Xiaozhong Lan

Enhancing the scopolamine production in transgenic plants of Atropa belladonna by overexpressing pmt and h6h genes

Atropa belladonna is officially deemed as the commercial plant to produce scopolamine in China. In this study we report the simultaneous overexpression of two functional genes involved in biosynthesis of scopolamine, which encode the upstream key enzyme putrescine N-methyltransferase (PMT) and the downstream key enzyme hyoscyamine 6β-hydroxylase (H6H), respectively, in transgenic herbal plants Atropa belladonna. Analysis of gene expression profile indicated that both pmt and h6h were expressed at a higher level in transgenic lines, which would be favorable for biosynthesis of scopolamine. High-performance liquid chromatography result suggested that transgenic lines could produce higher accumulation of scopolamine at different levels compared with wild-type lines. Scopolamine content increased to 7.3-fold in transgenic line D9 compared with control lines. This study not only confirms that co-overexpression of pmt and h6h is an ideal method to improve the biosynthetic capacity of scopolamine but also successfully cultivates the transgenic line D9, which significantly enhanced the scopolamine accumulation. Our research can serve as an alternative choice to provide scopolamine resources for relative industry, which is more competitive than conventional market.

Engineering Salidroside Biosynthetic Pathway in Hairy Root Cultures of Rhodiola crenulata Based on Metabolic Characterization of Tyrosine Decarboxylase

Tyrosine decarboxylase initializes salidroside biosynthesis. Metabolic characterization of tyrosine decarboxylase gene from Rhodiola crenulata (RcTYDC) revealed that it played an important role in salidroside biosynthesis. Recombinant 53 kDa RcTYDC converted tyrosine into tyramine. RcTYDC gene expression was induced coordinately with the expression of RcUDPGT (the last gene involved in salidroside biosynthesis) in SA/MeJA treatment; the expression of RcTYDC and RcUDPGT was dramatically upregulated by SA, respectively 49 folds and 36 folds compared with control. MeJA also significantly increased the expression of RcTYDC and RcUDPGT in hairy root cultures. The tissue profile of RcTYDC and RcUDPGT was highly similar: highest expression levels found in stems, higher expression levels in leaves than in flowers and roots. The gene expressing levels were consistent with the salidroside accumulation levels. This strongly suggested that RcTYDC played an important role in salidroside biosynthesis in R. crenulata. Finally, RcTYDC was used to engineering salidroside biosynthetic pathway in R. crenulata hairy roots via metabolic engineering strategy of overexpression. All the transgenic lines showed much higher expression levels of RcTYDC than non-transgenic one. The transgenic lines produced tyramine, tyrosol and salidroside at higher levels, which were respectively 3.21–6.84, 1.50–2.19 and 1.27–3.47 folds compared with the corresponding compound in non-transgenic lines. In conclusion, RcTYDC overexpression promoted tyramine biosynthesis that facilitated more metabolic flux flowing toward the downstream pathway and as a result, the intermediate tyrosol was accumulated more that led to the increased production of the end-product salidroside.

