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Comparative structural analysis of plant uridine diphosphate (UDP)-dependent glycosyltransferases (UGTs) in plant specialized metabolism: structures of plant UGTs for biosynthesis of steviol glycosides

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Abstract

In plants, uridine diphosphate (UDP)-dependent glycosyltransferases (UGTs) catalyze the glycosylation of diverse plant specialized metabolites with potential values for nutritional and pharmaceutical applications. Along with increasing plant genomic information, structural analysis of plant UGTs has been utilized to understand the molecular basis of how UGTs function and to facilitate the synthesis of desirable bioactive natural products. Here, we summarize the sequence and structural information of structurally characterized plant UGTs involved in plant specialized metabolism. We then exemplify steviol glycosides, naturally occurring non-caloric sweeteners from Stevia rebaudiana, and their UGT-dependent biosynthetic pathways as an example of how structural biology provides a new versatile platform for understanding substrate specificity and developing successful protein engineering strategies.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge support from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center (NCBC) (Project Number: A20-0079), University of North Carolina Wilmington, and Arthur C. Neish Young Investigator Award (Phytochemical Society of North America).

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  1. Lindsey N. Aubuchon and Kerstin Schmiederer authors contributed equally to this work.

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  1. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of North Carolina Wilmington, 601 College Rd, Wilmington, NC, 28403, USA

    Lindsey N. Aubuchon & Soon Goo Lee

  2. Interfaculty Institute of Biochemistry, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 34, 72076, Tübingen, Germany

    Kerstin Schmiederer

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Aubuchon, L.N., Schmiederer, K. & Lee, S.G. Comparative structural analysis of plant uridine diphosphate (UDP)-dependent glycosyltransferases (UGTs) in plant specialized metabolism: structures of plant UGTs for biosynthesis of steviol glycosides. Phytochem Rev 22, 385–406 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11101-023-09857-0

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