title: Investigating sesquiterpene biosynthesis in Ginkgo biloba: molecular cloning and functional characterization of (E,E)-farnesol and α-bisabolene synthases.
abstract: Ginkgo biloba is one of the oldest living tree species and has been extensively investigated as a source of bioactive natural compounds, including bioactive flavonoids, diterpene lactones, terpenoids and polysaccharides which accumulate in foliar tissues. Despite this chemical diversity, relatively few enzymes associated with any biosynthetic pathway from ginkgo have been characterized to date. In the present work, predicted transcripts potentially encoding enzymes associated with the biosynthesis of diterpenoid and terpenoid compounds, including putative terpene synthases, were first identified by mining publicly-available G. biloba RNA-seq data sets. Recombinant enzyme studies with two of the TPS-like sequences led to the identification of GbTPS1 and GbTPS2, encoding farnesol and bisabolene synthases, respectively. Additionally, the phylogenetic analysis revealed the two terpene synthase genes as primitive genes that might have evolved from an ancestral diterpene synthase.
authors.affiliation: National Center for Natural Products Research, Thad Cochran Research Center, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS, 38677, USA.
authors.forename: Iffat
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Parveen
authors.affiliation: National Center for Natural Products Research, Thad Cochran Research Center, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS, 38677, USA.
authors.forename: Mei
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: National Center for Natural Products Research, Thad Cochran Research Center, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS, 38677, USA.
authors.forename: Jianping
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: National Center for Natural Products Research, Thad Cochran Research Center, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS, 38677, USA.
authors.forename: Amar G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Chittiboyina
authors.affiliation: National Center for Natural Products Research, Thad Cochran Research Center, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS, 38677, USA.
authors.forename: Nurhayat
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tabanca
authors.affiliation: National Center for Natural Products Research, Thad Cochran Research Center, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS, 38677, USA.
authors.forename: Abbas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ali
authors.affiliation: United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Natural Products Utilization Research Unit (USDA-ARS-NPURU), P.O. Box 1848, University, MS, 38677-1848, USA.
authors.forename: Scott R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Baerson
authors.affiliation: National Center for Natural Products Research, Thad Cochran Research Center, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS, 38677, USA.
authors.forename: Natascha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Techen
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 405036, USA.
authors.forename: Joe
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chappell
authors.affiliation: National Center for Natural Products Research, Thad Cochran Research Center, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS, 38677, USA. ikhan@olemiss.edu.
authors.forename: Ikhlas A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.affiliation: United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Natural Products Utilization Research Unit (USDA-ARS-NPURU), P.O. Box 1848, University, MS, 38677-1848, USA. zhiqiang.pan@ars.usda.gov.
authors.forename: Zhiqiang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Pan
mesh_terms: D019883:Alkyl and Aryl Transferases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005204:Farnesol / Q000378:metabolism*; D017343:Genes, Plant; D020441:Ginkgo biloba / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D018749:RNA, Plant / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D012717:Sesquiterpenes / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins; D018749:RNA, Plant; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012717:Sesquiterpenes; D005204:Farnesol; D019883:Alkyl and Aryl Transferases; C112909:(E)-alpha-bisabolene synthase; C108877:terpene synthase
keywords: Bisabolene synthase; Farnesol synthase; Ginkgo biloba; Sesquiterpene