title: Rapid Discovery and Functional Characterization of Terpene Synthases from Four Endophytic Xylariaceae.
abstract: Endophytic fungi are ubiquitous plant endosymbionts that establish complex and poorly understood relationships with their host organisms. Many endophytic fungi are known to produce a wide spectrum of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) with potential energy applications, which have been described as "mycodiesel". Many of these mycodiesel hydrocarbons are terpenes, a chemically diverse class of compounds produced by many plants, fungi, and bacteria. Due to their high energy densities, terpenes, such as pinene and bisabolene, are actively being investigated as potential "drop-in" biofuels for replacing diesel and aviation fuel. In this study, we rapidly discovered and characterized 26 terpene synthases (TPSs) derived from four endophytic fungi known to produce mycodiesel hydrocarbons. The TPS genes were expressed in an E. coli strain harboring a heterologous mevalonate pathway designed to enhance terpene production, and their product profiles were determined using Solid Phase Micro-Extraction (SPME) and GC-MS. Out of the 26 TPS's profiled, 12 TPS's were functional, with the majority of them exhibiting both monoterpene and sesquiterpene synthase activity.
authors.affiliation: Biomass Science & Conversion Technologies, Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, California, United States of America.
authors.forename: Weihua
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Biomass Science & Conversion Technologies, Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, California, United States of America.
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Tran
authors.affiliation: Combustion Chemistry Department, Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, California, United States of America.
authors.forename: Craig A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Taatjes
authors.affiliation: Physical Biosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, United States of America.|Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, California, United States of America.
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Alonso-Gutierrez
authors.affiliation: Physical Biosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, United States of America.|Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, California, United States of America.
authors.forename: Taek Soon
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Biomass Science & Conversion Technologies, Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, California, United States of America.|Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, California, United States of America.
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Gladden
mesh_terms: D019883:Alkyl and Aryl Transferases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D060026:Endophytes / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000378:metabolism; D005800:Genes, Fungal; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D010802:Phylogeny; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D009626:Terminology as Topic; D013729:Terpenes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D013098:Xylariales / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D013729:Terpenes; D019883:Alkyl and Aryl Transferases; C108877:terpene synthase