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Biosynthesis of paclitaxel using synthetic biology

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Abstract

Paclitaxel is a tricyclic diterpenoid first isolated from the bark of Taxus brevifolia. It is notably one of the most effective natural anticancer drugs discovered so far, and has been widely used in the treatment of breast, ovarian, lung cancer, as well as other diseases. However, the content of paclitaxel in the bark of yew trees is extremely low, thus alternative sources need to be developed urgently to meet the clinical demands. Using methods of synthetic biology to realize the heterologous expression of paclitaxel-related genes in microbial hosts could be a good choice. This paper reviews the advances in the researches on the biosynthesis of paclitaxel to provide new research strategies and insights.

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Abbreviations

IPP:

Isopentenyl diphosphate

DMAPP :

Dimethylallyl diphosphate

MVA:

Mevalonate

MEP:

2-C-methyl-D-erythritol 4-phosphate

GGPP:

Geranylgeranyl diphosphate

GGPPS:

Geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase

NSCLC:

Non-small cell lung cancer

MSA:

Microtubules-stabilizing agent

ABC:

ATP-binding cassette

TXS:

Taxadiene synthase

T5alphaH:

Taxadiene-5alpha-hydroxylase

TAT:

Taxadien-5alpha-ol-O-acetyltransferase

T10betaH:

Taxane 10beta-hydroxylase

T13alphaH:

Taxane 13alpha-hydroxylase

T14betaH:

Taxane 14beta-hydroxylase

TBT:

Taxane 2alpha -O-benzoyl transferase

DBAT:

10-deacetylbaccatin III 10-O-acetyltransferase

PAM:

Phenylalanine aminomutase

4CL:

4-coumarate-CoA ligases

BAPT:

Baccatin III amino phenylpropanoyl-13-O-transferase

DBTNBT:

Taxane N-debenzoyltransferase

MMME:

Multivariate modular metabolic engineering

OCT:

5(12)-oxa-3(11)-cyclotaxane

iso-OCT:

5(11)-oxa-3(11)-cyclotaxane

XDT:

7-xylosyl-10-deacetylbaccatin

DT:

10-deacetyltaxol

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2020YFA0908000), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81773830 & 82003894), the Key Project at central government level: The ability establishment of sustainable use for valuable Chinese medicine resources (2060302-1806-03), and National Program for Special Support of Eminent Professionals.

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Y. F. L. and Y. T. wrote the manuscript. Y. T. and W. G. provided guidance. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wei Gao.

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Tong, Y., Luo, Y.F. & Gao, W. Biosynthesis of paclitaxel using synthetic biology. Phytochem Rev 21, 863–877 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11101-021-09766-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11101-021-09766-0

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