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Almeida A, Dong L, Thorsen TH, Raadam MH, Khakimov B, Carreno-Quintero N, Kampranis SC, Bak S. Metabolic engineering of cucurbitacins in Cucurbita pepo hairy roots. Front Plant Sci 2022; 13:1021907. [PMID: 36544867 PMCID: PMC9760960 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.1021907] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2022] [Accepted: 10/26/2022] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
In this paper we show that metabolic engineering in Cucurbita pepo hairy roots can be used to both effectively increase and modify cucurbitacins. Cucurbitacins are highly-oxygenated triterpenoids originally described in the Cucurbitaceae family, but have since been found in 15 taxonomically distant plant families. Cucurbitacin B, D, E and I are the most widespread amongst the Cucurbitaceae and they have both important biological and pharmacological activities. In this study C. pepo hairy roots were used as a platform to boost production and alter the structures of the afore mentioned cucurbitacins by metabolic engineering to potentially provide new or more desirable bioactivities. We report that the ability to induce cucurbitacin biosynthesis by basic Helix-Loop-Helix transcription factors is partially conserved within the Cucurbitaceae and therefore can potentially be used as a biotechnological tool to increase cucurbitacins in several genera of this family. Additionally, overexpression of a novel acyltransferase from cucurbitacin producing Iberis amara generates a hitherto undescribed acetylation at the C3-hydroxyl group of the cucurbitadienol backbone. While overexpression of the cytochromes P450 CsCYP88L2 and McCYP88L7 from Cucumis sativus and Momordica charantia (respectively), results in accumulation of new spectral feature as revealed by High resolution liquid chromatography mass spectroscopy analysis; the m/z of the new peak supports it might be a cucurbitacin hydroxylated at the C19 position in C. pepo hairy roots. Finally, this paper is a case study of how hairy roots can be used to metabolically engineer and introduce novel modifications in metabolic pathways that have not been fully elucidated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aldo Almeida
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark
| | - Lemeng Dong
- Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Theis H. Thorsen
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark
| | - Morten H. Raadam
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark
| | - Bekzod Khakimov
- Department of Food Science, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark
| | | | - Sotirios C. Kampranis
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark
| | - Søren Bak
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark
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Hansen NL, Miettinen K, Zhao Y, Ignea C, Andreadelli A, Raadam MH, Makris AM, Møller BL, Stærk D, Bak S, Kampranis SC. Integrating pathway elucidation with yeast engineering to produce polpunonic acid the precursor of the anti-obesity agent celastrol. Microb Cell Fact 2020; 19:15. [PMID: 31992268 PMCID: PMC6988343 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-020-1284-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2019] [Accepted: 01/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Celastrol is a promising anti-obesity agent that acts as a sensitizer of the protein hormone leptin. Despite its potent activity, a sustainable source of celastrol and celastrol derivatives for further pharmacological studies is lacking. RESULTS To elucidate the celastrol biosynthetic pathway and reconstruct it in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we mined a root-transcriptome of Tripterygium wilfordii and identified four oxidosqualene cyclases and 49 cytochrome P450s as candidates to be involved in the early steps of celastrol biosynthesis. Using functional screening of the candidate genes in Nicotiana benthamiana, TwOSC4 was characterized as a novel oxidosqualene cyclase that produces friedelin, the presumed triterpenoid backbone of celastrol. In addition, three P450s (CYP712K1, CYP712K2, and CYP712K3) that act downstream of TwOSC4 were found to effectively oxidize friedelin and form the likely celastrol biosynthesis intermediates 29-hydroxy-friedelin and polpunonic acid. To facilitate production of friedelin, the yeast strain AM254 was constructed by deleting UBC7, which afforded a fivefold increase in friedelin titer. This platform was further expanded with CYP712K1 to produce polpunonic acid and a method for the facile extraction of products from the yeast culture medium, resulting in polpunonic acid titers of 1.4 mg/L. CONCLUSION Our study elucidates the early steps of celastrol biosynthesis and paves the way for future biotechnological production of this pharmacologically promising compound in engineered yeast strains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikolaj L Hansen
- Plant Biochemistry Section, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Karel Miettinen
- Plant Biochemistry Section, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Yong Zhao
- Plant Biochemistry Section, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 2, 2100, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Codruta Ignea
- Plant Biochemistry Section, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Aggeliki Andreadelli
- Institute of Applied Biosciences-Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (INAB-CERTH), P.O. Box 60361, 57001, Thermi, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Morten H Raadam
- Plant Biochemistry Section, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Antonios M Makris
- Institute of Applied Biosciences-Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (INAB-CERTH), P.O. Box 60361, 57001, Thermi, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Birger L Møller
- Plant Biochemistry Section, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Dan Stærk
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 2, 2100, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Søren Bak
- Plant Biochemistry Section, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark.
| | - Sotirios C Kampranis
- Plant Biochemistry Section, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark.
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