Mirabijalone E: a novel rotenoid from Mirabilis himalaica inhibited A549 cell growth in vitro and in vivo.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE The roots of Mirabilis himalaica have been used in Tibetan folk medicine for treatment of uterine cancer, nephritis edematous, renal calculus and arthrodynia. In our previous work, the ethanol extract of roots had shown potent cytotoxicity against human cancer cells. However, no information is available on the antitumor effect of Mirabilis himalaica. The aim of the present study was to investigate the active constituents guided by bioassay and evaluate the related antitumor efficacy in vitro and in vivo. MATERIALS AND METHODS The active subextract (ethyl acetate) was subjected to successive chemical separation using a combination of silica gel, LH-20 chromatography and semi-preparative HPLC. The structures were determined by spectroscopic analysis techniques such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectrometry. Three human cancer cell lines, A549, HepG2 and HeLa were used for in vitro cytotoxicity evaluation of all isolated compounds by MTT-assay. Then, the potent and novel compound mirabijalone E was employed to the mechanism study againstA549 cells. BrdU immunofluorescence, soft agar assay and cell cycle analysis were employed to detect the cell proliferation effects. Annexin V-FITC/PI staining assay was used for examining apoptotic effects. Expression levels of apoptosis-related proteins were determined by western blot assay. in vivo tumorigenic assay was used to evaluate the xenograft tumor growth treated with mirabijalone E. RESULTS One new rotenoid compound, mirabijalone E, together with eight known rotenoids was isolated from Mirabilis himalaica. Mirabijalone E, 9-O-methyl-inone B, boeravinone C and boeravinone H exhibited cytotoxicity against A 549 and HeLa cells. Further study on mirabijalone E was carried out in vitro and in vivo. Mirabijalone E inhibited A549 cells growth in a time and dose-dependent manner, which arrested cell cycle in S phase. Mechanistically, mirabijalone E treatment resulted in the increase of Bax expression level, the decrease of Bcl-2 level and the activation of caspase-3, which suggested the activation of apoptosis cascades. Consequently, the xenograft treated with mirabijalone E showed markedly suppressed tumor growth. CONCLUSIONS The result suggested that mirabijalone E, together with active compounds, 9-O-methyl-4-hydroxyboeravinone B, boeravinone C and boeravinone H could be a promising candidate for cancer therapy.

Reference Gene Selection for Gene Expression Studies Using Quantitative Real-Time PCR Normalization in Atropa belladonna

Quantitative PCR (qPCR) is a powerful tool for measuring gene expression levels. Accurate and reproducible results are dependent on the correct choice of reference genes for data normalization. Atropa belladonna is a commercial plant species from which pharmaceutical tropane alkaloids are extracted. In this study, eight candidate reference genes, namely 18S ribosomal RNA (18S), actin (ACT), cyclophilin (CYC), elongation factor 1α (EF-1α), β-fructosidase (FRU), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK), and beta-tubulin (TUB), were selected and their expression stabilities studied to determine their suitability for normalizing gene expression in A. belladonna. The expression stabilities of these genes were analyzed in the root, stem, and leaf under cold, heat, NaCl, UV-B, methyl jasmonate, salicylic acid, and abscisic acid treatments using geNorm, NormFinder, and BestKeeper. The statistical algorithms indicated that PGK was a reliable gene for normalizing gene expression under most of the experimental conditions. The pairwise value analysis showed that two genes were sufficient for proper expression normalization, except when analyzing gene expression in heat-treated roots. However, the choice of the second reference gene depended on specific conditions. Finally, the relative expression level of the PMT gene of A. belladonna was detected to validate the selection of PGK a reliable reference gene. In summary, our results should guide the selection of appropriate reference genes for gene expression studies in A. belladonna under different organs and abiotic stress conditions.

Engineering the MEP pathway enhanced ajmalicine biosynthesis

The 2‐C‐methyl‐D‐erythritol‐4‐phosphate (MEP) pathway genes encoding DXR and MECS from Taxus species and STR from Catharanthus roseus were used to genetically modify the ajmalicine biosynthetic pathway in hairy root cultures of C. roseus. As expected, the STR‐overexpressed root cultures showed twofold higher accumulation of ajmalicine than the control. It was important to discover that overexpression of the single DXR or MECS gene from the MEP pathway also remarkably enhanced ajmalicine biosynthesis in transgenic hairy root cultures, and this suggested that engineering the MEP pathway by overexpression of DXR or MECS promoted the metabolic flux into ajmalicine biosynthesis. The transgenic hairy root cultures with co‐overexpression of DXR and STR or MECS and STR had higher levels of ajmalicine than those with overexpression of a single gene alone such as DXR, MECS, and STR. It could be concluded that transgenic hairy root cultures harboring both DXR/MECS and STR possessed an increased flux in the terpenoid indole alkaloid biosynthetic pathway that enhanced ajmalicine yield, which was more efficient than cultures harboring only one of the three genes.

