Evolutionary engineering of sesquiterpene synthases from basidiomycetous fungi

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 22K19212
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Medium-sized Section 40:Forestry and forest products science, applied aquatic science, and related fields
• Research Institution: Kyushu University
• Principal Investigator: Ichinose Hirofumi 九州大学, 農学研究院, 准教授 (00432948)
• Project Period (FY): 2022-06-30 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: セスキテルペン合成酵素 / 担子菌

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Based on our original hypothesis that organisms evolved by quenching detrimental enzyme activities, we performed to synthesize novel natural products by introducing genetic engineering into basidiomycetous sesquiterpene synthases (STSs). A series of sesquiterpene compounds was produced when putative cDNAs of STSs, whose transcription were not confirmed in nature, was prepared from genomic DNA and applied for heterologous expression in yeast. In addition, chimerization of STS genes, that could not show enzymatic activity as native form, resulted in emerging active STSs that produced novel sesquiterpenes. The compounds and their derivatives obtained in this study may play important roles in the biological functions of basidiomycetes.

Free Research Field

林産学・生物工学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究では、担子菌の進化過程で活性を喪失したと考えられるセスキテルペン合成酵素に焦点をあて、その活性を復元することで新規化合物が獲得可能となることを示した。担子菌類には非常に多くのSTS遺伝子が見出される一方で、これらの中には酵素活性を示さない分子種も多く存在する。本研究は、不活性なSTSを人為的に改変することでユニークなセスキテルペン合成活性が発現することを明らかにした例であり、本研究を基軸として様々なセスキテルペンの合成が可能になると期待される。