Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41214358›Full record

ArticleScience China. Life sciences2025

Gamma-selinene synthase catalyzes the first step of dihydroagarofuran sesquiterpene alkaloid biosynthesis in Tripterygium.

Xin-Yue Liu, Yu-Fei Li, Jun-Zhe Zhou, Jin-Quan Huang, Ling-Jian Wang, Lei Yang, Chen-Yi Li, Xin Fang, Xiao-Ya Chen

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Article in Science China. Life sciences, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Xin-Yue Liu *State Key Laboratory of Plant Trait Design, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences/Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, University of CAS, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China.
Yu-Fei Li *State Key Laboratory of Plant Trait Design, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences/Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, University of CAS, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China.
Jun-Zhe ZhouState Key Laboratory of Plant Trait Design, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences/Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, University of CAS, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China.
Jin-Quan HuangState Key Laboratory of Plant Trait Design, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences/Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, University of CAS, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China.
Ling-Jian WangState Key Laboratory of Plant Trait Design, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences/Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, University of CAS, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China.
Lei YangShanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics and Resources, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Shanghai, 201602, China.
Chen-Yi LiState Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Collaborative Innovation Center of Genetics and Development, Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Plant Biology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, China.
Xin FangState Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Natural Medicines, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China. xinfang@mail.kib.ac.cn.
Xiao-Ya ChenState Key Laboratory of Plant Trait Design, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences/Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, University of CAS, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China. xychen@cemps.ac.cn.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Tripterygium wilfordii and T. hypoglaucum, which belong to family Celastraceae, are perennial vine shrubs with medicinal uses in treating rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, and male contraception. Among the bioactive ingredients, the macrocyclic dihydroagarofuran sesquiterpene alkaloids (DASAs), also serving as chemotaxonomic markers of Celastraceae, are well-known for cytotoxicity and insecticidal properties. Despite intensive phytochemical investigations over the last half-century, the DASAs biosynthetic pathway remains unsolved. Here, we mined multi-omics data of Tripterygium species and identified 14 sesquiterpene synthase genes. Detailed characterization revealed that a group of enzymes (TwTPS5, TwTPS16, ThTPS5) catalyzed the key step committed to the biosynthesis of DASAs in Tripterygium, as evidenced by CRISPR/Cas9 knockout of TwTPS5 in T. wilfordii. Our biochemical assay showed that these enzymes converted FPP to gamma-selinene. Homologues in other Celastraceae species (EaTPS3, CaTPS5, and CaTPS6) also produced gamma-selinene, suggesting functional conservation in this DASAs-producing lineage. Notably, knocking out TwTPS5 resulted in a reduction of DASAs and enhanced accumulation of pharmaceutically valuable compounds, generating a safer and innovative medicinal plant resource for future applications.

Indexed as

AlkaloidsPlant ProteinsSesquiterpenesTripterygiumBiosynthetic PathwaysCRISPR-Cas SystemsPhylogenyAlkaloidsdihydroagarofuranPlant ProteinsSesquiterpenesCelastraceaedihydroagarofuran sesquiterpene alkaloidsmedicinal plantterpene synthaseTripterygium

Identifiers

PMID41214358

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.