Plant polyketides

[Engineered biosynthesis of plant polyketides].

Identification of olivetolic acid cyclase from Cannabis sativa reveals a unique catalytic route to plant polyketides.

Δ(9)-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and other cannabinoids are responsible for the psychoactive and medicinal properties of Cannabis sativa L. (marijuana). The first intermediate in the cannabinoid biosynthetic pathway is proposed to be olivetolic acid (OA), an alkylresorcinolic acid that forms the polyketide nucleus of the cannabinoids. OA has been postulated to be synthesized by a type III polyke...

Biosynthesis of plant-specific stilbene polyketides in metabolically engineered Escherichia coli

BACKGROUND Phenylpropanoids are the precursors to a range of important plant metabolites such as the cell wall constituent lignin and the secondary metabolites belonging to the flavonoid/stilbene class of compounds. The latter class of plant natural products has been shown to function in a wide range of biological activities. During the last few years an increasing number of health benefits hav...

Alkaloids and polyketides from Penicillium citrinum, an endophyte isolated from the Moroccan plant Ceratonia siliqua.

The endophytic fungus Penicillium citrinum was isolated from a fresh stem of the Moroccan plant Ceratonia siliqua. Extracts of P. citrinum grown on rice and white bean media yielded five new compounds, namely, citriquinochroman (1), tanzawaic acids G and H (2 and 3), 6-methylcurvulinic acid (4), 8-methoxy-3,5-dimethylisoquinolin-6-ol (5), and one new natural product, 1,2,3,11b-tetrahydroquinola...

Formicamycins, antibacterial polyketides produced by Streptomyces formicae isolated from African Tetraponera plant-ants.

We report a new Streptomyces species named S. formicae that was isolated from the African fungus-growing plant-ant Tetraponera penzigi and show that it produces novel pentacyclic polyketides that are active against MRSA and VRE. The chemical scaffold of these compounds, which we have called the formicamycins, is similar to the fasamycins identified from the heterologous expression of clones iso...