Die Plant Science Student Conference (PSSC) wird seit 20 Jahren im jährlichen Wechsel von Studierenden der beiden Leibniz-Institute IPK und IPB organisiert. Im Interview erläutern Christina Wäsch (IPK) und Carolin Apel (IPB),…
Über 600 Gäste kamen am 4. Juli ans IPB zur Langen Nacht, die Wissen schafft, um bei unserem Wissenschafts-Quiz-Parcours viel Neues zu erfahren und ihre Kenntnisse unter Beweis zu stellen. Unser Programm in diesem Jahr…
Rosemary extracts containing the phenolic diterpenes carnosic acid and its derivative carnosol are approved food additives used in an increasingly wide range of products to enhance shelf-life, thanks to their high anti-oxidant activity. We describe here the elucidation of the complete biosynthetic pathway of carnosic acid and its reconstitution in yeast cells. Cytochrome P450 oxygenases (CYP76AH22-24) from Rosmarinus officinalis and Salvia fruticosa already characterized as ferruginol synthases are also able to produce 11-hydroxyferruginol. Modelling-based mutagenesis of three amino acids in the related ferruginol synthase (CYP76AH1) from S. miltiorrhiza is sufficient to convert it to a 11-hydroxyferruginol synthase (HFS). The three sequential C20 oxidations for the conversion of 11-hydroxyferruginol to carnosic acid are catalysed by the related CYP76AK6-8. The availability of the genes for the biosynthesis of carnosic acid opens opportunities for the metabolic engineering of phenolic diterpenes, a class of compounds with potent anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-tumour activities.