A translational synthetic biology platform for rapid access to gram-scale quantities of novel drug-like molecules.

ABSTRACT: Plants are an excellent source of drug leads. However availability is limited by access to source species, low abundance and recalcitrance to chemical synthesis. Although plant genomics is yielding a wealth of genes for natural product biosynthesis, the translation of this genetic information into small molecules for evaluation as drug leads represents a major bottleneck. For example, the yeast platform for artemisinic acid production is estimated to have taken >150 person years to develop. Here we demonstrate the power of plant transient transfection technology for rapid, scalable biosynthesis and isolation of triterpenes, one of the largest and most structurally diverse families of plant natural products. Using pathway engineering and improved agro-infiltration methodology we are able to

SUBMITTER: Reed J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5555447 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature