Production of taxa-4(5),11(12)-diene by transgenic Physcomitrella patens.

Full Abstract

Taxadiene synthase gene from Taxus brevifolia was constitutively expressed in the moss Physcomitrella patens using a ubiquitin promoter to produce taxa-4(5),11(12)-diene, the precursor of the anticancer drug paclitaxel. In stable moss transformants, taxa-4(5),11(12)-diene was produced up to 0.05% fresh weight of tissue, without significantly affecting the amounts of the endogenous diterpenoids (ent-kaurene and 16-hydroxykaurane). Unlike higher plants that had been genetically modified to produce taxa-4(5),11(12)-diene, transgenic P. patens did not exhibit growth inhibition due to alteration of diterpenoid metabolic pools. Thus we propose that P. patens is a promising alternative host for the biotechnological production of paclitaxel and its precursors.

Author information

Author/s: Anterola, Aldwin (A); Shanle, Erin (E); Perroud, Pierre-François (PF); Quatrano, Ralph (R);

Affiliation: Department of Plant Biology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL 62901, USA. anterola(-atsign-)siu.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Transgenic research (Transgenic Res), published in Netherlands. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Aug; vol 18 (issue 4) : pp 655-60

Dates: Created 2009/07/02; Completed 2009/09/02;

PMID: 19241134, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 9/4/2009, IMS Date: )

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