Nature Search

Genetically encoded fluorescent reporter for polyamines

Polyamines are essential metabolites linked to aging, cancer, and Parkinson’s disease. Here, authors develop a live-cell polyamine reporter and use a genome-wide CRISPR screen to uncover a link between mitochondrial respiration and polyamine import.

Pushkal Sharma
Colin Y. Kim
Ankur Jain
ResearchOpen Access27 May 2025
Nature Communications

Volume: 16, P: 1-16
Mechanistic basis for the emergence of EPS1 as a catalyst in salicylic acid biosynthesis of Brassicaceae

Torrens-Spence et al. reveal how plants in the cabbage family uniquely accelerate production of salicylic acid, a key defense hormone, through evolution of a specialized enzyme called EPS1. This finding could help enhance disease resistance in other crops.

Michael P. Torrens-Spence
Jason O. Matos
Jing-Ke Weng
ResearchOpen Access28 Nov 2024
Nature Communications

Volume: 15, P: 1-13
The molecular structure of plant sporopollenin

A distinct feature of pollen gains is their resistant outer wall, called the exine, which is mainly composed of sporopollenin, the toughest biopolymer known to date despite an unknown detailed structure. Now, a structural model of pine sporopollenin is revealed by the application of new degradation chemistry and solid-state NMR spectroscopy.

Fu-Shuang Li
Pyae Phyo
Jing-Ke Weng
Research17 Dec 2018
Nature Plants

Volume: 5, P: 41-46
How the flame lily synthesizes a therapeutic natural product

The discovery of the biosynthetic pathway for colchicine, a medicine produced by plants, holds promise for the use of metabolic-engineering approaches in producing reliably high yields of this compound.

Jing-Ke Weng
News & Views22 Jul 2020
Nature

Volume: 584, P: 49-50
The evolutionary origin of naturally occurring intermolecular Diels-Alderases from Morus alba

Diels-Alderases (DAs), enzymes catalyzing [4 + 2] cycloaddition reactions, are of high interest, but insights into their evolution are lacking. Here, the authors investigate the evolutionary origins of the intermolecular DAs in the biosynthesis of Moraceae plant-derived Diels-Alder-type secondary metabolites, suggesting they evolved from an ancestor functioning as a flavin adenine dinucleotide-dependent oxidocyclase.

Qi Ding
Nianxin Guo
Xiaoguang Lei
ResearchOpen Access20 Mar 2024
Nature Communications

Volume: 15, P: 1-12
Repeated evolution of cytochrome P450-mediated spiroketal steroid biosynthesis in plants

Diosgenin is a spiroketal natural product that is used as a precursor in the industrial synthesis of steroids. Here, the authors identified key cytochrome P450 enzymes responsible for the conversion of cholesterol to diosgenin from two phylogenetical distinct diosgenin-producing plant species.

Bastien Christ
Chengchao Xu
Jing-Ke Weng
ResearchOpen Access19 Jul 2019
Nature Communications

Volume: 10, P: 1-11
The biosynthetic origin of psychoactive kavalactones in kava

Kava (Piper methysticum), an ethnomedicinal shrub native to the Polynesian islands, produces psychoactive kavalactones and anticancer flavokavains. Structures of key enzymes in their biosynthetic network may enable heterologous production.

Tomáš Pluskal
Michael P. Torrens-Spence
Jing-Ke Weng
Research22 Jul 2019
Nature Plants

Volume: 5, P: 867-878
Author Correction: Genomics and biochemical analyses reveal a metabolon key to β-L-ODAP biosynthesis in Lathyrus sativus

Anne Edwards
Isaac Njaci
Peter M. F. Emmrich
Amendments and CorrectionsOpen Access25 Aug 2023
Nature Communications

Volume: 14, P: 1
Genomics and biochemical analyses reveal a metabolon key to β-L-ODAP biosynthesis in Lathyrus sativus

Grass pea is a multi-stress tolerant orphan crop and developing cultivars with decreased accumulation of the neurotoxin β-L-oxalyl-2,3-diaminopropionic acid (β-L-ODAP) is one of its breeding objectives. Here, the authors assemble its genome and reveal genes involved in the biosynthesis of β-L-ODAP.

Anne Edwards
Isaac Njaci
Peter M. F. Emmrich
ResearchOpen Access16 Feb 2023
Nature Communications

Volume: 14, P: 1-16
Emergence of a proton exchange-based isomerization and lactonization mechanism in the plant coumarin synthase COSY

Plant biosynthetic enzymes rapidly evolve to catalyze specialized reactions. Here, the authors present the crystal structure and mechanism of COSY, the enzyme involved in coumarin biosynthesis of the BAHD-acyltransferase family that catalyzes an intramolecular acyl transfer reaction through a proton exchange mechanism.

