ABSTRACT
The discovery of hydroxylases in the anticancer drug taxol biosynthesis pathway is a hotspot and difficulty in current research. In this study, a new hydroxylase gene TcCYP725A22 (GenBank accession number: MF448646.1) was used to construct a sub-cellular localization vector pCAMIBA1303-TcCYP725A22-EGFP to get the transient expression in onion epidermal cells. Laser confocal microscopy revealed that the protein encoded by this gene was localized in the cell membrane. Furthermore, the recombinant plant expression plasmid pBI121-TcCYP725A22 was constructed. After transient transformation to the Taxus chinensis mediated by Agrobacterium tumefaciens LBA4404, qRT-PCR and LC-MS were utilized to analyze the effects of TcCYP725A22 overexpression on the synthesis of taxol. The results showed that, in the TcCYP725A22 overexpressed cell line, expression levels of most defined hydroxylase genes for taxol biosynthesis were increased, and the yield of taxanes were also increased. It was concluded that the hydroxylase gene TcCYP725A22 is likely involved in the biosynthetic pathway of taxol.
Subject(s)
Biosynthetic Pathways , Mixed Function Oxygenases , Paclitaxel , Taxoids , TaxusABSTRACT
Taxol is a secondary metabolite with prominent anti-tumor activity, but the yield cannot meet the growing clinical demand due to lower content in yew. Now, most enzyme genes involved in taxol biosynthesis have been cloned and identified, so that obtaining this drug by using synthetic biology method has become a hotspot in recent years. However, most hydroxylases involved in taxol biosynthetic pathway have not been explored. Here, we reviewed the progress on the biosynthesis pathway of taxol, especially concerning hydroxylase. The future research areas of taxol biosynthesis through synthetic biology were also discussed to provide basis for the discovery of uncharacterized hydroxylase genes and the mass taxol production by synthetic biology technology.