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Holtz M, Acevedo-Rocha CG, Jensen MK. Combining enzyme and metabolic engineering for microbial supply of therapeutic phytochemicals. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2024; 87:103110. [PMID: 38503222 DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2024.103110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2024] [Revised: 02/27/2024] [Accepted: 02/29/2024] [Indexed: 03/21/2024]
Abstract
The history of pharmacology is deeply intertwined with plant-derived compounds, which continue to be crucial in drug development. However, their complex structures and limited availability in plants challenge drug discovery, optimization, development, and industrial production via chemical synthesis or natural extraction. This review delves into the integration of metabolic and enzyme engineering to leverage micro-organisms as platforms for the sustainable and reliable production of therapeutic phytochemicals. We argue that engineered microbes can serve a triple role in this paradigm: facilitating pathway discovery, acting as cell factories for scalable manufacturing, and functioning as platforms for chemical derivatization. Analyzing recent progress and outlining future directions, the review highlights microbial biotechnology's transformative potential in expanding plant-derived human therapeutics' discovery and supply chains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maxence Holtz
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Carlos G Acevedo-Rocha
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Michael K Jensen
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark.
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Guo Q, Shi L, Wang X, Li D, Yin Z, Zhang J, Ding G, Chen L. Structures and Biological Activities of Secondary Metabolites from the Trichoderma genus (Covering 2018-2022). JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY 2023; 71:13612-13632. [PMID: 37684097 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.3c04540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/10/2023]
Abstract
Trichoderma, a genus with more than 400 species, has a long history of use as an industrial bioreactor, biofertilizer, and biocontrol agent. It is considered a significant source of secondary metabolites (SMs) that possess unique structural features and a wide range of bioactivities. In recent years, numerous secondary metabolites of Trichoderma, including terpenoids, polyketides, peptides, alkaloids, and steroids, have been identified. Most of these SMs displayed antimicrobial, cytotoxic, and antifungal effects. This review focuses on the structural diversity, biological activities, and structure-activity relationships (SARs) of the SMs isolated from Trichoderma covered from 2018 to 2022. This study provides insights into the exploration and utilization of bioactive compounds from Trichoderma species in the agriculture or pharmaceutical industry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingfeng Guo
- Henan Comprehensive Utilization of Edible and Medicinal Plant Resources Engineering Technology Research Center, Zhengzhou Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology of Natural Products, Huanghe Science and Technology College, Zhengzhou 450063, People's Republic of China
| | - Lei Shi
- Henan Comprehensive Utilization of Edible and Medicinal Plant Resources Engineering Technology Research Center, Zhengzhou Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology of Natural Products, Huanghe Science and Technology College, Zhengzhou 450063, People's Republic of China
| | - Xinyang Wang
- Henan Comprehensive Utilization of Edible and Medicinal Plant Resources Engineering Technology Research Center, Zhengzhou Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology of Natural Products, Huanghe Science and Technology College, Zhengzhou 450063, People's Republic of China
- Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, People's Republic of China
| | - Dandan Li
- Henan Comprehensive Utilization of Edible and Medicinal Plant Resources Engineering Technology Research Center, Zhengzhou Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology of Natural Products, Huanghe Science and Technology College, Zhengzhou 450063, People's Republic of China
- Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhenhua Yin
- Henan Comprehensive Utilization of Edible and Medicinal Plant Resources Engineering Technology Research Center, Zhengzhou Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology of Natural Products, Huanghe Science and Technology College, Zhengzhou 450063, People's Republic of China
| | - Juanjuan Zhang
- Henan Comprehensive Utilization of Edible and Medicinal Plant Resources Engineering Technology Research Center, Zhengzhou Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology of Natural Products, Huanghe Science and Technology College, Zhengzhou 450063, People's Republic of China
| | - Gang Ding
- Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Science and Union Medical College, Beijing 100193, People's Republic of China
| | - Lin Chen
- Henan Comprehensive Utilization of Edible and Medicinal Plant Resources Engineering Technology Research Center, Zhengzhou Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology of Natural Products, Huanghe Science and Technology College, Zhengzhou 450063, People's Republic of China
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Kramer L, Sarkar A, Foderaro T, Markley AL, Lee J, Edstrom H, Sharma S, Gill E, Traylor MJ, Fox JM. Genetically Encoded Detection of Biosynthetic Protease Inhibitors. ACS Synth Biol 2023; 12:83-94. [PMID: 36574400 PMCID: PMC10072156 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.2c00384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Proteases are an important class of drug targets that continue to drive inhibitor discovery. These enzymes are prone to resistance mutations, yet their promise for treating viral diseases and other disorders continues to grow. This study develops a general approach for detecting microbially synthesized protease inhibitors and uses it to screen terpenoid pathways for inhibitory compounds. The detection scheme relies on a bacterial two-hybrid (B2H) system that links protease inactivation to the transcription of a swappable reporter gene. This system, which can accomodate multiple biochemical outputs (i.e., luminescence and antibiotic resistance), permitted the facile incorporation of four disease-relevant proteases. A B2H designed to detect the inactivation of the main protease of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 enabled the identification of a terpenoid inhibitor of modest potency. An analysis of multiple pathways that make this terpenoid, however, suggested that its production was necessary but not sufficient to confer a survival advantage in growth-coupled assays. This finding highlights an important challenge associated with the use of genetic selection to search for inhibitors─notably, the influence of pathway toxicity─and underlines the value of including multiple pathways with overlapping product profiles in pathway screens. This study provides a detailed experimental framework for using microbes to screen libraries of biosynthetic pathways for targeted protease inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Levi Kramer
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, 3415 Colorado Avenue, Boulder, Colorado80303, United States
| | - Ankur Sarkar
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, 3415 Colorado Avenue, Boulder, Colorado80303, United States
| | - Tom Foderaro
- Think Bioscience, Inc., 1945 Colorado Avenue, Boulder, Colorado80309, United States
| | - Andrew L Markley
- Think Bioscience, Inc., 1945 Colorado Avenue, Boulder, Colorado80309, United States
| | - Jessica Lee
- Think Bioscience, Inc., 1945 Colorado Avenue, Boulder, Colorado80309, United States
| | - Hannah Edstrom
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, 3415 Colorado Avenue, Boulder, Colorado80303, United States
| | - Shajesh Sharma
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, 3415 Colorado Avenue, Boulder, Colorado80303, United States
| | - Eden Gill
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, 3415 Colorado Avenue, Boulder, Colorado80303, United States
| | - Matthew J Traylor
- Think Bioscience, Inc., 1945 Colorado Avenue, Boulder, Colorado80309, United States
| | - Jerome M Fox
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, 3415 Colorado Avenue, Boulder, Colorado80303, United States
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