Cannabinoid Biosynthesis Using Noncanonical Cannabinoid Synthases

We report enzymes from the berberine bridge enzyme (BBE) superfamily that catalyze the oxidative cyclization of the monoterpene moiety in cannabigerolic acid (CBGA) to form cannabielsoin (CBE). The enzymes are from a variety of organisms and are previously uncharacterized. Out of 232 homologues chos...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Maybelle Kho Go, Tingting Zhu, Kevin Jie Han Lim, Yossa Dwi Hartono, Bo Xue, Hao Fan, Wen Shan Yew
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-01-01
Series:International Journal of Molecular Sciences
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/2/1259
Description
Summary:We report enzymes from the berberine bridge enzyme (BBE) superfamily that catalyze the oxidative cyclization of the monoterpene moiety in cannabigerolic acid (CBGA) to form cannabielsoin (CBE). The enzymes are from a variety of organisms and are previously uncharacterized. Out of 232 homologues chosen from the enzyme superfamily, four orthologues were shown to accept CBGA as a substrate and catalyze the biosynthesis of CBE. The four enzymes discovered in this study were recombinantly expressed and purified in <i>Pichia pastoris</i>. These enzymes are the first report of heterologous expression of BBEs that did not originate from the <i>Cannabis</i> plant that catalyze the production of cannabinoids using CBGA as substrate. This study details a new avenue for discovering and producing natural and unnatural cannabinoids.
ISSN:1661-6596
1422-0067