Method for radio-capillary gas chromatography employing a modified oxidation-reduction train and flow-through detector

Review of the analytical techniques for sesquiterpenes and sesquiterpene lactones

In this paper the analytical techniques of about the last 2 decades for sesquiterpenes including their lactones are reviewed. For sesquiterpenes, methods like GC, GC-EI-MS, GC-CI-MS, GC-MS-MS, GC-FT-IR, GC-UV, GC-AES, 13C-NMR, PY-GC-MS, HPLC, HPLC-TSP, SFE, SFC, SFC-UV are available, GC combined with MS is the most widespread. Sesquiterpene lactones can be analysed by HPLC, HPLC-TSP, HPLC-APCI, HPLC-ESI, HPLC-PB, HPLC-NMR, SFC, MEKC, GC, GC-MS, TLC and OPLC. Here HPLC is the method of choice. The usefulness of the individual methods are briefly discussed.

Biosynthesis of marine natural products: isolation and characterization of a myrcene synthase from cultured tissues of the marine red alga Ochtodes secundiramea

The acyclic monoterpene myrcene is the likely progenitor of the unusual cytotoxic halogenated monoterpenes that are found in marine algae and that function as feeding deterrents to herbivores. Myrcene synthase was isolated from suspension cultures of the marine red alga Ochtodes secundiramea, representing the first enzyme of this type from a marine organism. The algal myrcene synthase produces exclusively myrcene from the natural substrate geranyl diphosphate (GDP), utilizes Mg(+2) as the required divalent metal ion cofactor, has a molecular mass of about 69 kDa, and exhibits a pH optimum near 7.2. These features are similar to those of monoterpene synthases from terrestrial organisms. When incubated with neryl diphosphate (the cis-isomer of GDP), the O. secundiramea myrcene synthase produces the cyclic monoterpene limonene, whereas incubation with (+/-)linalyl diphosphate (the tertiary allylic isomer of geranyl diphosphate) yields both acyclic and cyclic monoterpenes. These results suggest that the enzyme is incapable of isomerizing geranyl diphosphate to linalyl diphosphate, a feature common to all monoterpene cyclases from terrestrial sources. The limited catalytic capability of the myrcene synthase may reflect the ancient evolutionary origin of the producing organism. The ability to assay this enzyme in cultured algae, grown under strictly defined conditions, provides an unparalleled opportunity to delineate factors eliciting the biosynthesis of this class of secondary metabolites, to investigate the metabolic pathway leading to the halogenated monoterpenes, and to determine their role in the chemical ecology of marine algae.

Isopentenyl diphosphate biosynthesis via a mevalonate-independent pathway: isopentenyl monophosphate kinase catalyzes the terminal enzymatic step

In plants, the biosynthesis of isopentenyl diphosphate, the central precursor of all isoprenoids, proceeds via two separate pathways. The cytosolic compartment harbors the mevalonate pathway, whereas the newly discovered deoxyxylulose 5-phosphate pathway, which also operates in certain eubacteria, including Escherichia coli, is localized to plastids. Only the first two steps of the plastidial pathway, which involve the condensation of pyruvate and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate to deoxyxylulose 5-phosphate followed by intramolecular rearrangement and reduction to 2-C-methylerythritol 4-phosphate, have been established. Here we report the cloning from peppermint (Mentha x piperita) and E. coli, and expression, of a kinase that catalyzes the phosphorylation of isopentenyl monophosphate as the last step of this biosynthetic sequence to isopentenyl diphosphate. The plant gene defines an ORF of 1,218 bp that, when the proposed plastidial targeting sequence is excluded, corresponds to approximately 308 aa with a mature size of approximately 33 kDa. The E. coli gene (ychB), which is located at 27.2 min of the chromosomal map, consists of 852 nt, encoding a deduced enzyme of 283 aa with a size of 31 kDa. These enzymes represent a conserved class of the GHMP family of kinases, which includes galactokinase, homoserine kinase, mevalonate kinase, and phosphomevalonate kinase, with homologues in plants and several eubacteria. Besides the preferred substrate isopentenyl monophosphate, the recombinant peppermint and E. coli kinases also phosphorylate isopentenol, and, much less efficiently, dimethylallyl alcohol, but dimethylallyl monophosphate does not serve as a substrate. Incubation of secretory cells isolated from peppermint glandular trichomes with isopentenyl monophosphate resulted in the rapid production of monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes, confirming that isopentenyl monophosphate is the physiologically relevant, terminal intermediate of the deoxyxylulose 5-phosphate pathway.

