Diversity of O-Glycosyltransferases Contributes to the Biosynthesis of Flavonoid and Triterpenoid Glycosides in Glycyrrhiza uralensis.
Licorice (Glycyrrhiza uralensis) is a popular medicinal plant containing more than 70 flavonoid and triterpenoid glycosides. Thus far, only a few reports are available on the glycosylation enzymes involved in their biosynthesis. In this work, we mined the transcriptome data of G. uralensis and discovered 43 candidate genes for O-glycosyltransferase (O-GT). Among them, 17 genes could be expressed in E. coli, and functions of the enzymes were analyzed by catalyzing eight native substrates. As a result, we characterized 11 O-GTs, including isoflavone 7-O-GTs, flavonol 3-O-GTs, and promiscuous O-GTs catalyzing flavones, chalcones, and triterpenoids. They could efficiently synthesize key licorice compounds such as liquiritin, isoliquiritin, ononin, and 3-O-β-d-glucuronosyl glycyrrhetinic acid. The diversity of O-GTs contributes to the biosynthesis of various glycosides in licorice. These enzymes could also be used as biocatalytic tools to synthesize other bioactive O-glycosides.
['Chen|Kuan|K|0000-0003-3030-8447', 'Hu|Zhi-Min|ZM|', 'Song|Wei|W|', 'Wang|Zi-Long|ZL|', 'He|Jun-Bin|JB|', 'Shi|Xiao-Meng|XM|', 'Cui|Qing-Hua|QH|', 'Qiao|Xue|X|0000-0002-8771-7877', 'Ye|Min|M|0000-0002-9952-2380']
D047188:Chalcones D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid D005419:Flavonoids D006027:Glycosides D006031:Glycosylation D016695:Glycosyltransferases D006034:Glycyrrhetinic Acid D006035:Glycyrrhiza D029882:Glycyrrhiza uralensis D007529:Isoflavones D010802:Phylogeny D014315:Triterpenes
diversity biosynthesis licorice -glycosyltransferase enzymatic catalysis