Abstract
Plants produce structurally and functionally diverse natural products. Some of these compounds possess promising health-benefiting properties, such as resveratrol (antioxidant) curcumin (anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic and anticancer), paclitaxel (anticancer) and artemisinin (antimalarial). These compounds are produced through particular biosynthetic pathways in the plants. While supply of these medicinally important molecules relies on extraction from the producing species, recent years have seen significant advances in metabolic engineering of microorganisms for the production of plant natural products. Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae are the two most widely used heterologous hosts for expression of enzymes and reconstitution of plant natural product biosynthetic pathways. Total biosynthesis of many plant polyketide natural products such as curcumin and piceatannol in microorganisms has been achieved. While the late biosynthetic steps of more complex molecules such as paclitaxel and artemisinin remain to be understood, reconstitution of their partial biosynthetic pathways and microbial production of key intermediates have been successful. This review covers recent advances in understanding and engineering the biosynthesis of plant polyketides and terpenoids in microbial hosts.
Keywords: Plant natural products, Polyketides, Terpenoids, Biosynthesis, Heterologous expression, Microorganisms, Metabolic Engineering
Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry
Title:Engineered Biosynthesis of Medicinally Important Plant Natural Products in Microorganisms
Volume: 16 Issue: 15
Author(s): Shuwei Zhang, Siyuan Wang and Jixun Zhan
Affiliation:
Keywords: Plant natural products, Polyketides, Terpenoids, Biosynthesis, Heterologous expression, Microorganisms, Metabolic Engineering
Abstract: Plants produce structurally and functionally diverse natural products. Some of these compounds possess promising health-benefiting properties, such as resveratrol (antioxidant) curcumin (anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic and anticancer), paclitaxel (anticancer) and artemisinin (antimalarial). These compounds are produced through particular biosynthetic pathways in the plants. While supply of these medicinally important molecules relies on extraction from the producing species, recent years have seen significant advances in metabolic engineering of microorganisms for the production of plant natural products. Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae are the two most widely used heterologous hosts for expression of enzymes and reconstitution of plant natural product biosynthetic pathways. Total biosynthesis of many plant polyketide natural products such as curcumin and piceatannol in microorganisms has been achieved. While the late biosynthetic steps of more complex molecules such as paclitaxel and artemisinin remain to be understood, reconstitution of their partial biosynthetic pathways and microbial production of key intermediates have been successful. This review covers recent advances in understanding and engineering the biosynthesis of plant polyketides and terpenoids in microbial hosts.
Export Options
About this article
Cite this article as:
Zhang Shuwei, Wang Siyuan and Zhan Jixun, Engineered Biosynthesis of Medicinally Important Plant Natural Products in Microorganisms, Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry 2016; 16 (15) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1568026616666151012112637
DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1568026616666151012112637 |
Print ISSN 1568-0266 |
Publisher Name Bentham Science Publisher |
Online ISSN 1873-4294 |
Call for Papers in Thematic Issues
Chemistry Based on Natural Products for Therapeutic Purposes
The development of new pharmaceuticals for a wide range of medical conditions has long relied on the identification of promising natural products (NPs). There are over sixty percent of cancer, infectious illness, and CNS disease medications that include an NP pharmacophore, according to the Food and Drug Administration. Since NP ...read more
Current Trends in Drug Discovery Based on Artificial Intelligence and Computer-Aided Drug Design
Drug development discovery has faced several challenges over the years. In fact, the evolution of classical approaches to modern methods using computational methods, or Computer-Aided Drug Design (CADD), has shown promising and essential results in any drug discovery campaign. Among these methods, molecular docking is one of the most notable ...read more
Drug Discovery in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
In the age of artificial intelligence (AI), we have witnessed a significant boom in AI techniques for drug discovery. AI techniques are increasingly integrated and accelerating the drug discovery process. These developments have not only attracted the attention of academia and industry but also raised important questions regarding the selection ...read more
From Biodiversity to Chemical Diversity: Focus of Flavonoids
Flavonoids are the largest group of polyphenols, plant secondary metabolites arising from the essential aromatic amino acid phenylalanine (or more rarely from tyrosine) via the phenylpropanoid pathway. The flavan nucleus is the basic 15-carbon skeleton of flavonoids (C6-C3-C6), which consists of two phenyl rings (A and B) and a heterocyclic ...read more
- Author Guidelines
- Graphical Abstracts
- Fabricating and Stating False Information
- Research Misconduct
- Post Publication Discussions and Corrections
- Publishing Ethics and Rectitude
- Increase Visibility of Your Article
- Archiving Policies
- Peer Review Workflow
- Order Your Article Before Print
- Promote Your Article
- Manuscript Transfer Facility
- Editorial Policies
- Allegations from Whistleblowers
- Announcements
Related Articles
-
The Scatter Factor Signaling Pathways as Therapeutic Associated Target in Cancer Treatment
Current Medicinal Chemistry Novel and Emerging Drugs for Acute Myeloid Leukemia: Pharmacology and Therapeutic Activity
Current Medicinal Chemistry The Immunomodulatory Potential of Selected Bioactive Plant-Based Compounds in Breast Cancer: A Review
Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry Preclinical Evaluation of New Taxoids
Current Pharmaceutical Design Quantum Dot-Based Nanoprobes for In Vivo Targeted Imaging
Current Molecular Medicine Targeting the Ubiquitin Proteasome System: Beyond Proteasome Inhibition
Current Pharmaceutical Design Brain Perfusion SPECT with Brodmann Areas Analysis in Differentiating Frontotemporal Dementia Subtypes
Current Alzheimer Research Photodynamic Therapy using Carbohydrate Conjugated Porphyrins
Drug Design Reviews - Online (Discontinued) Imaging of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm: The Present and the Future
Current Vascular Pharmacology Cause and Consequences of Genetic and Epigenetic Alterations in Human Cancer
Current Genomics In Vivo Study on Vertical Transmission of the HIV-1 gag Gene via Mouse Oocytes
Current HIV Research Bypassing Cancer Resistance by Antagonizing “Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins” (IAPs)
Current Signal Transduction Therapy Heat Shock Protein 90 Inhibitors as Broad Spectrum Anti-Infectives
Current Pharmaceutical Design A Role for the Inflammatory Mediators Cox-2 and Metalloproteinases in Cancer Stemness
Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry Vitamin D Represses the Aggressive Potential of Osteosarcoma
Endocrine, Metabolic & Immune Disorders - Drug Targets Radiolabeled Imaging Probes Targeting Angiogenesis for Personalized Medicine
Current Pharmaceutical Design Endostatin: Preclinical Development as an Anticancer Agent
Current Medicinal Chemistry - Immunology, Endocrine & Metabolic Agents Structure of the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Gene and Intron Recombination in Human Gliomas
Current Genomics Tumor-Induced Alterations in Lipid Metabolism
Current Medicinal Chemistry Macroautophagy as a Target of Cancer Therapy
Current Cancer Therapy Reviews