Title:The Advances and Challenges in Enzymatic C-glycosylation of Flavonoids in Plants
Volume: 28
Issue: 18
Author(s): Hui-Yao Gao, Yan Liu, Fei-Fan Tan, Li-Wen Zhu, Kai-Zhi Jia*Ya-Jie Tang
Affiliation:
- National “111” Center for Cellular Regulation and Molecular Pharmaceutics, Key Laboratory of Fermentation Engineering (Ministry
of Education), Hubei Key Laboratory of Industrial Microbiology, Hubei Provincial Cooperative Innovation Center of Industrial
Fermentation, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, China
Keywords:
Flavonoid glycosyltransferase, O-glycosyltransferase, catalytic mechanism, promiscuity, specificity engineering, c-glycosylation.
Abstract: Flavonoid glycosides play determinant roles in plants and have considerable potential for applications
in medicine and biotechnology. Glycosyltransferases transfer a sugar moiety from uridine diphosphateactivated
sugar molecules to an acceptor flavonoid via C-O and C-C linkages. Compared with O-glycosyl flavonoids,
C-glycosyl flavonoids are more stable, resistant to glycosidase or acid hydrolysis, exhibit better pharmacological
properties, and have received more attention. In this study, we discuss the mining of C-glycosyl
flavones and the corresponding C-glycosyltransferases and evaluate the differences in structure and catalytic
mechanisms between C-glycosyltransferase and O-glycosyltransferase. We conclude that promiscuity and specificity
are key determinants for general flavonoid C-glycosyltransferase engineering and summarize the
C-glycosyltransferase engineering strategy. A thorough understanding of the properties, catalytic mechanisms,
and engineering of C-glycosyltransferases will be critical for future biotechnological applications in areas such
as the production of desired C-glycosyl flavonoids for nutritional or medicinal use.