Bryson Abigail E, Childs Kevin L, Schlecht Nicholas, Mathieu Davis, Hamilton John P, Xin Haoyang, Jiang Jiming, Buell C Robin, Hamberger Bjӧrn
Department of Biochemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48823, USA.
Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48823, USA.
Plant Commun. 2025 Aug 11;6(8):101393. doi: 10.1016/j.xplc.2025.101393. Epub 2025 Jun 3.
Teucrium chamaedrys, commonly known as wall germander, is a small woody shrub native to the Mediterranean region. Its name is derived from the Greek words meaning "ground oak," as its tiny leaves resemble those of an oak tree. Teucrium species are prolific producers of diterpenes, endowing them with valuable properties widely utilized in traditional and modern medicine. Sequencing and assembly of the 3-Gbp tetraploid T. chamaedrys genome revealed 74 diterpene synthase genes, with a substantial number of these genes clustered at four synteny genomic loci, each harboring a copy of a large diterpene biosynthetic gene cluster. Comparative genomics revealed that this cluster is conserved in the closely related species Teucrium marum. Along with the presence of several cytochrome p450 sequences, this region is among the largest biosynthetic gene clusters identified. Teucrium is well known for accumulating clerodane-type diterpenoids, which are produced from a kolavenyl diphosphate precursor. To elucidate the complex biosynthetic pathways of these medicinal compounds, we identified and functionally characterized several kolavenyl diphosphate synthases from T. chamaedrys. The remarkable chemical diversity and tetraploid nature of T. chamaedrys make it a valuable model for studying genomic evolution and adaptation in plants.
石蚕叶香科，通常被称为墙石蚕，是一种原产于地中海地区的小型木本灌木。它的名字来源于希腊语，意思是“地橡树”，因为它的小叶类似于橡树的叶子。石蚕属物种是二萜类化合物的丰富生产者，使其具有在传统医学和现代医学中广泛应用的宝贵特性。对30亿碱基对的四倍体石蚕叶香科基因组进行测序和组装，发现了74个二萜合酶基因，其中大量基因聚集在四个同线基因组位点，每个位点都含有一个大型二萜生物合成基因簇的拷贝。比较基因组学研究表明，该基因簇在近缘物种石蚕中是保守的。除了存在几个细胞色素P450序列外，该区域是已鉴定的最大生物合成基因簇之一。石蚕叶香科以积累克罗烷型二萜类化合物而闻名，这些化合物由可乐烯基二磷酸前体产生。为了阐明这些药用化合物的复杂生物合成途径，我们从石蚕叶香科中鉴定并对几种可乐烯基二磷酸合酶进行了功能表征。石蚕叶香科显著的化学多样性和四倍体性质使其成为研究植物基因组进化和适应性的宝贵模型。
