Transcriptomic profiling of Cephalotaxus harringtonia to study homoharringtonine biosynthesis
Cephalotaxus harringtonia is a species within the Cephalotaxus genus that produces numerous Cephalotaxus alkaloids, including homoharringtonine (HHT), which is a key tool for ribosomal profiling and an FDA-approved treatment for chronic myeloid leukemia by acting as a protein translation inhibitor. Cephalotaxine (CET), the alkaloid core of HHT, is produced at high levels in root tips of Cephalotaxus harringtonia. We have performed RNA sequencing of multiple tissues from this species (harvested in May 2023) to investigate the biosynthetic genes required for producing Cephalotaxus alkaloids, especially CET and HHT.