Abstract
In plants, uridine diphosphate (UDP)-dependent glycosyltransferases (UGTs) catalyze the glycosylation of diverse plant specialized metabolites with potential values for nutritional and pharmaceutical applications. Along with increasing plant genomic information, structural analysis of plant UGTs has been utilized to understand the molecular basis of how UGTs function and to facilitate the synthesis of desirable bioactive natural products. Here, we summarize the sequence and structural information of structurally characterized plant UGTs involved in plant specialized metabolism. We then exemplify steviol glycosides, naturally occurring non-caloric sweeteners from Stevia rebaudiana, and their UGT-dependent biosynthetic pathways as an example of how structural biology provides a new versatile platform for understanding substrate specificity and developing successful protein engineering strategies.
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The authors acknowledge support from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center (NCBC) (Project Number: A20-0079), University of North Carolina Wilmington, and Arthur C. Neish Young Investigator Award (Phytochemical Society of North America).
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Aubuchon, L.N., Schmiederer, K. & Lee, S.G. Comparative structural analysis of plant uridine diphosphate (UDP)-dependent glycosyltransferases (UGTs) in plant specialized metabolism: structures of plant UGTs for biosynthesis of steviol glycosides. Phytochem Rev 22, 385–406 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11101-023-09857-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11101-023-09857-0