Mutation of the sesquiterpene synthase Cop2 was conducted with a high-throughput screen for the cyclization activity using a non-natural substrate. A mutant of Cop2 was identified that contained three amino acid substitutions. This mutant, 17H2, converted the natural substrate FPP into germacrene D-4-ol with 77% selectivity. This selectivity is in contrast to that of the parent enzyme in which ...

The essential oils of the leaves and fine stems of Pilocarpus microphyllus, collected on iron mineralized soil of the Serra de Caraj s, Southeast of Par State, Brazil, during the rainy and dry seasons, were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC-MS. The main identified compounds were 2-tridecanone, beta-caryophyllene, 2-pentadecanone, caryophyllene oxide and germacrene D. Their perce...

The objective of this study was to investigate the seasonal variance content and chemical composition essential oil from Lantana camaraaccessions at two harvest times, analyze trypanocidal activity on Phytomonas serpens. Essential ranged 0.13 0.29% in rainy season 0.33% dryseason. compounds E-caryophyllene, α-humulene, α-curcumene germacrene D defined formation four clusters dry seasons, classi...

Xylopia laevigata, popularly known as "meiú" and "pindaíba", is a medicinal plant used in the folk medicine of the Brazilian Northeast for several purposes. The chemical constituents of the essential oil from leaves of X. laevigata, collected from wild plants growing at three different sites of the remaining Atlantic forest in Sergipe State (Brazilian Northeast), were analyzed by GC/FID and GC/...

A synthetic biology approach to the rational design of analogues of olfactory ligands by providing unnatural substrates for the enzyme synthesising (S)-germacrene D, an olfactory ligand acting as a plant derived insect repellent, to produce novel ligands is described as a viable alternative to largely unsuccessful ligand docking studies. (S)-14,15-Dimethylgermacrene D shows an unexpected revers...

Germacrene A synthase (GAS) from Solidago canadensis catalyzes the conversion of farnesyl diphosphate (FDP) to the plant sesquiterpene (+)-germacrene A. After diphosphate expulsion, farnesyl cation reacts with the distal 10,11-double bond to afford germacrene A (>96%) and <2% α-humulene, which arises from 1,11-cyclization of FDP. The origin of the 1,11-activity of GAS was investigated by amino ...

The essential oils associated with the flowers of Tithonia diversifolia (Hemsl.) A. Gray were extracted and characterized via hydrodistillation and Gas Chromatography. Hydrodistillation was done in an all-glass Clevenger-type apparatus. The extracts from the hydrodistillation were subjected to gas chromatography where the components of the essential oils were separated based on their molecular ...

The essential oil obtained from the aerial parts of the Turkish endemism Stachys aleurites (Lamiaceae) has been studied. The main constituents were sesquiterpene hydrocarbons: bcaryophyllene (33.7%), bicyclogermacrene (14.5%) and germacrene D (9.6%). The main monoterpene was a-pinene (8.4%). Some chemotaxonomical considerations have been provided. 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.