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J Biol Chem

Title:		"Identification of a fungal 1,8-cineole synthase from Hypoxylon sp. with specificity determinants in common with the plant synthases"
Author(s):		Shaw JJ; Berbasova T; Sasaki T; Jefferson-George K; Spakowicz DJ; Dunican BF; Portero CE; Narvaez-Trujillo A; Strobel SA;
Address:		"From the Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520. the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, and. the Laboratorio de Biotecnologia Vegetal, Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Ecuador, Quito 17 01 21 84, Ecuador. From the Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, scott.strobel@yale.edu"
Journal Title:		J Biol Chem
Year:		2015
Volume:		20150203
Issue:		13
Page Number:		8511 - 8526
DOI:		10.1074/jbc.M114.636159
ISSN/ISBN:		1083-351X (Electronic) 0021-9258 (Print) 0021-9258 (Linking)
Abstract:		"Terpenes are an important and diverse class of secondary metabolites widely produced by fungi. Volatile compound screening of a fungal endophyte collection revealed a number of isolates in the family Xylariaceae, producing a series of terpene molecules, including 1,8-cineole. This compound is a commercially important component of eucalyptus oil used in pharmaceutical applications and has been explored as a potential biofuel additive. The genes that produce terpene molecules, such as 1,8-cineole, have been little explored in fungi, providing an opportunity to explore the biosynthetic origin of these compounds. Through genome sequencing of cineole-producing isolate E7406B, we were able to identify 11 new terpene synthase genes. Expressing a subset of these genes in Escherichia coli allowed identification of the hyp3 gene, responsible for 1,8-cineole biosynthesis, the first monoterpene synthase discovered in fungi. In a striking example of convergent evolution, mutational analysis of this terpene synthase revealed an active site asparagine critical for water capture and specificity during cineole synthesis, the same mechanism used in an unrelated plant homologue. These studies have provided insight into the evolutionary relationship of fungal terpene synthases to those in plants and bacteria and further established fungi as a relatively untapped source of this important and diverse class of compounds"
Keywords:		"Amino Acid Sequence Ascomycota/*enzymology/metabolism Carbon-Carbon Lyases/*chemistry/genetics Cyclohexanols/*chemistry Endophytes/enzymology Eucalyptol Fungal Proteins/*chemistry/genetics Kinetics Models, Molecular Molecular Sequence Data Monoterpenes/*c;"
Notes:		"MedlineShaw, Jeffrey J Berbasova, Tetyana Sasaki, Tomoaki Jefferson-George, Kyra Spakowicz, Daniel J Dunican, Brian F Portero, Carolina E Narvaez-Trujillo, Alexandra Strobel, Scott A eng T15 LM007056/LM/NLM NIH HHS/ T32 GM007223/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. 2015/02/05 J Biol Chem. 2015 Mar 27; 290(13):8511-26. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M114.636159. Epub 2015 Feb 3"