Ether bridge formation in loline alkaloid biosynthesis

Enzymes from Fungal and Plant Origin Required for Chemical Diversification of Insecticidal Loline Alkaloids in Grass-Epichloë Symbiota

The lolines are a class of bioprotective alkaloids that are produced by Epichloë species, fungal endophytes of grasses. These alkaloids are saturated 1-aminopyrrolizidines with a C2 to C7 ether bridge, and are structurally differentiated by the various modifications of the 1-amino group: -NH2 (norloline), -NHCH3 (loline), -N(CH3)2 (N-methylloline), -N(CH3)Ac (N-acetylloline), -NHAc (N-acetylnor...

Loline Alkaloid Gene Clusters of the Fungal Endophyte Neotyphodium Uncinatum

Transcription factors in alkaloid biosynthesis.

Higher plants produce a large variety of low-molecular weight secondary compounds. Among them, nitrogen-containing alkaloids are the most biologically active and are often used pharmaceutically. Whereas alkaloid chemistry has been intensively investigated, alkaloid biosynthesis, including the relevant biosynthetic enzymes, genes and their regulation, and especially transcription factors, is lar...

Alkaloid biosynthesis: metabolism and trafficking.

Alkaloids represent a highly diverse group of compounds that are related only by the occurrence of a nitrogen atom in a heterocyclic ring. Plants are estimated to produce approximately 12,000 different alkaloids, which can be organized into groups according to their carbon skeletal structures. Alkaloid biosynthesis in plants involves many catalytic steps, catalyzed by enzymes that belong to a w...

Fifty years of alkaloid biosynthesis in Phytochemistry.

An overview is presented of the studies related to the biosynthesis of alkaloids published in Phytochemistry in the past 50 years.