Nature Synthesis Publishes ECUST New Progress in Biosynthesis of Flavonoid Glycosides from Chinese Herbs

Recently, Professor Cai Menghao from the School of Biotechnology at ECUST, in collaboration with Researcher Qiao Xue and Professor Ye Min from Peking University, and Professor Qu Xudong from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, achieved a new breakthrough in the biosynthesis of flavonoid monosides (vitexin, orientin) and flavonoid disides (2″-O-vitexin galactoside, 2″-O-orientin galactoside) derived from the Chinese herb Trollius chinensis (Golden Lotus). The research team achieved efficient de novo synthesis of four flavonoid glycosides in Pichia pastoris, with the highest yield exceeding 26 g/L. The related article is published online in Nature Synthesis under the title “Biosynthesis of plant vitexin-derived flavonoid glycosides in yeast”.

This research was completed through collaboration between the research group of Professor Cai Menghao from the National Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering at ECUST, the research group of Researcher Qiao Xue and Professor Ye Min from the State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs at Peking University, and the research group of Professor Qu Xudong from the State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. The article is first authored by ECUST doctoral candidate Qian Zhilan and corresponding authored by Cai Menghao, Qiao Xue, and Ye Min.