Geranyl diphosphate synthase: cloning, expression, and characterization of this prenyltransferase as a heterodimer

Geranyl diphosphate synthase, which catalyzes the condensation of dimethylallyl diphosphate and isopentenyl diphosphate to geranyl diphosphate, the key precursor of monoterpene biosynthesis, was purified from isolated oil glands of spearmint. Peptide fragments generated from the pure proteins of 28 and 37 kDa revealed amino acid sequences that matched two cDNA clones obtained by random screening of a peppermint-oil gland cDNA library. The deduced sequences of both proteins showed some similarity to existing prenyltransferases, and both contained a plastid-targeting sequence. Expression of each cDNA individually yielded no detectable prenyltransferase activity; however, coexpression of the two together produced functional geranyl diphosphate synthase. Antibodies raised against each protein were used to demonstrate that both subunits were required to produce catalytically active native and recombinant enzymes, thus confirming that geranyl diphosphate synthase is a heterodimer.

Monoterpene synthases from grand fir (Abies grandis). cDNA isolation, characterization, and functional expression of myrcene synthase, (-)-(4S)-limonene synthase, and (-)-(1S,5S)-pinene synthase

Grand fir (Abies grandis) has been developed as a model system for studying defensive oleoresin formation in conifers in response to insect attack or other injury. The turpentine fraction of the oleoresin is a complex mixture of monoterpene (C10) olefins in which (-)-limonene and (-)-alpha- and (-)-beta-pinene are prominent components; (-)-limonene and (-)-pinene synthase activities are also induced upon stem wounding. A similarity based cloning strategy yielded three new cDNA species from a wounded stem cDNA library that appeared to encode three distinct monoterpene synthases. After expression in Escherichia coli and enzyme assay with geranyl diphosphate as substrate, subsequent analysis of the terpene products by chiral phase gas chromatography and mass spectrometry showed that these sequences encoded a (-)-limonene synthase, a myrcene synthase, and a (-)-pinene synthase that produces both alpha-pinene and beta-pinene. In properties and reaction stereochemistry, the recombinant enzymes resemble the corresponding native monoterpene synthases of wound-induced grand fir stem. The deduced amino acid sequences indicated the limonene synthase to be 637 residues in length (73.5 kDa), the myrcene synthase to be 627 residues in length (72.5 kDa), and the pinene synthase to be 628 residues in length (71.5 kDa); all of these monoterpene synthases appear to be translated as preproteins bearing an amino-terminal plastid targeting sequence. Sequence comparison revealed that these monoterpene synthases from grand fir resemble sesquiterpene (C15) synthases and diterpene (C20) synthases from conifers more closely than other monoterpene synthases from angiosperm species. This similarity between extant monoterpene, sesquiterpene, and diterpene synthases of gymnosperms is surprising since functional diversification of this enzyme class is assumed to have occurred over 300 million years ago. Wound-induced accumulation of transcripts for monoterpene synthases was demonstrated by RNA blot hybridization using probes derived from the three monoterpene synthase cDNAs. The availability of cDNA species encoding these monoterpene synthases will allow an understanding of the regulation of oleoresin formation in conifers and will ultimately permit the transgenic manipulation of this defensive secretion to enhance resistance to insects. These cDNAs also furnish tools for defining structure-function relationships in this group of catalysts that generate acyclic, monocyclic, and bicyclic olefin products.

Wound-inducible pinene cyclase from grand fir: purification, characterization, and renaturation after SDS-PAGE

The major wound-inducible monoterpene synthase (cyclase) of grand fir (Abies grandis) stems transforms geranyl pyrophosphate to both (-)-alpha-pinene (40%) and (-)-beta-pinene (60%). The enzyme was purified to apparent homogeneity by anion-exchange and hydrophobic interaction chromatography, coupled to discontinuous native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis at neutral pH and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (also at neutral pH) followed by renaturation in 1% Tween 20 (polyoxyethylenesorbitan monolaurate). The renatured enzyme produced a mixture of isomeric pinenes from geranyl pyrophosphate identical to that generated by the native form. The protein exhibited a molecular weight of 63,000 by gel permeation chromatography and of 62,000 by denaturing gel electrophoresis, indicating that the monomer is active. The enzyme required Mn2+ (Km = 30 microM) for activity, exhibited a Km value of 6 microM for the substrate geranyl pyrophosphate, showed a pH optimum at 7.8 and temperature optimum at 42 degrees C, and was inhibited by pyrophosphate (I50 = 0.17 mM), orthophosphate (I50 = 51 mM), and alpha-pinene, as well as by the histidine-directed reagent diethylpyrocarbonate (I50 = 0.64 mM) and the cysteine-directed reagent p-hydroxymercuribenzoate (I50 = 1.9 microM). Although similar in many respects to constitutive monoterpene cyclases of herbaceous species, this inducible cyclase, the first enzyme of this type to be purified to homogeneity from a conifer, is distinguished by the relatively high pH optimum, and the strict specificity and high affinity for the divalent metal ion cofactor.