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Discovery and Characterization of Oxidative Enzymes Involved in Monoterpenoid Indole Alkaloid Biosynthesis

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Catharanthus roseus

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 2505))

Abstract

Monoterpene indole alkaloid (MIA) constitutes a structurally diverse plant natural product group with remarkable pharmacological activities. Many MIAs have been routinely used as potent drugs for several diseases, including leukemia (vinblastine), lung cancer (camptothecin), and malaria (quinine). Nevertheless, MIAs are biosynthesized at extremely low abundance in plants and, in many cases, require additional chemical functionalizations before their therapeutic uses. As oxygenations and oxidative rearrangements are critical throughout MIAs’ structural scaffolding and modifications, the discovery and engineering of oxidative enzymes play essential roles in understanding and boosting the supplies of MIAs. Recent advances in omics technologies and synthetic biology have provided unprecedented amount of biochemical data and tools, paving a wide pathway for discovering, characterizing, and engineering enzymes involved in MIA biosynthesis. Here, we discuss the latest progress in understanding the roles of oxidative enzymes in MIA metabolism and describe a bioinformatic and biochemical pipeline to identify, characterize, and make use of these plant biocatalysts.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC, Canada

    Tuan-Anh Minh Nguyen, Matthew McConnachie, Trinh-Don Nguyen & Thu-Thuy T. Dang

Authors
  1. Tuan-Anh Minh Nguyen
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  2. Matthew McConnachie
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  3. Trinh-Don Nguyen
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  4. Thu-Thuy T. Dang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Thu-Thuy T. Dang .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. EA2106 Biomolécules et Biotechnologies Végétales, Université de Tours, Tours, France

    Vincent Courdavault

  2. EA2106 Biomolécules et Biotechnologies Végétales, Université de Tours, Tours, France

    Sebastien Besseau

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Nguyen, TA.M., McConnachie, M., Nguyen, TD., Dang, TT.T. (2022). Discovery and Characterization of Oxidative Enzymes Involved in Monoterpenoid Indole Alkaloid Biosynthesis. In: Courdavault, V., Besseau, S. (eds) Catharanthus roseus. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2505. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-2349-7_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-2349-7_11

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  • Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY

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