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Li DS, Hua J, Luo SH, Liu YC, Chen YG, Ling Y, Guo K, Liu Y, Li SH. An extremely promiscuous terpenoid synthase from the Lamiaceae plant Colquhounia coccinea var. mollis catalyzes the formation of sester-/di-/sesqui-/mono-terpenoids. Plant Commun 2021; 2:100233. [PMID: 34746763 PMCID: PMC8554039 DOI: 10.1016/j.xplc.2021.100233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2021] [Revised: 08/03/2021] [Accepted: 08/10/2021] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Terpenoids are the largest class of natural products with complex structures and extensive bioactivities; their scaffolds are generated by diverse terpenoid synthases (TPSs) from a limited number of isoprenoid diphosphate precursors. Promiscuous TPSs play important roles in the evolution of terpenoid chemodiversity, but they remain largely unappreciated. Here, an extremely promiscuous terpenoid synthase (CcTPS1) of the TPS-b subfamily was cloned and functionally characterized from a leaf-specific transcriptome of the Lamiaceae plant Colquhounia coccinea var. mollis. CcTPS1 is the first sester-/di-/sesqui-/mono-TPS identified from the plant kingdom, accepting C25/C20/C15/C10 diphosphate substrates to generate a panel of sester-/di-/sesqui-/mono-terpenoids. Engineered Escherichia coli expressing CcTPS1 produced three previously unreported terpenoids (two sesterterpenoids and a diterpenoid) with rare cyclohexane-containing skeletons, along with four sesquiterpenoids and one monoterpenoid. Their structures were elucidated by extensive nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Nicotiana benthamiana transiently expressing CcTPS1 also produced the diterpenoid and sesquiterpenoids, demonstrating the enzyme's promiscuity in planta. Its highly leaf-specific expression pattern combined with detectable terpenoid products in leaves of C. coccinea var. mollis and N. benthamiana expressing CcTPS1 suggested that CcTPS1 was mainly responsible for diterpenoid and sesquiterpenoid biosynthesis in plants. CcTPS1 expression and the terpenoid products could be induced by methyl jasmonate, suggesting their possible role in plant-environment interaction. CcTPS1 was localized to the cytosol and may differ from mono-TPSs in subcellular compartmentalization and substrate tolerance. These findings will greatly aid our understanding of plant TPS evolution and terpenoid chemodiversity; they also highlight the enormous potential of transcriptome mining and heterologous expression for the exploration of unique enzymes and natural products hidden in plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- De-Sen Li
- State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China and Yunnan Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, P. R. China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P. R. China
| | - Juan Hua
- State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China and Yunnan Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, P. R. China
- College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shengyang 110866, P. R. China
| | - Shi-Hong Luo
- State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China and Yunnan Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, P. R. China
- College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shengyang 110866, P. R. China
| | - Yan-Chun Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China and Yunnan Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, P. R. China
| | - Yue-Gui Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China and Yunnan Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, P. R. China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P. R. China
| | - Yi Ling
- State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China and Yunnan Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, P. R. China
| | - Kai Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Southwestern Chinese Medicine Resources and Innovative Institute of Chinese Medicine and Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 611137, P. R. China
| | - Yan Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China and Yunnan Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, P. R. China
- State Key Laboratory of Southwestern Chinese Medicine Resources and Innovative Institute of Chinese Medicine and Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 611137, P. R. China
| | - Sheng-Hong Li
- State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China and Yunnan Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, P. R. China
- State Key Laboratory of Southwestern Chinese Medicine Resources and Innovative Institute of Chinese Medicine and Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 611137, P. R. China
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