCV) was shown to be a reliable and efficient alternative for measuring cell growth instead of fresh and dry weight. The initial total taxane content was screened in a number of cell lines, followed by observing the effect of JA on cell mass and total taxane production of selected lines. We showed a great variability in initial taxane content in different cell lines, which decreased during cell suspension maintenance. JA was shown to inhibit cell growth and increase total taxane production (14 to 106 fold).     

红豆杉高产悬浮细胞系建立及其紫杉醇诱导的研究进展

紫杉醇是一种四环二萜酰胺类化合物,是从红豆杉科红豆杉属植物中提取分离出来的次生代谢物,是世界公认广谱、活性强的天然抗癌新药。但直接从植物中提取紫杉醇的传统生产方式,不仅产量低,且会对野生红豆杉资源造成严重破坏,同时紫杉醇的化学全合成也由于其结构复杂而不具备商业价值。与之相反,细胞培养技术具有受外界影响少、生产成本低、次生代谢产物多、细胞生长周期短的优势,是目前最具前景的紫杉醇生产方式。近年来随着科研水平的不断提升,紫杉醇无论在生理代谢调控、关键基因挖掘,还是新药物制剂与剂型及其类似物的开发和运用等方面,都取得了进展,但要建立紫杉醇商业化高产体系,还必须和前人的研究经验相结合。该文对红豆杉高产悬浮细胞系建立及其紫杉醇诱导的研究进展进行了综述,主要包括前人对红豆杉属植物组织与细胞培养相关的外植体、培养基、激素、培养条件、褐化等问题的研究,以及从代谢调节、培养方式、基因工程等多方面提高紫杉醇含量的最新进展,最后总结了当前研究的不足,并对今后通过多种组合方式来提高紫杉醇含量的生产途径进行了展望。以期促进红豆杉组织培养技术的进步,为药用资源保护和利用提供一定的理论基础与生产指导。     

Rodent seed predation promotes differential recruitment among bird-dispersed trees in temperate secondary forests

We investigated the role of seed predation by rodents in the recruitment of the fleshy-fruited trees Taxus baccata, Ilex aquifolium and Crataegus monogyna in temperate secondary forests in NW Spain. We measured the densities of dispersed seeds, early emerged seedlings, established recruits and adults, at four sites over a period of 2 years. Seed predation among species was compared by seed removal experiments and analysis of rodent larder-hoards. The three species differed markedly in local regeneration patterns. The rank order in the seed rain following decreasing seed density was Ilex, Taxus and Crataegus. However, Crataegus established 3.3 times more seedlings than Taxus. For all species, there was a positive linear relationship between the density of emerged seedlings and seed density, suggesting that recruitment was seed- rather than microsite-limited. A consistent pattern of seed selection among species was exerted by rodents, which preferred Taxus and, secondarily, Ilex seeds to Crataegus seeds. Predation ranking was the inverse of that of seed protection against predators, measured as the mass of woody coat per mass unit of the edible fraction. Recruitment potential, evaluated as the ratio of seedlings to seeds, was negatively related to seed predation, with the rank order Crataegus > Ilex > Taxus. The selective early recruitment limitation exerted by predation may have a demographic effect in the long term, as judged by the positive relationship between early seedling emergence and the density of established recruits. By modulating the pre-emptive competition for seed safe sites, rodents may preclude the progressive exclusion of species that produce low numbers of seeds (i.e. Crataegus) by those dominant in seed number (i.e. Ilex, Taxus), or at least foster the evenness for site occupation among seedlings of different species.     

A rational approach to improving the biotechnological production of taxanes in plant cell cultures of Taxus spp.

Taxol is a complex diterpene alkaloid scarcely produced in nature and with a high anticancer activity. Biotechnological systems for taxol production based on cell cultures of Taxus spp. have been developed, but the growing commercial demand for taxol and its precursors requires the optimization of these procedures. In order to increase the biotechnological production of taxol and related taxanes in Taxus spp. cell cultures, it is necessary not only to take an empirical approach that strives to optimize in-put factors (cell line selection, culture conditions, elicitation, up-scaling, etc.) and out-put factors (growth, production, yields, etc.), but also to carry out molecular biological studies. The latter can provide valuable insight into how the enhancement of taxane biosynthesis and accumulation affects metabolic profiles and gene expression in Taxus spp. cell cultures.     

