1 Department of Biology, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec H4B 1R6, Canada; Centre for Structural and Functional Genomics, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec H4B 1R6, Canada.
2 Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94704, USA.
3 Department of Biology, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec H4B 1R6, Canada; Centre for Structural and Functional Genomics, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec H4B 1R6, Canada. Electronic address: vincent.martin@concordia.ca.

Microbial Factories for the Production of Benzylisoquinoline Alkaloids.

Trends Biotechnol. 2016 Mar;34(3):228-241

Authors: Narcross L, Fossati E, Bourgeois L, Dueber JE, Martin VJJ

Abstract

Benzylisoquinoline alkaloids (BIAs) are a family of ~2500 alkaloids with both potential and realized pharmaceutical value, including most notably the opiates such as codeine and morphine. Only a few BIAs accumulate readily in plants, which limits the pharmaceutical potential of the family. Shifting BIA production to microbial sources could provide a scalable and flexible source of these compounds in the future. This review details the current status of microbial BIA synthesis and derivatization, including rapid developments in the past 6 months culminating in the synthesis of opioids from glucose in a microbial host.

PMID: 26775900 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]