Deciphering quassinoid biosynthesis in the invasive tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima) Jakob Franke, Ling Chuang, Shenyu Liu, Dave Biedermann Leibniz University Hannover, Germany The tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima) is a globally invasive tree that threatens local biodiversity. An important part of its strategic arsenal are quassinoids, highly modified truncated C 20 triterpenoids with potent allelopathic properties. So far, nothing has been known about the specific course of quassinoid biosynthesis, and it has only been hypothesised that they are related to limonoids, another class of triterpenoids found in related plant families of the same order Sapindales 1 Here, we will present the first insights into the biomolecular basis of quassinoid biosynthesis. Our work reports novel enzymology involved in plant triterpene metabolism and sheds light on the evolutionary connection to limonoids. Besides fundamental insights into triterpenoid biosynthesis, our findings are therefore an important contribution to understanding the molecular basis of invasiveness of the tree of heaven. References 1. H. Hodgson, R. D. L. Peña, M. J. Stephenson, R. Thimmappa, J. L. Vincent, E. S. Sattely and A. Osbourn, Identification of key enzymes responsible for protolimonoid biosynthesis in plants: Opening the door to azadirachtin production, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2019, 201906083.
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