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New pathway to polyketides in plants

Nature volume 396, pages 387–390 (1998)Cite this article

Abstract

The repertoire of secondary metabolism (involving the production of compounds not essential for growth) in the plant kingdom is enormous, but the genetic and functional basis for this diversity is hard to analyse as many of the biosynthetic enzymes are unknown. We have now identified a key enzyme in the ornamental plant Gerbera hybrida (Asteraceae) that participates in the biosynthesis of compounds that contribute to insect and pathogen resistance. Plants transformed with an antisense construct of gchs2, a complementary DNA encoding a previously unknown function1,2, completely lack the pyrone derivatives gerberin and parasorboside. The recombinant plant protein catalyses the principal reaction in the biosynthesis of these derivatives: GCHS2 is a polyketide synthase that uses acetyl-CoA and two condensation reactions with malonyl-CoA to form the pyrone backbone of thenatural products. The enzyme also accepts benzoyl-CoA to synthesize the backbone of substances that have become of interest as inhibitors of the HIV-1 protease3,4,5. GCHS2 is related to chalcone synthase (CHS) and its properties define a new class of function in the protein superfamily. It appears that CHS-related enzymes are involved in the biosynthesis of a much larger range of plant products than was previously realized.

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Figure 1: HPLC analysis of methanol extracts from leaves.
Figure 2: Biosynthetic pathways.
Figure 3: Thin-layer-chromatographic analysis of radioactive products synthesized by GCHS2 in vitro.

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Acknowledgements

We thank T. J. Simpson for a sample of authentic 6-methyl-4-hydroxy-2-pyrone, L.Britsch for Fractogel EMD Butyl 650 S, and R. Mattes for E. coli strain RM82 with plasmid pUBS520. The group in Freiburg was supported by a grant from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. T.H.T. and P.P. thank the Academy of Finland and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, respectively, for financial support.

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Author notes

  1. Yrjö Helariutta

    Present address: The Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Program for Molecular Systematics Studies, The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York, 10458-5126, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Biologie II, Universität Freiburg, Schänzlestrasse, Freiburg, 79104 1, Germany

    Stefan Eckermann, Gudrun Schröder & Joachim Schröder

  2. Institut für Pflanzenbiochemie, Weinberg, 06120 3, Halle (Saale), Germany

    Jürgen Schmidt & Dieter Strack

  3. Lehrstuhl für Pharmazeutische Biologie, Mittlerer Dallenbergweg, 97082 64, Würzburg, Germany

    Ru A. Edrada & Peter Proksch

  4. Institute of Biotechnology, Viikki Biocenter, University of Helsinki, PO Box 56, FIN-00014, Finland

    Yrjö Helariutta, Paula Elomaa, Mika Kotilainen, Ilkka Kilpeläinen & Teemu H. Teeri

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Correspondence to Joachim Schröder.

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Eckermann, S., Schröder, G., Schmidt, J. et al. New pathway to polyketides in plants. Nature 396, 387–390 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/24652

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