Publications

• Functional characterization of wheat ent-kaurene(-like) synthases indicates continuing evolution of labdane-related diterpenoid metabolism in the cereals.

  Zhou K., Xu M., Tiernan M., Xie Q., Toyomasu T., Sugawara C., Oku M., Usui M., Mitsuhashi W., Chono M., Chandler P.M., Peters R.J.

  Wheat (Triticum aestivum) and rice (Oryza sativa) are two of the most agriculturally important cereal crop plants. Rice is known to produce numerous diterpenoid natural products that serve as phytoalexins and/or allelochemicals. Specifically, these are labdane-related diterpenoids, derived from a ... >> More

  Wheat (Triticum aestivum) and rice (Oryza sativa) are two of the most agriculturally important cereal crop plants. Rice is known to produce numerous diterpenoid natural products that serve as phytoalexins and/or allelochemicals. Specifically, these are labdane-related diterpenoids, derived from a characteristic labdadienyl/copalyl diphosphate (CPP), whose biosynthetic relationship to gibberellin biosynthesis is evident from the relevant expanded and functionally diverse family of ent-kaurene synthase-like (KSL) genes found in rice the (OsKSLs). Herein reported is the biochemical characterization of a similarly expansive family of KSL from wheat (the TaKSLs). In particular, beyond ent-kaurene synthases (KS), wheat also contains several biochemically diversified KSLs. These react either with the ent-CPP intermediate common to gibberellin biosynthesis or with the normal stereoisomer of CPP that also is found in wheat (as demonstrated by the accompanying paper describing the wheat CPP synthases). Comparison with a barley (Hordeum vulgare) KS indicates conservation of monocot KS, with early and continued expansion and functional diversification of KSLs in at least the small grain cereals. In addition, some of the TaKSLs that utilize normal CPP also will react with syn-CPP, echoing previous findings with the OsKSL family, with such enzymatic promiscuity/elasticity providing insight into the continuing evolution of diterpenoid metabolism in the cereal crop plant family, as well as more generally, which is discussed here. << Less

  Phytochemistry 84:47-55(2012) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

• Expanding the landscape of diterpene structural diversity through stereochemically controlled combinatorial biosynthesis.

  Andersen-Ranberg J., Kongstad K.T., Nielsen M.T., Jensen N.B., Pateraki I., Bach S.S., Hamberger B., Zerbe P., Staerk D., Bohlmann J., Moeller B.L., Hamberger B.

  Plant-derived diterpenoids serve as important pharmaceuticals, food additives, and fragrances, yet their low natural abundance and high structural complexity limits their broader industrial utilization. By mimicking the modularity of diterpene biosynthesis in plants, we constructed 51 functional c ... >> More

  Plant-derived diterpenoids serve as important pharmaceuticals, food additives, and fragrances, yet their low natural abundance and high structural complexity limits their broader industrial utilization. By mimicking the modularity of diterpene biosynthesis in plants, we constructed 51 functional combinations of class I and II diterpene synthases, 41 of which are "new-to-nature". Stereoselective biosynthesis of over 50 diterpene skeletons was demonstrated, including natural variants and novel enantiomeric or diastereomeric counterparts. Scalable biotechnological production for four industrially relevant targets was accomplished in engineered strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. << Less

  Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 55:2142-2146(2016) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

• Biosynthesis of bioactive diterpenoids in the medicinal plant Vitex agnus-castus.

  Heskes A.M., Sundram T.C.M., Boughton B.A., Jensen N.B., Hansen N.L., Crocoll C., Cozzi F., Rasmussen S., Hamberger B., Hamberger B., Staerk D., Moeller B.L., Pateraki I.

  Vitex agnus-castus L. (Lamiaceae) is a medicinal plant historically used throughout the Mediterranean region to treat menstrual cycle disorders, and is still used today as a clinically effective treatment for premenstrual syndrome. The pharmaceutical activity of the plant extract is linked to its ... >> More

  Vitex agnus-castus L. (Lamiaceae) is a medicinal plant historically used throughout the Mediterranean region to treat menstrual cycle disorders, and is still used today as a clinically effective treatment for premenstrual syndrome. The pharmaceutical activity of the plant extract is linked to its ability to lower prolactin levels. This feature has been attributed to the presence of dopaminergic diterpenoids that can bind to dopamine receptors in the pituitary gland. Phytochemical analyses of V. agnus-castus show that it contains an enormous array of structurally related diterpenoids and, as such, holds potential as a rich source of new dopaminergic drugs. The present work investigated the localisation and biosynthesis of diterpenoids in V. agnus-castus. With the assistance of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation-mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI), diterpenoids were localised to trichomes on the surface of fruit and leaves. Analysis of a trichome-specific transcriptome database, coupled with expression studies, identified seven candidate genes involved in diterpenoid biosynthesis: three class II diterpene synthases (diTPSs); three class I diTPSs; and a cytochrome P450 (CYP). Combinatorial assays of the diTPSs resulted in the formation of a range of different diterpenes that can account for several of the backbones of bioactive diterpenoids observed in V. agnus-castus. The identified CYP, VacCYP76BK1, was found to catalyse 16-hydroxylation of the diol-diterpene, peregrinol, to labd-13Z-ene-9,15,16-triol when expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Notably, this product is a potential intermediate in the biosynthetic pathway towards bioactive furan- and lactone-containing diterpenoids that are present in this species. << Less

  Plant J. 93:943-958(2018) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

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