The ancient CYP716 family is a major contributor to the diversification of eudicot triterpenoid biosynthesis.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 28165039.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/ncomms14153 and PMC identifier 5303825.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Triterpenoids are widespread bioactive plant defence compounds with potential use as pharmaceuticals, pesticides and other high-value products. Enzymes belonging to the cytochrome P450 family have an essential role in creating the immense structural diversity of triterpenoids across the plant kingdom. However, for many triterpenoid oxidation reactions, the corresponding enzyme remains unknown. Here we characterize CYP716 enzymes from different medicinal plant species by heterologous expression in engineered yeasts and report ten hitherto unreported triterpenoid oxidation activities, including a cyclization reaction, leading to a triterpenoid lactone. Kingdom-wide phylogenetic analysis of over 400 CYP716s from over 200 plant species reveals details of their evolution and suggests that in eudicots the CYP716s evolved specifically towards triterpenoid biosynthesis. Our findings underscore the great potential of CYP716s as a source for generating triterpenoid structural diversity and expand the toolbox available for synthetic biology programmes for sustainable production of bioactive plant triterpenoids.
Medical subject headings
- Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System
- Evolution, Molecular
- Plant Physiological Phenomena
- Plant Proteins
- Triterpenes