A minimal transcription factor network is sufficient to drive paclitaxel biosynthesis.

Pan, Qiaona; Ochoa-Villarreal, Marisol; Howat, Susan; Amir, Rabia; Yan, Zejun; French, Christopher E; Loake, Gary J; Cui, Beimi · Sci Adv · 2026

basic_science · Level V

Where this comes from

Abstract

The supply of the anticancer drug paclitaxel is limited by its low natural abundance and complex chemical structure. We previously reported the development of a cultured <i>Taxus</i> cambial meristematic cell (CMC) system, where methyl jasmonate enhances paclitaxel production. In this report, we describe a comprehensive analysis to identify potential master regulators of paclitaxel biosynthesis. We report that the combined expression of two myeloblastosis transcription factors can cooperatively activate a subset of paclitaxel biosynthetic genes in stable transgenic CMCs, resulting in a 121-fold increase in paclitaxel and a 364-fold increase in its valuable precursor baccatin III. Our findings provide a powerful approach to enhancing production of this vital compound and can also be applied to other valuable products.