2022/07/06 by Benke Hong, Dagny Grzech, Lorenzo Caputi +6 · 1 citation
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Chemistry · Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Plant biochemistry and biosynthesis #Chemical synthesis and alkaloids #Plant Parasitism and Resistance
paper · pdf · doi:10.1038/s41586-022-04950-4
openalex publication_date 2022/07/06 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04
Abstract Strychnine is a natural product that, through isolation, structural elucidation and synthetic efforts, shaped the field of organic chemistry. Currently, strychnine is used as a pesticide to control rodents 1 because of its potent neurotoxicity 2,3 . The polycyclic architecture of strychnine has inspired chemists to develop new synthetic transformations and strategies to access this molecular scaffold 4 , yet it is still unknown how plants create this complex structure. Here we report the biosynthetic pathway of strychnine, along with the related molecules brucine and diaboline. Moreover, we successfully recapitulate strychnine, brucine and diaboline biosynthesis in Nicotiana benthamiana from an upstream intermediate, thus demonstrating that this complex, pharmacologically active class of compounds can now be harnessed through metabolic engineering approaches.