Vinca drug components accumulate exclusively in leaf exudates of Madagascar periwinkle.

ABSTRACT: The monoterpenoid indole alkaloids (MIAs) of Madagascar periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus) continue to be the most important source of natural drugs in chemotherapy treatments for a range of human cancers. These anticancer drugs are derived from the coupling of catharanthine and vindoline to yield powerful dimeric MIAs that prevent cell division. However the precise mechanisms for their assembly within plants remain obscure. Here we report that the complex development-, environment-, organ-, and cell-specific controls involved in expression of MIA pathways are coupled to secretory mechanisms that keep catharanthine and vindoline separated from each other in living plants. Although the entire production of catharanthine and vindoline occurs in young developing leaves, catharanthine accumulate

SUBMITTER: Roepke J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2930567 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature