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Catharanthus biosynthetic enzymes: the road ahead

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Abstract

Alkaloids are one of the most diverse groups of secondary metabolites found in living organisms. The most economically important alkaloids are the bisindole vinblastine, and vincristine. Unraveling the complexity of the genetic, catalytic and transport processes of monoterpene indole alkaloids biosynthesis is one of the most stimulating intellectual challenges in the plant secondary metabolism field. More than 50 metabolic steps are required to synthesize the most important alkaloids in Catharanthus roseus. Until now about only 20 of the 50 enzymes required for their biosynthesis have been determined and characterized. Hence, there are still a number of important enzymes that need to be characterized, beginning with the isolation and cloning of genes. It is also of fundamental importance to elucidate the regulatory aspects of their biosynthesis, both at the cellular and the molecular level, in order to address the question of their function in the plants that are producing them. In this review, we present an analysis of the state of the art related to the biosynthesis of the monoterpene indole alkaloids.

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Notes

  1. The first time that an enzyme in named, the systematic name and the Enzyme Commission Number (EC) assigned by IUBMB (www.chem.qmul.ac.uk/iubmb/enzyme/) is given. The common name is given in parenthesis; after the first time, and in all figure legends, the common name is used.

Abbreviations

AVLBS:

α-3′, 4′-Anhydrovinblastine synthase

CaaX-PTases:

CaaX-prenyltransferases

CPR:

Cytochrome P450 reductase

DMAPP:

Dimethylallyl diphosphate

GPP:

Geranyl diphosphate

IPP:

Isopentenyl pyrophosphate

MeJa:

Methyl jasmonate

MEP:

2-C-methylerythritol 4-phosphate

PFT:

Protein farnesyltransferas

PGGT-I:

Type I protein geranylgeranyltransferase

STR:

Strictosidine synthase

TDC:

Tryptophan decarboxylase

TIAs:

Terpenoid indole-alkaloids

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Emily Wortman-Wunder, Clelia De la Peña and Elan Alford for English correction of the manuscript as well as to the anonymous reviewers. For the nomenclature of the enzymes, the rules of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (http://www.chem.qmw.ac.uk/iubmb/enzyme/) were used.

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  1. Unidad de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular de Plantas, Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán, Calle 43 No. 130, Colonia Chuburna de Hidalgo, CP 97200, Mexico

    Víctor Manuel Loyola-Vargas, Rosa M. Galaz-Ávalos & Roberto Kú-Cauich

  2. Center for Rhizosphere Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523-1173, USA

    Víctor Manuel Loyola-Vargas

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  1. Víctor Manuel Loyola-Vargas
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Loyola-Vargas, V.M., Galaz-Ávalos, R.M. & Kú-Cauich, R. Catharanthus biosynthetic enzymes: the road ahead. Phytochem Rev 6, 307–339 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11101-007-9064-2

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