Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences 2011-03-01

Zingiber zerumbet CYP71BA1 catalyzes the conversion of α-humulene to 8-hydroxy-α-humulene in zerumbone biosynthesis.

Fengnian Yu, Sho Okamoto, Hisashi Harada, Kazuhisa Yamasaki, Norihiko Misawa, Ryutaro Utsumi

Index: Cell. Mol. Life Sci. 68(6) , 1033-40, (2011)

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Abstract

Plant cytochrome P450s are involved in the biosynthesis of various classes of secondary metabolites. To elucidate the biosynthesis of zerumbone, a sesquiterpenoid with multiple potential anticancer properties, a family of P450 genes expressed in rhizomes of Zingiber zerumbet Smith, were cloned using a PCR-based cloning strategy. After functional expression in yeast, one of these P450s was found to convert α-humulene into 8-hydroxy-α-humulene, a proposed intermediate of zerumbone biosynthesis. This P450 has been designated CYP71BA1, a new member of the CYP71 family. CYP71BA1 transcripts were detected almost exclusively in rhizomes and showed a similar expression pattern to ZSS1 transcripts during rhizome development. Coexpression of a gene cluster encoding four enzymes of the mevalonate pathway with CYP71BA1 and ZSS1 in Escherichia coli leads to the production of 8-hydroxy-α-humulene in the presence of mevalonate, suggesting the possibility of microbial production of this zerumbone intermediate from a relatively simple carbon source by metabolic engineering.