Molecular cloning and characterization of the polyphenol oxidase gene from sweetpotato

Polyphenol oxidase is the enzyme responsible for enzymatic browning in sweetpotato that decreases the commercial value of sweetpotato products. Here we reported the cloning and characterization of a new cDNA encoding PPO from sweetpotato, designated as IbPPO (GeneBank accession number: AY822711). The full-length cDNA of IbPPO is 1984 bp with a 1767 bp open reading frame (ORF) encoding a 588 amino acid polypeptide with a calculated molecular weight of 65.7 kDa and theoretical pI of 6.28. The coding sequence of IbPPO was also directly amplified from the genomic DNA of sweetpotato that demonstrated that IbPPO was an intron-free gene. The computational comparative analysis revealed that IbPPO showed homology to other PPOs of plant origin and contained a 50 amino acid plastidial transit peptide at its N-terminal and the two conserved CuA and CuB copper-binding motifs in the catalytic region of IbPPO. A highly conserved serine-rich motif was firstly found in the transit peptides of plant PPO enzymes. Then the homology based structural modeling of IbPPO showed that IbPPO had the typical structure of PPO: the catalytic copper center was accommodated in a central four-helix bundle located in a hydrophobic pocket close to the surface. Finally, the results of the semiquantitative RT-PCR analysis of IbPPO in different tissues demonstrated that IbPPO could express in all the organs of sweetpotato including mature leaves, young leaves, the stems of mature leaves (petioles), the storage roots, and the veins but at different levels. The highest-level expression of IbPPO was found in the veins, followed by storage roots, young leaves and mature leaves; and the lowest-level expression of IbPPO was found in petioles. The present researches will facilitate the development of antibrown sweetpotato by genetic engineering.

Functional characterisation of a tropine-forming reductase gene from Brugmansia arborea, a woody plant species producing tropane alkaloids

Brugmansia arborea is a woody plant species that produces tropane alkaloids (TAs). The gene encoding tropine-forming reductase or tropinone reductase I (BaTRI) in this plant species was functionally characterised. The full-length cDNA of BaTRI encoded a 272-amino-acid polypeptide that was highly similar to tropinone reductase I from TAs-producing herbal plant species. The purified 29kDa recombinant BaTRI exhibited maximum reduction activity at pH 6.8-8.0 when tropinone was used as substrate; it also exhibited maximum oxidation activity at pH 9.6 when tropine was used as substrate. The Km, Vmax and Kcat values of BaTRI for tropinone were 2.65mM, 88.3nkatmg(-1) and 2.93S(-1), respectively, at pH 6.4; the Km, Vmax and Kcat values of TRI from Datura stramonium (DsTRI) for tropinone were respectively 4.18mM, 81.20nkatmg(-1) and 2.40S(-1) at pH 6.4. At pH 6.4, 6.8 and 7.0, BaTRI had a significantly higher activity than DsTRI. Analogues of tropinone, 4-methylcyclohexanone and 3-quinuclidinone hydrochloride, were also used to investigate the enzymatic kinetics of BaTRI. The Km, Vmax and Kcat values of BaTRI for tropine were 0.56mM, 171.62nkat.mg(-1) and 5.69S(-1), respectively, at pH 9.6; the Km, Vmax and Kcat values of DsTRI for tropine were 0.34mM, 111.90nkatmg(-1) and 3.30S(-1), respectively, at pH 9.6. The tissue profiles of BaTRI differed from those in TAs-producing herbal plant species. BaTRI was expressed in all examined organs but was most abundant in secondary roots. Finally, tropane alkaloids, including hyoscyamine, anisodamine and scopolamine, were detected in various organs of B. arborea by HPLC. Interestingly, scopolamine constituted most of the tropane alkaloids content in B. arborea, which suggests that B. arborea is a scopolamine-rich plant species. The scopolamine content was much higher in the leaves and stems than in other organs. The gene expression and TAs accumulation suggest that the biosynthesis of hyoscyamine, especially scopolamine, occurred not only in the roots but also in the aerial parts of B. arborea.

