Synthesis of Methylated Anthranilate Derivatives Using Engineered Strains of Escherichia coli.

Anthranilate derivatives have been used as flavoring and fragrant agents for a long time. Recently, these compounds are gaining attention due to new biological functions including antinociceptive and analgesic activities. Three anthranilate derivatives, N-methylanthranilate, methyl anthranilate, and methyl N-methylanthranilate were synthesized using metabolically engineered stains of Escherichia coli. NMT encoding N-methyltransferase from Ruta graveolens, AMAT encoding anthraniloyl-coenzyme A (CoA):methanol acyltransferase from Vitis labrusca, and pqsA encoding anthranilate coenzyme A ligase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa were cloned and E. coli strains harboring these genes were used to synthesize the three desired compounds. E. coli mutants (metJ, trpD, tyrR mutants), which provide more anthranilate and/or S-adenosyl methionine, were used to increase the production of the synthesized compounds. MS/MS analysis was used to determine the structure of the products. Approximately, 185.3 µM N-methylanthranilate and 95.2 µM methyl N-methylanthranilate were synthesized. This is the first report about the synthesis of anthranilate derivatives in E. coli.

Production of the herb Ruta chalepensis L. expressing amyloid ß-GFP fusion protein.

The herb Ruta chalepensis L. exhibits medical effects, such as anti-inflammatory, central nervous system depressant, and antipyretic activities. However, a genetic transformation method has not yet been developed for this species. In this paper, a simple and efficient tissue culture and genetic transformation system for R. chalepensis is reported. An amyloid ß-peptide (Aß) gene, which is considered to be a causative agent of Alzheimer's disease (AD), fused with green-fluorescent protein (GFP), was introduced into R. chalepensis. When the leaves of R. chalepensis expressing Aß-GFP were administered orally to C57BL/6J mice, serum anti-Aß antibody titers of several mice were elevated without the use of an adjuvant. These results indicated that an oral vaccine against AD using R. chalepensis may be feasible. R. chalepensis is rich in bioactive compounds that may have synergistic effects with the vaccine for AD. Plant-derived vaccines are safer and cheaper than those produced from animal cells or microbes, because plants can serve as biofactories at low cost and with high biosynthetic capacity.

High genetic diversity and population structure in the endangered Canarian endemic Ruta oreojasme (Rutaceae).

Insular species are expected to have low genetic diversity, for their populations are often small and isolated, and characterized by restricted gene flow and increased incidence of inbreeding. However, empirical results do not always match this expectation. For example, population genetic analyses of several Canarian endemics, based mainly on allozymes, show levels of genetic diversity exceptionally high for insular species. To investigate whether genetic variation in rare species endemic to Canary Islands is low, as predicted by theoretical expectations, or high, as documented in some previous studies, we analysed genetic diversity of the endangered Ruta oreojasme, a rare endemic of the island of Gran Canaria, using microsatellite markers, which are more variable than allozymes. Our analyses identified very high levels of genetic diversity (A = 7.625, P = 0.984, H o = 0.558, H e = 0.687) for R. oreojasme. Even though the distribution of the species is restricted to the South of Gran Canaria, only one population shows low genetic diversity, isolation and signs of a recent bottleneck/founder event. Some intrinsic characteristics of R. oreojasme (hermaphroditism, proterandry and polyploidy), the relative climatic stability of the Canarian archipelago during Quaternary glacials/interglacials, the size of most populations (thousands of individuals), its age, and the relative proximity of the archipelago to the mainland might have contributed to the high diversity that characterises this endemic. As expected, given the marked topographic complexity of Gran Canaria, we found marked genetic structure in R. oreojasme populations. Our results support the observation that Canarian endemics are characterised by unexpectedly high genetic diversity and provides important insights for potential applications to the conservation of R. oreojasme.

A coumarin-specific prenyltransferase catalyzes the crucial biosynthetic reaction for furanocoumarin formation in parsley.

