Metabolic engineering of yeast for de novo production of kratom monoterpene indole alkaloids

• Published in: Metabolic engineering 2024-11, Vol.86, p.135-146
• Main Authors: Holtz, Maxence, Rago, Daniela, Nedermark, Ida, Hansson, Frederik G., Lehka, Beata J., Hansen, Lea G., Marcussen, Nils E.J., Veneman, Wouter J., Ahonen, Linda, Wungsintaweekul, Juraithip, Acevedo-Rocha, Carlos G., Dirks, Ron P., Zhang, Jie, Keasling, Jay D., Jensen, Michael K.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: biochemical pathways; drugs; enzymes; glucose; humans; hydroxylation; Kratom; lead; ligands; Metabolic Engineering; metabolomics; Mitragyna - genetics; Mitragyna - metabolism; Mitragyna speciosa; Mitragynine; Monoterpene indole alkaloids; monoterpenoids; pain; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Saccharomyces cerevisiae - genetics; Saccharomyces cerevisiae - metabolism; Secologanin Tryptamine Alkaloids - metabolism; South East Asia; Synthetic biology; therapeutics; tryptamine; yeasts
• ISSN: 1096-7176; 1096-7184; 1096-7184
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2024.09.011

Monoterpene indole alkaloids (MIAs) from Mitragyna speciosa (“kratom”), such as mitragynine and speciogynine, are promising novel scaffolds for opioid receptor ligands for treatment of pain, addiction, and depression. While kratom leaves have been used for centuries in South-East Asia as stimulant and pain management substance, the biosynthetic pathway of these psychoactives have only recently been partially elucidated. Here, we demonstrate the de novo production of mitragynine and speciogynine in Saccharomyces cerevisiae through the reconstruction of a five-step synthetic pathway from common MIA precursor strictosidine comprising fungal tryptamine 4-monooxygenase to bypass an unknown kratom hydroxylase. Upon optimizing cultivation conditions, a titer of ∼290 μg/L kratom MIAs from glucose was achieved. Untargeted metabolomics analysis of lead production strains led to the identification of numerous shunt products derived from the activity of strictosidine synthase (STR) and dihydrocorynantheine synthase (DCS), highlighting them as candidates for enzyme engineering to further improve kratom MIAs production in yeast. Finally, by feeding fluorinated tryptamine and expressing a human tailoring enzyme, we further demonstrate production of fluorinated and hydroxylated mitragynine derivatives with potential applications in drug discovery campaigns. Altogether, this study introduces a yeast cell factory platform for the biomanufacturing of complex natural and new-to-nature kratom MIAs derivatives with therapeutic potential. •De novo production of mitragynine and speciogynine in Saccharomyces cerevisiae achieved.•Five-step synthetic pathway reconstructed from strictosidine in yeast.•Optimized cultivation conditions yielded ∼290 μg/L of kratom MIAs from trehalose and glycerol.•Metabolomics analysis identified shunt products, highlighting enzyme engineering targets for further cell factory optimization.•Production of fluorinated and hydroxylated mitragynine derivatives demonstrated.