Significance
Saponins are plant molecules that are produced as a chemical defense against herbivores and eukaryotic pathogens. They constitute structurally diverse, bioactive compounds composed of a 30-carbon triterpene backbone adorned with multiple functional groups and sugars. Saikosaponins are abundant saponins accumulating in the Asian medicinal plant
Bupleurum falcatum
, but none of the enzymes involved in their biosynthesis had been characterized. We identified a cytochrome P450 involved in the oxidation of saikosaponins, thereby expanding the enzyme compendium that can generate plant saponins with an extra activity. Using this enzyme compendium, we established a synthetic biology program to reconstitute saponin biosynthesis in the yeast
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
and developed a cyclodextrin-based culturing strategy to sequester triterpenes from engineered yeast cells and enhance their productivity.
意义
皂苷是植物分子,作为对草食动物和真核病原体的化学防御而产生。它们由一个含有多个功能基团和糖的30碳三萜骨架构成的结构多样、生物活性化合物。赤芍皂苷是积累在亚洲药用植物斜刺蒿中的丰富皂苷,但是其生物合成过程中涉及的酶尚未被表征。我们鉴定了一种细胞色素P450参与赤芍皂苷的氧化反应,从而扩展了能够产生植物皂苷的酶的组合。利用这个酶组合,我们建立了一个合成生物学计划,在酵母菌中重构皂苷生物合成,并开发了一种基于环糊精的培养策略,从工程酵母细胞中分离三萜类化合物并增强其产量。