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Metabolic Engineering of Terpenoid Biosynthesis
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Metabolic Engineering of Terpenoid Biosynthesis

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Physiology and Metabolism".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (12 April 2024) | Viewed by 969

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Abdelhakim Bouyahya

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Mohammed V University in Rabat, Rabat, Morocco
Interests: biologoical activity; secondary metabolites; plant metabolism

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Metabolic engineering is a field of study that involves modifying the metabolic pathways within an organism to enhance its production of certain compounds or substances. One particularly significant area of metabolic engineering is the engineering of terpenoid biosynthesis. Terpenoids are a diverse and abundant group of natural products found throughout nature, with numerous important biological functions and applications in the fragrance, flavor, and pharmaceutical industries. Examples of terpenoids include menthol, camphor, and artemisinin.

The metabolic engineering of terpenoid biosynthesis can be achieved through various methods, such as introducing new enzymes into the metabolic pathway, altering the expression levels of existing enzymes, or modifying the regulation of the pathway. The goal is to optimize the production of specific terpenoids within an organism.

This area of research has the potential to create new and improved terpenoid-based products with numerous benefits for various industries, including medicine. This Special Issue welcomes the submission of various types of articles, such as original research papers, perspectives, hypotheses, opinions, reviews, modeling approaches, and methods, that explore changes in the metabolic engineering of terpenoid biosynthesis and how the application of metabolic engineering can alter the amount and diversity of terpenoids in different species, including aromatic plants.

Prof. Dr. Abdelhakim Bouyahya
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • terpenoid
  • metabolic engineering
  • biosynthesis
  • biological application

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

9 pages, 2249 KiB  
Communication
Aquilaria sinensis: An Upstart Resource for Cucurbitacin Production Offers Insights into the Origin of Plant Bitter (Bi) Gene Clusters
by Xupo Ding, Zhuo Yang, Hao Wang, Jun Zeng, Haofu Dai and Wenli Mei
Plants 2024, 13(2), 260; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/plants13020260 - 16 Jan 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 736
Abstract
Cucurbitacins, oxygenated tetracyclic triterpenoids that are found mainly in the Cucurbitaceae family, play essential roles as defensive compounds, serving as allomones against herbivores and pathogens and as signals for insect–parasite recognition. These compounds also exhibit various pharmacological effects. The biosynthesis of cucurbitacins is [...] Read more.
Cucurbitacins, oxygenated tetracyclic triterpenoids that are found mainly in the Cucurbitaceae family, play essential roles as defensive compounds, serving as allomones against herbivores and pathogens and as signals for insect–parasite recognition. These compounds also exhibit various pharmacological effects. The biosynthesis of cucurbitacins is largely regulated by the bitter (Bi) gene, encoding an oxidosqualene cyclase, which catalyzes the conversion of 2,3-oxidosqualene into cucurbitadienol, a common precursor for cucurbitacin synthesis. Previous studies focused on uncovering the Bi gene clusters in Cucurbitaceae, but their presence in other cucurbitacin-producing plants remained unexplored. Here, the evolutionary history of Bi genes and their clusters were investigated in twenty-one plant genomes spanning three families based on chemotaxonomy. Nineteen Bi genes were identified in fourteen Cucurbitaceae, four Begoniaceae, and one Aquilaria species. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that the genome of Aquilaria sinensis contained the earliest Bi gene clusters in this dataset. Moreover, the genomic analysis revealed a conserved microsynteny of pivotal genes for cucurbitacin biosynthesis in Cucurbitaceae, while interspersed Bi gene clusters were observed in Begoniaceae, indicating rearrangements during plant Bi gene cluster formation. The bitter gene in A. sinensis was found to promote cucurbitadienol biosynthesis in the leaves of Nicotiana benthamiana. This comprehensive exploration of plant Bi genes and their clusters provides valuable insights into the genetic and evolutionary underpinnings of cucurbitacin biosynthesis. These findings offer prospects for a deeper understanding of cucurbitacin production and potential genetic resources for their enhancement in various plants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metabolic Engineering of Terpenoid Biosynthesis)
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