Team:Lubbock TTU/Description
Description
Heterologous Microbial Production of Tropinone
The vast chemical diversity of plant specialized metabolites has provided a historically long-standing avenue for humankind to access natural products with pharmacologically active properties. Many plants that were domesticated during ancient times for their medicinal and psychoactive value are currently known to produce nitrogenous bicyclic phytochemicals classified as tropane alkaloids. Examples of notable tropane alkaloids include atropine and scopolamine, which are listed as essential medicines by the World Health Organization, and even the notoriously addictive stimulant, cocaine.
Until recently, the enzymes responsible for the formation of the first intermediate metabolite required for the biosynthesis of all tropane alkaloids, known as tropinone, has been controversial for nearly a century. With the recent elucidation of the enzymes required for tropinone biosynthesis and recognizing the expansive relevance of tropane alkaloids to public health, we aim to construct, characterize, and optimize a tropinone biosynthetic pathway in E. coli. The microbial production of tropinone will have the opportunity to provide a green chemistry method to manufacture tropane alkaloids as opposed to environmentally harmful chemical synthesis or low-yield plant extraction.
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