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…
Transient expression in Nicotiana benthamiana offers a robust platform for the rapid production of complex secondary metabolites. It has proven highly effective in helping identify genes associated with pathways responsible for synthesizing various valuable natural compounds. While this approach has seen considerable success, it has yet to be applied to uncovering genes involved in anthocyanin biosynthetic pathways. This is because only a single anthocyanin, delphinidin 3‐O‐rutinoside, can be produced in N. benthamiana by activation of anthocyanin biosynthesis using transcription factors. The production of other anthocyanins would necessitate the suppression of certain endogenous flavonoid biosynthesis genes while transiently expressing others. In this work, we present a series of tools for the reconstitution of anthocyanin biosynthetic pathways in N. benthamiana leaves. These tools include constructs for the expression or silencing of anthocyanin biosynthetic genes and a mutant N. benthamiana line generated using CRISPR. By infiltration of defined sets of constructs, the basic anthocyanins pelargonidin 3‐O‐glucoside, cyanidin 3‐O‐glucoside and delphinidin 3‐O‐glucoside could be obtained in high amounts in a few days. Additionally, co‐infiltration of supplementary pathway genes enabled the synthesis of more complex anthocyanins. These tools should be useful to identify genes involved in the biosynthesis of complex anthocyanins. They also make it possible to produce novel anthocyanins not found in nature. As an example, we reconstituted the pathway for biosynthesis of Arabidopsis anthocyanin A5, a cyanidin derivative and achieved the biosynthesis of the pelargonidin and delphinidin variants of A5, pelargonidin A5 and delphinidin A5.
Publikation
Jäckel, L.; Schnabel, A.; Stellmach, H.; Klauß, U.; Matschi, S.; Hause, G.; Vogt, T.;The terminal enzymatic step in piperine biosynthesis is co‐localized with the product piperine in specialized cells of black pepper (Piper nigrum
L.)Plant J.111731–747(2022)DOI: 10.1111/tpj.15847
Piperine (1-piperoyl piperidine) is responsible for the pungent perception of dried black pepper (Pipernigrum) fruits and essentially contributes to the aromatic properties of this spice in combination with ablend of terpenoids. The final step in piperine biosynthesis involves piperine synthase (PS), which catalyzesthe reaction of piperoyl CoA and piperidine to the biologically active and pungent amide. Nevertheless, experimental data on the cellular localization of piperine and the complete biosynthetic pathway are missing. Not only co-localization of enzymes and products, but also potential transport of piperamides to thesink organs is a possible alternative. This work, which includes purification of the native enzyme, immunolocalization, laser microdissection, fluorescence microscopy, and electron microscopy combinedwith liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS), providesexperimental evidence that piperine and PS are co-localized in specialized cells of the black pepper fruit peri-sperm. PS accumulates during early stages of fruit development and its level declines before the fruits arefully mature. The product piperine is co-localized to PS and can be monitored at the cellular level by itsstrong bluish fluorescence. Rising piperine levels during fruit maturation are consistent with the increasingnumbers of fluorescent cells within the perisperm. Signal intensities of individual laser-dissected cells whenmonitored by LC-ESI-MS/MS indicate molar concentrations of this alkaloid. Significant levels of piperineand additional piperamides were also detected in cells distributed in the cortex of black pepper roots. Insummary, the data provide comprehensive experimental evidence of and insights into cell-specific biosyn-thesis and storage of piperidine alkaloids, specific and characteristic for the Piperaceae. By a combination offluorescence microscopy and LC-MS/MS analysis we localized the major piperidine alkaloids to specific cellsof the fruit perisperm and the root cortex. Immunolocalization of native piperine and piperamide synthasesshows that enzymes are co-localized with high concentrations of products in these idioblasts.
Publikation
Dippe, M.; Davari, M. D.; Weigel, B.; Heinke, R.; Vogt, T.; Wessjohann, L. A.;Altering the regiospecificity of a catechol
O‐methyltransferase through rational design: Vanilloid vs. isovanilloid motifs in the B‐ring of flavonoidsChemCatChem14e202200511(2022)DOI: 10.1002/cctc.202200511
Rational re-design of the substrate pocket of phenylpropanoid-flavonoid O-methyltransferase (PFOMT) from Mesembryanthe-mum crystallinum, an enzyme that selectively methylates the 3’-position (= meta-position) in catechol-moieties of flavonoids to guiacol-moieties, provided the basis for the generation of variants with opposite, i. e. 4’- (para-) regioselectivity and enhanced catalytic efficiency. A double variant (Y51R/N202W) identified through a newly developed colorimetric assay efficiently modified the para-position in flavanone and flavano-nol substrates, providing access to the sweetener molecule hesperetin and other rare plant flavonoids having an isovanil-loid motif.
Publikation
Milde, R.; Schnabel, A.; Ditfe, T.; Hoehenwarter, W.; Proksch, C.; Westermann, B.; Vogt, T.;Chemical synthesis of trans 8-methyl-6-nonenoyl-CoA and functional expression unravel capsaicin synthase activity encoded by the Pun1 LocusMolecules276878(2022)DOI: 10.3390/molecules27206878
Capsaicin, produced by diverse Capsicum species, is among the world’s most popular spices and of considerable pharmaceutical relevance. Although the capsaicinoid biosynthetic pathway has been investigated for decades, several biosynthetic steps have remained partly hypothetical. Genetic evidence suggested that the decisive capsaicin synthase is encoded by the Pun1 locus. Yet, the genetic evidence of the Pun1 locus was never corroborated by functionally active capsaicin synthase that presumably catalyzes an amide bond formation between trans 8-methyl-6-nonenoyl-CoA derived from branched-chain amino acid biosynthesis and vanilloylamine derived from the phenylpropanoid pathway. In this report, we demonstrate the enzymatic activity of a recombinant capsaicin synthase encoded by Pun1, functionally expressed in Escherichia coli, and provide information on its substrate specificity and catalytic properties. Recombinant capsaicin synthase is specific for selected aliphatic CoA-esters and highly specific for vanilloylamine. Partly purified from E. coli, the recombinant active enzyme is a monomeric protein of 51 kDa that is independent of additional co-factors or associated proteins, as previously proposed. These data can now be used to design capsaicin synthase variants with different properties and alternative substrate preferences.