Dioxygenases catalyze O-demethylation and O,O-demethylenation with widespread roles in benzylisoquinoline alkaloid metabolism in opium poppy.

In opium poppy, the antepenultimate and final steps in morphine biosynthesis are catalyzed by the 2-oxoglutarate/Fe(II)-dependent dioxygenases, thebaine 6-O-demethylase (T6ODM) and codeine O-demethylase (CODM). Further investigation into the biochemical functions of CODM and T6ODM revealed extensive and unexpected roles for such enzymes in the metabolism of protopine, benzo[c]phenanthridine, and rhoeadine alkaloids. When assayed with a wide range of benzylisoquinoline alkaloids, CODM, T6ODM, and the functionally unassigned paralog DIOX2, renamed protopine O-dealkylase, showed novel and efficient dealkylation activities, including regio- and substrate-specific O-demethylation and O,O-demethylenation. Enzymes catalyzing O,O-demethylenation, which cleave a methylenedioxy bridge leaving two hydroxyl groups, have previously not been reported in plants. Similar cleavage of methylenedioxy bridges on substituted amphetamines is catalyzed by heme-dependent cytochromes P450 in mammals. Preferred substrates for O,O-demethylenation by CODM and protopine O-dealkylase were protopine alkaloids that serve as intermediates in the biosynthesis of benzo[c]phenanthridine and rhoeadine derivatives. Virus-induced gene silencing used to suppress the abundance of CODM and/or T6ODM transcripts indicated a direct physiological role for these enzymes in the metabolism of protopine alkaloids, and they revealed their indirect involvement in the formation of the antimicrobial benzo[c]phenanthridine sanguinarine and certain rhoeadine alkaloids in opium poppy.