Furanocoumarins constitute a sub-family of coumarin compounds with important defense properties against pathogens and insects, as well as allelopathic functions in plants. Furanocoumarins are divided into two sub-groups according to the alignment of the furan ring with the lactone structure: linear psoralen and angular angelicin derivatives. Determination of furanocoumarin type is based on the prenylation position of the common precursor of all furanocoumarins, umbelliferone, at C6 or C8, which gives rise to the psoralen or angelicin derivatives, respectively. Here, we identified a membrane-bound prenyltransferase PcPT from parsley (Petroselinum crispum), and characterized the properties of the gene product. PcPT expression in various parsley tissues is increased by UV irradiation, with a concomitant increase in furanocoumarin production. This enzyme has strict substrate specificity towards umbelliferone and dimethylallyl diphosphate, and a strong preference for the C6 position of the prenylated product (demethylsuberosin), leading to linear furanocoumarins. The C8-prenylated derivative (osthenol) is also formed, but to a much lesser extent. The PcPT protein is targeted to the plastids in planta. Introduction of this PcPT into the coumarin-producing plant Ruta graveolens showed increased consumption of endogenous umbelliferone. Expression of PcPT and a 4-coumaroyl CoA 2'-hydroxylase gene in Nicotiana benthamiana, which does not produce furanocoumarins, resulted in formation of demethylsuberosin, indicating that furanocoumarin production may be reconstructed by a metabolic engineering approach. The results demonstrate that a single prenyltransferase, such as PcPT, opens the pathway to linear furanocoumarins in parsley, but may also catalyze the synthesis of osthenol, the first intermediate committed to the angular furanocoumarin pathway, in other plants.

CYP98A22, a phenolic ester 3'-hydroxylase specialized in the synthesis of chlorogenic acid, as a new tool for enhancing the furanocoumarin concentration in Ruta graveolens.

BACKGROUND: Furanocoumarins are molecules with proven therapeutic properties and are produced in only a small number of medicinal plant species such as Ruta graveolens. In vivo, these molecules play a protective role against phytophageous insect attack. Furanocoumarins are members of the phenylpropanoids family, and their biosynthetic pathway is initiated from p-coumaroyl coA. The enzymes belonging to the CYP98A cytochrome P450 family have been widely described as being aromatic meta-hydroxylases of various substrates, such as p-coumaroyl ester derivatives, and are involved in the synthesis of coumarins such as scopoletin. In furanocoumarin-producing plants, these enzymes catalyze the step directly downstream of the junction with the furanocoumarin biosynthetic pathway and might indirectly impact their synthesis. RESULTS: In this work, we describe the cloning and functional characterization of the first CYP98A encoding gene isolated from R. graveolens. Using Nicotiana benthamiana as a heterologous expression system, we have demonstrated that this enzyme adds a 3-OH to p-coumaroyl ester derivatives but is more efficient to convert p-coumaroyl quinate into chlorogenic acid than to metabolize p-coumaroyl shikimate. Plants exposed to UV-B stress showed an enhanced expression level of the corresponding gene. The R. graveolens cyp98a22 open reading frame and the orthologous Arabidopsis thaliana cyp98a3 open reading frame were overexpressed in stable transgenic Ruta plants. Both plant series were analyzed for their production of scopoletin and furanocoumarin. A detailed analysis indicates that both genes enhance the production of furanocoumarins but that CYP98A22, unlike CYP98A3, doesn't affect the synthesis of scopoletin. CONCLUSIONS: The overexpression of CYP98A22 positively impacts the concentration of furanocoumarins in R. graveolens. This gene is therefore a valuable tool to engineer plants with improved therapeutical values that might also be more resistant to phytophageous insects.

A 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase from Ruta graveolens L. exhibits p-coumaroyl CoA 2'-hydroxylase activity (C2'H): a missing step in the synthesis of umbelliferone in plants.

Coumarins are important compounds that contribute to the adaptation of plants to biotic or abiotic stresses. Among coumarins, umbelliferone occupies a pivotal position in the plant phenylpropanoid network. Previous studies indicated that umbelliferone is derived from the ortho-hydroxylation of p-coumaric acid by an unknown biochemical step to yield 2,4-dihydroxycinnamic acid, which then undergoes spontaneous lactonization. Based on a recent report of a gene encoding a 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase from Arabidopsis thaliana that exhibited feruloyl CoA 6'-hydroxylase activity (Bourgaud et al., 2006), we combined a bioinformatic approach and a cDNA library screen to identify an orthologous ORF (Genbank accession number JF799117) from Ruta graveolens L. This ORF shares 59% amino acid identity with feruloyl CoA 6'-hydroxylase, was functionally expressed in Escherichia coli, and converted feruloyl CoA into scopoletin and p-coumaroyl CoA into umbelliferone with equal activity. Its bi-functionality was further confirmed in planta: transient expression of JF799117 in Nicotiana benthamiana yielded plants with leaves containing high levels of umbelliferone and scopoletin when compared to control plants, which contained barely detectable traces of these compounds. The expression of JF799117 was also tightly correlated to the amount of umbelliferone that was found in UV-elicited R. graveolens leaves. Therefore, JF799117 encodes a p-coumaroyl CoA 2'-hydroxylase in R. graveolens, which represents a previously uncharacterized step in the synthesis of umbelliferone in plants. Psoralen, which is an important furanocoumarin in R. graveolens, was found to be a competitive inhibitor of the enzyme, and it may exert this effect through negative feedback on the enzyme at an upstream position in the pathway.