Colin Y. Kim
Andrew J. Mitchell
Jing-Ke Weng
ResearchOpen Access03 Feb 2023
Nature Communications

Volume: 14, P: 1-15
Demystifying traditional herbal medicine with modern approach

Plants have long been recognized for their therapeutic properties. Now, modern science is unravelling the mechanisms of action of ancient herbal medicines and finding new ways to exploit them.

Fu-Shuang Li
Jing-Ke Weng
Reviews31 Jul 2017
Nature Plants

Volume: 3, P: 1-7
The chloroalkaloid (−)-acutumine is biosynthesized via a Fe(II)- and 2-oxoglutarate-dependent halogenase in Menispermaceae plants

Halogenated plant natural products are rare and plant halogenation enzymes are thus far unknown. Here Kim et al. identify a dechloroacutumine halogenase from Common Moonseed that catalyzes the final chlorination step in the biosynthesis of acutumine, a chloroalkaloid with selective cytotoxicity to cultured T cells.

Colin Y. Kim
Andrew J. Mitchell
Jing-Ke Weng
ResearchOpen Access20 Apr 2020
Nature Communications

Volume: 11, P: 1-7
Integrative analysis of multimodal mass spectrometry data in MZmine 3

Robin Schmid
Steffen Heuckeroth
Tomáš Pluskal
Correspondence01 Mar 2023
Nature Biotechnology

Volume: 41, P: 447-449
Adaptive mechanisms of plant specialized metabolism connecting chemistry to function

Decades of research have identified the biochemical basis of many plant specialized metabolic pathways. This Review highlights the biological context of these pathways and how recent advances have extended the new frontiers of phytochemistry.

Jing-Ke Weng
Joseph H. Lynch
Natalia Dudareva
Reviews22 Sept 2021
Nature Chemical Biology

Volume: 17, P: 1037-1045
Non-specific activities of the major herbicide-resistance gene BAR

The herbicide-resistant BAR gene is broadly used in different plants. The current study reports the first crystal structure of the BAR enzyme and further demonstrate structure-guided engineering strategies to reduce the non-specific activities of BAR.

Bastien Christ
Ramon Hochstrasser
Jing-Ke Weng
Research27 Nov 2017
Nature Plants

Volume: 3, P: 937-945
Sporopollenin-inspired design and synthesis of robust polymeric materials

Pine sporopollenin harbors unique monomeric units and inter-unit linkages forming mechanically robust and chemically inert biopolymers. Here, the authors design and synthesize several sporopollenin analogues, and characterize their chemical, thermal and mechanical properties as robust polymers.

Christopher M. Glinkerman
Shaoting Lin
Jing-Ke Weng
ResearchOpen Access12 Sept 2022
Communications Chemistry

Volume: 5, P: 1-9
Laboratory culture of the California Sea Firefly Vargula tsujii (Ostracoda: Cypridinidae): Developing a model system for the evolution of marine bioluminescence

Jessica A. Goodheart
Geetanjali Minsky
Todd H. Oakley
ResearchOpen Access26 Jun 2020
Scientific Reports

Volume: 10, P: 1-15
Molecular characterization of firefly nuptial gifts: a multi-omics approach sheds light on postcopulatory sexual selection

Nooria Al-Wathiqui
Timothy R. Fallon
Sara M. Lewis
ResearchOpen Access22 Dec 2016
Scientific Reports

Volume: 6, P: 1-15

Search

Genetically encoded fluorescent reporter for polyamines

Mechanistic basis for the emergence of EPS1 as a catalyst in salicylic acid biosynthesis of Brassicaceae

The molecular structure of plant sporopollenin

How the flame lily synthesizes a therapeutic natural product

The evolutionary origin of naturally occurring intermolecular Diels-Alderases from Morus alba

Repeated evolution of cytochrome P450-mediated spiroketal steroid biosynthesis in plants

The biosynthetic origin of psychoactive kavalactones in kava

Author Correction: Genomics and biochemical analyses reveal a metabolon key to β-L-ODAP biosynthesis in Lathyrus sativus

Genomics and biochemical analyses reveal a metabolon key to β-L-ODAP biosynthesis in Lathyrus sativus

Emergence of a proton exchange-based isomerization and lactonization mechanism in the plant coumarin synthase COSY

Demystifying traditional herbal medicine with modern approach

The chloroalkaloid (−)-acutumine is biosynthesized via a Fe(II)- and 2-oxoglutarate-dependent halogenase in Menispermaceae plants

Integrative analysis of multimodal mass spectrometry data in MZmine 3

Adaptive mechanisms of plant specialized metabolism connecting chemistry to function

Non-specific activities of the major herbicide-resistance gene BAR

Sporopollenin-inspired design and synthesis of robust polymeric materials

Laboratory culture of the California Sea Firefly Vargula tsujii (Ostracoda: Cypridinidae): Developing a model system for the evolution of marine bioluminescence

Molecular characterization of firefly nuptial gifts: a multi-omics approach sheds light on postcopulatory sexual selection

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