Issue 44, 2017

Recent progress in ergot alkaloid research

Abstract

Ergot alkaloids are a class of indole derivatives produced by the genera of Ascomycota including Claviceps, Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Epichloë. Many natural and semi-synthetic ergot alkaloids exhibit valuable pharmacological activities and have been widely used in the therapy of human CNS disorders. Owing to the development of genome sequencing technology, the gene clusters involved in the biosynthesis of ergot alkaloids have been identified from these fungi. In this review, we briefly introduce the pharmacological activities and possible mechanisms of action of some ergot alkaloids. Then we summarize the recent progress in the functional characterization of the key genes and gene clusters involved in the biosynthetic pathways of ergot alkaloids from different genera. Particularly, we summarize and discuss the constructions of ergot alkaloid biosynthetic pathways in different heterologous hosts and the optimization strategies performed on the recombinant strains, which provide references for producing ergot alkaloids and the derivatives in cell factories by synthetic biology in the future.

Graphical abstract: Recent progress in ergot alkaloid research

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
17 Mar 2017
Accepted
17 May 2017
First published
23 May 2017
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

RSC Adv., 2017,7, 27384-27396

Recent progress in ergot alkaloid research

J. Chen, M. Han, T. Gong, J. Yang and P. Zhu, RSC Adv., 2017, 7, 27384 DOI: 10.1039/C7RA03152A

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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