Molecular authentication of the medicinal herb Ruta graveolens (Rutaceae) and an adulterant using nuclear and chloroplast DNA markers.

Dried parts of different plant species often look alike, especially in powdered form, making them very difficult to identify. Ruta graveolens, sold as a dried medicinal herb, can be adulterated with Euphorbia dracunculoides. The genomic DNA was isolated from the leaf powder (100 mg each) using the modified CTAB method. Internal transcribed spacer sequences of nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA-ITS), and chloroplast spacer sequences (rpoB and rpoC1) are regarded as potential genes for plant DNA barcoding. We amplified and sequenced these spacer sequences and confirmed the sequences with a BLAST search. Sequence alignment was performed using ClustalX to look for differences in the sequences. A DNA marker was developed based on rpoB and rpoC1 of the nrDNA-ITS for the identification of the adulterant E. dracunculoides in samples of R. graveolens that are sold in local herbal markets. Sequence-characterized amplified region markers of 289 and 264 bp for R. graveolens and 424 bp for E. dracunculoides were developed from dissimilar sequences of this nrDNA-ITS to speed up the authentication process. This marker successfully distinguished these species in extracted samples with as little as 5 ng DNA/µL extract.

Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of Ruta graveolens L.

Agrobacterium tumefaciens is used to develop a genetic transformation method for a medicinal plant Ruta graveolens. The direct plant regeneration strategy is preferred to callus line establishment. In vitro seedlings, 2- -to 3-wk-old, are used to excise hypocotyls and co-cultivated for 3 d with A. tumefaciens strain C58C1Rif containing plasmid pTDE4 harbouring neomycin phosphotransferase (npt II, kanamycin resistance) and beta-glucuronidase encoding genes. The Southern blot analysis has shown that 78% kanamycin resistant plants contain gene encoding beta-glucuronidase. The GUS histochemical assay shows that 67% transgenic plants exhibit the corresponding enzymatic activity. Routine transformation efficiency of R. graveolens L. is 11% and could reach up to 22%. Transgenic plants are grown in the greenhouse within 4 months after the initial seedlings.

Cinnamic acid 4-hydroxylase mechanism-based inactivation by psoralen derivatives: cloning and characterization of a C4H from a psoralen producing plant-Ruta graveolens-exhibiting low sensitivity to psoralen inactivation.

Cinnamate 4-hydroxylase (C4H, EC 1.14.13.11) complete cDNA was cloned from the leaves of Ruta graveolens, a psoralen producing plant. The recombinant enzyme (classified CYP73A32) was expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Mechanism-based inactivation was investigated using various psoralen derivatives. Only psoralen and 8-methoxypsoralen were found to inactivate C4H. The inactivation was dependent on the presence of NADPH, time of pre-incubation, and inhibitor concentration. Inactivation stoichiometry was 0.9 (+/-0.2) for CYP73A1 and 1.1 (+/-0.2) for CYP73A32. SDS-PAGE analysis demonstrated that [3H]psoralen was irreversibly bound to the C4H apoprotein. K(i) and k(inact) for psoralen and 8-methoxypsoralen inactivation on the two C4H revealed a lower sensitivity for CYP73A32 compared to CYP73A1. Inactivation kinetics were also determined for CYP73A10, a C4H from another furocoumarin-producing plant, Petroselinum crispum. This enzyme was found to behave like CYP73A32, with a weak sensitivity to psoralen and 8-MOP inactivation. Cinnamic acid hydroxylation is a key step in the biosynthesis of phenylpropanoid compounds, psoralen derivatives included. Our results suggest a possible evolution of R. graveolens and P. crispum C4H that might tolerate substantial levels of psoralen derivatives in the cytoplasmic compartment without a depletive effect on C4H and the general phenylpropanoid metabolism.