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Alkaloid Biosynthesis: History
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Contributor: Yu Peng

Alkaloid biosynthesis is the genetically encoded, enzyme-mediated formation of alkaloids: nitrogen-containing natural products produced through specialized metabolic pathways. It encompasses the conversion of central-metabolic precursors into alkaloid core structures and the subsequent reactions that generate structurally distinct alkaloid products. Alkaloid-producing bacteria, fungi, and plants possess different pathway architectures and enzyme repertoires; consequently, alkaloid classes do not necessarily share a single precursor, sequence of intermediates, or biosynthetic mechanism [1]. In established plant pathways, amino acids and their derivatives commonly provide carbon and nitrogen inputs for the formation of alkaloid frameworks [2]. Biosynthesis includes scaffold-forming transformations and downstream tailoring reactions, such as oxidation, reduction, methylation, acylation, and glycosylation, which alter the molecular structure of pathway intermediates [1][3]. The term denotes endogenous biological production and its associated enzymes and genes; it excludes laboratory chemical synthesis, semisynthesis, extraction, isolation, and structural analysis of alkaloids.

  • alkaloids
  • specialized metabolism
  • biosynthetic enzymes
  • nitrogen-containing natural products

References

  1. Shinji Kishimoto; Michio Sato; Yuta Tsunematsu; Kenji Watanabe; Evaluation of Biosynthetic Pathway and Engineered Biosynthesis of Alkaloids. Mol. 2016, 21, 1078, 10.3390/molecules21081078.
  2. Peter J Facchini; ALKALOIDBIOSYNTHESIS INPLANTS: Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Molecular Regulation, and Metabolic Engineering Applications. Annu. Rev. Plant Biol. 2001, 52, 29-66, 10.1146/annurev.arplant.52.1.29.
  3. Fabiola Muro-Villanueva; Ryan S. Nett; Emerging functions within the enzyme families of plant alkaloid biosynthesis. Phytochem. Rev. 2023, 24, 2463-2484, 10.1007/s11101-023-09901-z.
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