Identification of a novel multifunctional oxidosqualene cyclase from Zea mays sheds light on the biosynthetic pathway of three pentacyclic triterpenoids.

ABSTRACT: Zea mays (maize) is an important agricultural crop that produces a variety of valuable terpenoids, including several triterpenoids. However, no oxidosqualene cyclase (OSC) enzymes, which catalyze the first step in triterpenoid biosynthesis, have been identified in maize. Here, we identified a novel OSC (ZmOSC1) in maize using a combination of genomic mining and phylogenetic analyses. To functionally characterize the candidate OSC, we constructed a yeast strain that produced high levels of 2,3-oxidosqualene. When ZmOSC1 was expressed in this strain, three compounds were detected and identified as hop-17(21)-en-3-ol, hopenol B and simiarenol, respectively. For their biosynthesis, we proposed a potential cyclization mechanism catalyzed by ZmOSC1 via the generation of a da

SUBMITTER: Fan Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9467860 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature