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Harvard Forest Research Project 2024
- Title: Biosynthesis of clubmoss alkaloids
- Principal investigator: Ryan Nett (rnett@fas.harvard.edu)
- Institution: Harvard University
- Primary contact: Ryan Nett (rnett@fas.harvard.edu)
- Team members: Eric Fields
Andrea Loya Castillo - Abstract:
Clubmosses produce a lineage-specific group of molecules called the Lycopodium alkaloids. These alkaloids are represented by hundreds of unique, bioactive structures that are thought to act as defense compounds against herbivory. In our research, we seek to understand the biosynthetic genes and pathways that are used by clubmosses to produce these alkaloids. Previously, we had identified a core set of genes that are required to biosynthesize huperzine A, a Lycopodium alkaloid that accumulates in species from the Huperzia and Phlegmariurus genera. We have recently also identified a branch point in Lycopodium alkaloid metabolism that leads to lycopodine, a precursor to many structurally-related alkaloids that predominantly accumulate in Lycopodium, Dendrolycopodium, and Diphasiastrum species. We are seeking to understand how lycopodine and related alkaloids are produced in these species, and we plan to use a combination of targeted metabolomics, transcriptomic co-expression analysis, and enzyme characterization to identify biosynthetic genes that produce the many diverse Lycopodium alkaloids found in clubmosses.