Paclitaxel production using co-culture of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Taxus</Emphasis> suspension cells and paclitaxel-producing endophytic fungi in a co-bioreactor

The co-culture of the suspension cells of Taxus chinensis var. mairei and its endophytic fungi, Fusarium mairei, in a 20-L co-bioreactor was successfully established for paclitaxel production. The co-bioreactor consists of two-unit tanks (10 L each) with a repairable separate membrane in the center, culturing Taxus suspension cells in one tank and growing fungi in another. By optimizing the co-culture conditions, there was a desirable yield of paclitaxel in Taxus cell cultures. The Taxus cell cultures by co-culture produced 25.63 mg/L of paclitaxel within 15 days; it was equivalent to a productivity of 1.71 mg/L per day and 38-fold higher than that by uncoupled culture (0.68 mg/L within 15 days). The optimum conditions for co-culture in the co-bioreactor were: B5 medium, inoculating fungi when Taxus cells had grown for 5 days in the co-bioreactor, hydrophilic separate membrane in the center of the co-bioreactor, and air flow rate of 1:0.85 v/v/m in fungus cultures.     

Flow cytometric analysis of protein content in Taxus protoplasts and single cells as compared to aggregated suspension cultures

Plant suspension cultures are highly aggregated, preventing the direct application of flow cytometry for the study of population dynamics. The utility of single cells to accurately represent aggregated suspension cultures was tested through the analysis of total protein content. Specifically, protein content of two Taxus cuspidata suspension culture lines was studied using the Bradford assay for aggregated suspension cultures, and flow cytometry with fluorescein isothiocyanate staining for protoplasts and single cells. Taxus protein levels were measured at 75–160 mg per gram dry weight via the Bradford assay. Aggregated suspension cultures, protoplasts, and single cells predicted the same trend of protein content over the culture period (21 days). Normalized protein content of isolated single cells was statistically equivalent to aggregated suspensions for both cell lines. However, normalized protein content of isolated protoplasts showed significant differences from aggregated suspensions for one of the two cell lines. Elicitation with methyl jasmonate (MJ) is commonly utilized to increase paclitaxel accumulation in suspension cultures, and therefore the effect of MJ elicitation on protein content in aggregated suspensions, isolated single cells and protoplasts was assessed. Aggregated suspension cultures, protoplasts, and single cells did not show any change in total protein content following elicitation with MJ at 200 M on day 7. This study illustrates the usefulness of flow cytometry for obtaining culture population information and the value of using intact single cells for the study of plant metabolism.     

Chemical Components,Biological Activities,and Toxicological Evaluation of the Fruit (Aril) of Two Precious Plant Species from Genus Taxus

The fruit (aril) of the endangered genus Taxus plants is an abandoned herbal resource. Traditionally, people enthusiastically focus on its bark, its renewable, tremendous arils fall into the soil with seeds after they are mature. The present research investigated the fruit of two species from the genus Taxus, Taxus chinensis var. mairei, and Taxus media, with regards to their antioxidant and antihyperglycaemic activities, safety, and bioactive constituents. Results showed that T. chinensis var. mairei and T. media both had certain biological activities with T. chinensis var. mairei better in antioxidant activity and T. media better in antihyperglycaemic activity. Correlation analysis revealed that the differences in bioactivities depended on content of their mainly chemical components. The mice acute oral toxicity test indicated that the methanol extracts of the two biotypes of Taxus were safe. And nineteen compounds were tentatively assigned from the two varieties, via tandem mass spectrometry using a LC‐ESI‐Q‐TOF‐MS instrument, which included phenols, flavonoids, and terpenes. These results indicate a possible application of Taxus fruit extracts in various fields like in food industry, however, this still needs further investigations.     

Production of taxol and related taxanes in Taxus brevifolia cell cultures: Effect of sugar

Summary Suspension cells of Taxus brevifolia were cultured as an alternative source of taxol and related taxanes. The effects of basal medium, sugar type, and sugar concentration on growth and taxane production were investigated. To induce taxol production, modification of medium composition was necessary. Fructose supported the best taxol yield and the use of high concentration of sugar was desirable. The maximum level of taxol obtained after 10 days of culture in an optimized condition was 1.43 mg/L, which was 0.013% as a specific content.     

