Identification of iridoid synthases from Nepeta species: Iridoid cyclization does not determine nepetalactone stereochemistry.

ABSTRACT: Nepetalactones are iridoid monoterpenes with a broad range of biological activities produced by plants in the Nepeta genus. However, none of the genes for nepetalactone biosynthesis have been discovered. Here we report the transcriptomes of two Nepeta species, each with distinctive profiles of nepetalactone stereoisomers. As a starting point for investigation of nepetalactone biosynthesis in Nepeta, these transcriptomes were used to identify candidate genes for iridoid synthase homologs, an enzyme that has been shown to form the core iridoid skeleton in several iridoid producing plant species. Iridoid synthase homologs identified from the transcriptomes were cloned, heterologously expressed, and then assayed with the 8-oxogeranial substrate. These experiments revealed that catalytically ac

SUBMITTER: Sherden NH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5739345 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature