Structural and Catalytic Insight into the Unique Pentacyclic Triterpene Synthase TwOSC

In this study, we determined the first cryogenic electron microscopy structure of a plant OSC, friedelin synthase, from Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. f (TwOSC). We also performed quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics simulations to reveal the energy profile for the CSR cascade reaction and identify key residues crucial for PT skeleton yield. Furthermore, we semi-rationally designed two TwOSC mutants, which significantly improved the yields of friedelin and β-amyrin, respectively. Our findings provide novel insights into the CSR mechanism under TwOSC enzyme catalysis and propose a new strategy for the semi-rational design of other OSCs to promote PT biosynthesis.PMID:37840440 | DOI:10.1002/anie.202313429

Source: Angewandte Chemie - October 16, 2023 Category: Chemistry Authors: Yunfeng Luo Xiaoli Ma Yufan Qiu Yun Lu Siyu Shen Yang Li Haiyun Gao Kang Chen Jiawei Zhou Tianyuan Hu Lichan Tu Huan Zhao Dan Li Faqiang Leng Wei Gao Tao Jiang Changli Liu Luqi Huang Ruibo Wu Yuru Tong Source Type: research