Translocation of isopentenyl pyrophosphate for Taxol biosynthesis in suspension cultures of Taxus chinensis var. mairei

Two inhibitors of metabolite translocators, sodium pyrophosphate (NaPP) and D,L-glyceraldehyde (DLG), respectively, were added into suspension cultures of Taxus chinensis var. mairei at the early and late growth phases to investigate the translocation of isopentenyl pyrophosphate (IPP) from cytoplasm to plastids for Taxol biosynthesis. NaPP and DLG hardly affected cell biomass and viability regardless of the phases of their introduction. The Taxol content varied less when NaPP or DLG was added at day 7 but decreased obviously when NaPP or DLG was introduced at day 14. It is thus inferred that NaPP and DLG inhibited Taxol biosynthesis by blocking IPP translocation at the late growth phase, suggesting that the translocation of IPP be involved only at the late growth phase of Taxus cells.     

High-performance liquid chromatography and micellar electrokinetic chromatography of taxol and related taxanes from bark and needle extracts of Taxus species

High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) were applied for the separation of taxol, cephalomannine, and baccatin III in crude extracts from the needle and bark of Taxus species. The chromatogram of the bark extract was cleaner than that of the needle allowing a more reliable detection of taxol and cephalomannine in the bark extract. However, HPLC quantitation of taxol in the needle extract would be difficult due to coeluting taxinines. Nevertheless, this was not a problem in the MEKC experiment. In comparison to HPLC, MEKC offered baseline resolution of taxol from taxinines in the needle extract, less solvent waste, a smaller sample requirement, and the simultaneous detection of taxol, cephalomannine and baccatin III in a relatively simpler electrophoretic run.     

Efficacy of seed-based media for the mould-yeast conversion of Blastomyces dermatitidis

The efficacy of 20 seed-based media is reported for the in vitro mould-yeast conversion of Blastomyces dermatitidis, employing pharmamedia agar, peptone glucose agar, glucose agar and water agar as controls. The mould-yeast conversion varied significantly according to the culture medium, fungal strains and incubation period (p<0.01). Garden-pea, chick-pea, cow-pea, soyabean, peanut, green gram, French bean, lentil, okra and cottonseed converted all of the 7 B. dermatitidis test strains after 5 days of incubation at 37 ° C. Although the efficacy of many of these seed media was found to be at par with pharmamedia agar — a commercial cottonseed embryo-derived protein, garden-pea seed agar is adopted because of the wider availability and low fat content of this seed. The recommended composition of the medium comprises 2% aqueous seed extract, 2% glucose and pH 6–7. Only nigerseed and sunflower seeds failed to support the conversion of B. dermatitidis. Of the control media, peptone glucose agar, glucose agar and water agar did not support the conversion of 2 of the B. dermatitidis test strains. The mechanism underlying variable mould-yeast conversion of B. dermatitidis on seed-based media is not clearly understood. However, most of the seeds supporting excellent mould-yeast conversion are known for their high protein content. The conversion was apparently not affected by the fat content of the seeds or by incorporation of glucose in the medium.     

Screening of taxol-producing endophytic fungi from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Taxus chinensis</Emphasis> var. <Emphasis Type="Italic">mairei</Emphasis>

A total of 38 endophytic fungus strains were isolated from Taxus chinensis var. mairei by the aseptic technique. Genomic DNA was extracted from isolated endophytic fungi and subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis for the presence of the Taxus taxadiene synthase (TS) gene, a rate-limiting enzyme gene in the taxol biosynthetic pathway. Twelve out of 38 isolated endophytic fungus strains showed PCR positive for the ts gene. Subsequently, taxol and its related compounds were extracted from culture filtrates and mycelia of the PCR positive strains, separated by column chromatography, and analyzed by High Performance Liquid Chromatography and Mass Spectrum. The analysis result showed that 3 strains could produce taxol and its related compounds at the detectible level. This study indicates that molecular detection of the ts gene is an efficient method for primary screening of taxol or its related compound-producing endophytic fungi, which can improve prominently screening efficiency. Published in Russian in Prikladnaya Biokhimiya i Mikrobiologiya, 2007, Vol. 43, No. 4, pp. 490–494. The text was submitted by the authors in English.