Complete biosynthetic pathway of furochromones in Saposhnikovia divaricata and its evolutionary mechanism in Apiaceae plants

Abstract Furochromones are specific bioactive secondary metabolites of many Apiaceae plants. Their biosynthesis remains largely unexplored. In this work, we dissect the complete biosynthetic pathway of major furochromones in the medicinal plant Saposhnikovia divaricata by characterizing prenyltransf...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jian-lin Zou, Hong-ye Li, Bao Nie, Zi-long Wang, Chun-xue Zhao, Yun-gang Tian, Li-qun Lin, Wei-zhe Xu, Zhuang-wei Hou, Wen-kai Sun, Xiao-xu Han, Meng Zhang, Hao-tian Wang, Qing-yan Li, Li Wang, Min Ye
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-04-01
Series:Nature Communications
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58498-8
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850258873336725504
author Jian-lin Zou
Hong-ye Li
Bao Nie
Zi-long Wang
Chun-xue Zhao
Yun-gang Tian
Li-qun Lin
Wei-zhe Xu
Zhuang-wei Hou
Wen-kai Sun
Xiao-xu Han
Meng Zhang
Hao-tian Wang
Qing-yan Li
Li Wang
Min Ye
author_facet Jian-lin Zou
Hong-ye Li
Bao Nie
Zi-long Wang
Chun-xue Zhao
Yun-gang Tian
Li-qun Lin
Wei-zhe Xu
Zhuang-wei Hou
Wen-kai Sun
Xiao-xu Han
Meng Zhang
Hao-tian Wang
Qing-yan Li
Li Wang
Min Ye
author_sort Jian-lin Zou
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Furochromones are specific bioactive secondary metabolites of many Apiaceae plants. Their biosynthesis remains largely unexplored. In this work, we dissect the complete biosynthetic pathway of major furochromones in the medicinal plant Saposhnikovia divaricata by characterizing prenyltransferase, peucenin cyclase, methyltransferase, hydroxylase, and glycosyltransferases. De novo biosynthesis of prim-O-glucosylcimifugin and 5-O-methylvisamminoside is realized in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves. Through comparative genomic and transcriptomic analyses, we further find that proximal duplication and high expression of a pentaketide chromone synthase gene SdPCS, together with the presence of a lineage-specific peucenin cyclase gene SdPC, lead to the predominant accumulation of furochromones in the roots of S. divaricata among surveyed Apiaceae plants. This study paves the way for metabolic engineering production of furochromones, and sheds light into evolutionary mechanisms of furochromone biosynthesis among Apiaceae plants.
format Article
id doaj-art-c9757fe45abb4977b090053b8b6836db
institution OA Journals
issn 2041-1723
language English
publishDate 2025-04-01
publisher Nature Portfolio
record_format Article
series Nature Communications
spelling doaj-art-c9757fe45abb4977b090053b8b6836db2025-08-20T01:56:01ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-04-0116111510.1038/s41467-025-58498-8Complete biosynthetic pathway of furochromones in Saposhnikovia divaricata and its evolutionary mechanism in Apiaceae plantsJian-lin Zou0Hong-ye Li1Bao Nie2Zi-long Wang3Chun-xue Zhao4Yun-gang Tian5Li-qun Lin6Wei-zhe Xu7Zhuang-wei Hou8Wen-kai Sun9Xiao-xu Han10Meng Zhang11Hao-tian Wang12Qing-yan Li13Li Wang14Min Ye15State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking UniversityState Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking UniversityShenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory of Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesState Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking UniversityState Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking UniversityState Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking UniversityShenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory of Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesCivil Aviation Medicine Center, Civil Aviation Administration of China, A-1 GaojingShenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory of Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesShenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory of Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesShenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory of Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesState Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking UniversityState Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking UniversityCivil Aviation Medicine Center, Civil Aviation Administration of China, A-1 GaojingShenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory of Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesState Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking UniversityAbstract Furochromones are specific bioactive secondary metabolites of many Apiaceae plants. Their biosynthesis remains largely unexplored. In this work, we dissect the complete biosynthetic pathway of major furochromones in the medicinal plant Saposhnikovia divaricata by characterizing prenyltransferase, peucenin cyclase, methyltransferase, hydroxylase, and glycosyltransferases. De novo biosynthesis of prim-O-glucosylcimifugin and 5-O-methylvisamminoside is realized in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves. Through comparative genomic and transcriptomic analyses, we further find that proximal duplication and high expression of a pentaketide chromone synthase gene SdPCS, together with the presence of a lineage-specific peucenin cyclase gene SdPC, lead to the predominant accumulation of furochromones in the roots of S. divaricata among surveyed Apiaceae plants. This study paves the way for metabolic engineering production of furochromones, and sheds light into evolutionary mechanisms of furochromone biosynthesis among Apiaceae plants.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58498-8
spellingShingle Jian-lin Zou
Hong-ye Li
Bao Nie
Zi-long Wang
Chun-xue Zhao
Yun-gang Tian
Li-qun Lin
Wei-zhe Xu
Zhuang-wei Hou
Wen-kai Sun
Xiao-xu Han
Meng Zhang
Hao-tian Wang
Qing-yan Li
Li Wang
Min Ye
Complete biosynthetic pathway of furochromones in Saposhnikovia divaricata and its evolutionary mechanism in Apiaceae plants
Nature Communications
title Complete biosynthetic pathway of furochromones in Saposhnikovia divaricata and its evolutionary mechanism in Apiaceae plants
title_full Complete biosynthetic pathway of furochromones in Saposhnikovia divaricata and its evolutionary mechanism in Apiaceae plants
title_fullStr Complete biosynthetic pathway of furochromones in Saposhnikovia divaricata and its evolutionary mechanism in Apiaceae plants
title_full_unstemmed Complete biosynthetic pathway of furochromones in Saposhnikovia divaricata and its evolutionary mechanism in Apiaceae plants
title_short Complete biosynthetic pathway of furochromones in Saposhnikovia divaricata and its evolutionary mechanism in Apiaceae plants
title_sort complete biosynthetic pathway of furochromones in saposhnikovia divaricata and its evolutionary mechanism in apiaceae plants
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58498-8
work_keys_str_mv AT jianlinzou completebiosyntheticpathwayoffurochromonesinsaposhnikoviadivaricataanditsevolutionarymechanisminapiaceaeplants
AT hongyeli completebiosyntheticpathwayoffurochromonesinsaposhnikoviadivaricataanditsevolutionarymechanisminapiaceaeplants
AT baonie completebiosyntheticpathwayoffurochromonesinsaposhnikoviadivaricataanditsevolutionarymechanisminapiaceaeplants
AT zilongwang completebiosyntheticpathwayoffurochromonesinsaposhnikoviadivaricataanditsevolutionarymechanisminapiaceaeplants
AT chunxuezhao completebiosyntheticpathwayoffurochromonesinsaposhnikoviadivaricataanditsevolutionarymechanisminapiaceaeplants
AT yungangtian completebiosyntheticpathwayoffurochromonesinsaposhnikoviadivaricataanditsevolutionarymechanisminapiaceaeplants
AT liqunlin completebiosyntheticpathwayoffurochromonesinsaposhnikoviadivaricataanditsevolutionarymechanisminapiaceaeplants
AT weizhexu completebiosyntheticpathwayoffurochromonesinsaposhnikoviadivaricataanditsevolutionarymechanisminapiaceaeplants
AT zhuangweihou completebiosyntheticpathwayoffurochromonesinsaposhnikoviadivaricataanditsevolutionarymechanisminapiaceaeplants
AT wenkaisun completebiosyntheticpathwayoffurochromonesinsaposhnikoviadivaricataanditsevolutionarymechanisminapiaceaeplants
AT xiaoxuhan completebiosyntheticpathwayoffurochromonesinsaposhnikoviadivaricataanditsevolutionarymechanisminapiaceaeplants
AT mengzhang completebiosyntheticpathwayoffurochromonesinsaposhnikoviadivaricataanditsevolutionarymechanisminapiaceaeplants
AT haotianwang completebiosyntheticpathwayoffurochromonesinsaposhnikoviadivaricataanditsevolutionarymechanisminapiaceaeplants
AT qingyanli completebiosyntheticpathwayoffurochromonesinsaposhnikoviadivaricataanditsevolutionarymechanisminapiaceaeplants
AT liwang completebiosyntheticpathwayoffurochromonesinsaposhnikoviadivaricataanditsevolutionarymechanisminapiaceaeplants
AT minye completebiosyntheticpathwayoffurochromonesinsaposhnikoviadivaricataanditsevolutionarymechanisminapiaceaeplants