Reference gene selection in Artemisia annua L., a plant species producing anti-malarial artemisinin

The selection and validation of reference genes are essential for gene expression studies by real-time quantitative PCR. The genetic map of Artemisia annua L., a Chinese medicinal plant species producing anti-malarial artemisinin, has been reported. However, few reference genes of A. annua have been estimated for real-time quantitative PCR until now. In this study, ten putative housekeeping genes, including ACT, UBQ, TUB, 18SrRNA, EF1α, CYP, RPL13D, TUA, RPII and GAPDH, were chosen for identifying expression stability using geNorm and NormFinder software tools in 11 different sample pools, containing those from different plant organs and from plants treated with phytohormones and abiotic stresses. As expected, the variation in expression stability of the ten candidate reference genes tested in this study suggested there was no single reference gene that can be used for all experimental conditions in A. annua. The combination of RPII & EF1α was the most stably expressed reference genes for different organs. Under phytohormone treatment, the combination of EF1α & TUB was recommended as internal reference genes used for investigating target gene expression levels. In addition, the combination of ACT & EF1α was suitably chosen for normalization in temperature-shocked samples. In order to further verify the reliability of the experimental results, RPII & EF1α were used in combination as reference genes to examine the expression levels of ADS gene in different organs. Meanwhile, the expression levels of ADS, CYP71AV1 and DBR2 were tested by qPCR normalized with the combination of EF1α & TUB in MeJA treatment samples. Our study will benefit future research on the expression of genes related to artemisinin biosynthesis under different experimental conditions.

A natural phenylpropionate derivative from Mirabilis himalaica inhibits cell proliferation and induces apoptosis in HepG2 cells

Bioactivity-guided study led to the isolation of a natural phenylpropionate derivative, (E)-3-(4-hydroxy-2-methoxyphenyl)-propenoic acid 4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl ester from the roots of Mirabilis himalaica. Cellular analysis showed that compound 1 specifically inhibited the cancer cell growth through the S phase arrest. Mechanistically, compound 1 was able to induce the apoptosis in HepG2 cells through mitochondrial apoptosis pathway in which Bcl-2 and p53 were required. Interestingly, the cellular phenotype of compound 1 were shown specifically in cancer cells originated from hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) while compromised influence by compound 1 were detected within the normal human liver cells (L-02). Consistently, the in vivo inhibitory effects of compound 1 on tumor growth were validated by the in xenograft administrated with HepG2 cells. Our results provided a novel compound which might serve as a promising candidate and shed light on the therapy of the hepatocellular carcinoma.

Enhancing Tropane Alkaloid Production Based on the Functional Identification of Tropine-Forming Reductase in Scopolia lurida, a Tibetan Medicinal Plant

Scopolia lurida, a native herbal plant species in Tibet, is one of the most effective producers of tropane alkaloids. However, the tropane alkaloid biosynthesis in this plant species of interest has yet to be studied at the molecular, biochemical, and biotechnological level. Here, we report on the isolation and characterization of a putative short chain dehydrogenase (SDR) gene. Sequence analysis showed that SlTRI belonged to the SDR family. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that SlTRI was clustered with the tropine-forming reductases. SlTRI and the other TA-biosynthesis genes, including putrescine N-methyltransferase (SlPMT) and hyoscyamine 6β-hydroxylase (SlH6H), were preferably or exclusively expressed in the S. lurida roots. The tissue profile of SlTRI suggested that this gene might be involved in tropane alkaloid biosynthesis. By using GC-MS, SlTRI was shown to catalyze the tropinone reduction to yield tropine, the key intermediate of tropane alkaloids. With the purified recombinant SlTRI from Escherichia coli, an enzymatic assay was carried out; its result indicated that SlTRI was a tropine-forming reductase. Finally, the role of SlTRI in promoting the tropane alkaloid biosynthesis was confirmed through metabolic engineering in S. lurida. Specifically, hairy root cultures of S. lurida were established to investigate the effects of SlTRI overexpression on tropane alkaloid accumulation. In the SlTRI-overexpressing root cultures, the hyoscyamine contents were 1.7- to 2.9-fold higher than those in control while their corresponding scopolamine contents were likewise elevated. In summary, this functional identification of SlTRI has provided for a better understanding of tropane alkaloid biosynthesis. It also provides a candidate gene for enhancing tropane alkaloid biosynthesis in S. lurida via metabolic engineering.