Unser 10. Leibniz Plant Biochemistry Symposium am 7. und 8. Mai war ein großer Erfolg. Thematisch ging es in diesem Jahr um neue Methoden und Forschungsansätze der Naturstoffchemie. Die exzellenten Vorträge über Wirkstoffe…
Omanische Heilpflanze im Fokus der Phytochemie IPB-Wissenschaftler und Partner aus Dhofar haben jüngst die omanische Heilpflanze Terminalia dhofarica unter die phytochemische Lupe genommen. Die Pflanze ist reich an…
Geschmack ist vorhersagbar: Mit FlavorMiner. FlavorMiner heißt das Tool, das IPB-Chemiker und Partner aus Kolumbien jüngst entwickelt haben. Das Programm kann, basierend auf maschinellem Lernen (KI), anhand der…
Xu, H.; Lybrand, D.; Bennewitz, S.; Tissier, A.; Last, R. L.; Pichersky, E.;Production of trans-chrysanthemic acid, the monoterpene acid moiety of natural pyrethrin insecticides, in tomato fruitMetab. Eng.47271-278(2018)DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2018.04.004
The pyrethrum plant, Tanacetum cinerariifolium (Asteraceae) synthesizes a class of compounds called pyrethrins that have strong insecticidal properties but are safe to humans. Class I pyrethrins are esters of the monoterpenoid trans-chrysanthemic acid with one of three jasmonic-acid derived alcohols. We reconstructed the trans-chrysanthemic acid biosynthetic pathway in tomato fruits, which naturally produce high levels of the tetraterpene pigment lycopene, an isoprenoid which shares a common precursor, dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP), with trans-chrysanthemic acid. trans-Chrysanthemic acid biosynthesis in tomato fruit was achieved by expressing the chrysanthemyl diphosphate synthase gene from T. cinerariifolium, encoding the enzyme that uses DMAPP to make trans-chrysanthemol, under the control of the fruit specific promoter PG, as well as an alcohol dehydrogenease (ADH) gene and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) gene from a wild tomato species, also under the control of the PG promoter. Tomato fruits expressing all three genes had a concentration of trans-chrysanthemic acid that was about 1.7-fold higher (by weight) than the levels of lycopene present in non-transgenic fruit, while the level of lycopene in the transgenic plants was reduced by 68%. Ninety seven percent of the diverted DMAPP was converted to trans-chrysanthemic acid, but 62% of this acid was further glycosylated. We conclude that the tomato fruit is an alternative platform for the biosynthesis of trans-chrysanthemic acid by metabolic engineering.