NPR Seminar | Understanding the chemistry of plant alkaloids biosynthesis in the omics era

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Topic: Understanding and harnessing the chemistry of plant alkaloids biosynthesis in the omics era

Speaker: Tuan-Anh Minh Nguyen, Ph.D. Student.
Plant Bioactive Compounds Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science, University of British Columbia, Canada.

Abstract:
Cytochrome P450 is a critical enzyme in not only the functionalization but also the diversification of the skeletons of monoterpene indole alkaloids, a class of specialized metabolites having a plethora of high-value compounds, in medicinal plants. In this talk, I would present our latest works in the discovery and characterization of new cytochrome P450 enzymes involved in plant natural product metabolism. Two newly discovered camptothecin hydroxylases from Camptotheca acuminata served as promising biocatalysts in the production of anticancer camptothecin derivatives. This discovery enabled the heterologous production of anticancer precursors in the baker yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Up to 13 camptothecin-scaffold derivatives have been successfully synthesized by combining bio- and chemo-catalysts sequentially in the chemoenzymatic process. This research is a step forward in quinoline alkaloid biochemistry and leading to the economical and sustainable production of more active and water-soluble anticancer derivatives. Recently, we have discovered the first plant cytochrome P450 enzyme from Mitragyna speciosa creating spirooxindole alkaloid scaffold, an alkaloid class that includes many compounds with significant bioactivities and chemical scaffolds that continues to challenge synthetic organic chemists. Although hundreds of tetra- and pentacyclic spirooxindole alkaloids have been discovered and monoterpene indole alkaloid biosynthesis has been studied extensively, no enzymes underlying the oxidative rearrangement of corynanthe-type alkaloids to spirooxindoles and other oxindole alkaloids have been reported. Our discovery has provided an answer to the historic question of spirooxindole biosynthesis in plants and highlights the versatility of cytochrome P450 enzymes in alkaloid scaffolding.