Transcriptome profiling of khat (Catha edulis) and Ephedra sinica reveals gene candidates potentially involved in amphetamine-type alkaloid biosynthesis.

ABSTRACT: Amphetamine analogues are produced by plants in the genus Ephedra and by khat (Catha edulis), and include the widely used decongestants and appetite suppressants (1S,2S)-pseudoephedrine and (1R,2S)-ephedrine. The production of these metabolites, which derive from L-phenylalanine, involves a multi-step pathway partially mapped out at the biochemical level using knowledge of benzoic acid metabolism established in other plants, and direct evidence using khat and Ephedra species as model systems. Despite the commercial importance of amphetamine-type alkaloids, only a single step in their biosynthesis has been elucidated at the molecular level. We have employed Illumina next-generation sequencing technology, paired with Trinity and Velvet-Oases assembly platforms, to establish data-mining frame

SUBMITTER: Groves RA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4373857 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature