Advances in Metabolic Engineering of Plant Monoterpene Indole Alkaloids

Monoterpene indole alkaloids (MIAs) encompass a diverse family of over 3000 plant natural products with a wide range of medical applications. Further utilizations of these compounds, however, are hampered due to low levels of abundance in their natural sources, causing difficult isolation and complex multi-steps in uneconomical chemical syntheses. Metabolic engineering of MIA biosynthesis in heterologous hosts is attractive, particularly for increasing the yield of natural products of interest and expanding their chemical diversity. Here, we review recent advances and strategies which have been adopted to engineer microbial and plant systems for the purpose of generating MIAs and discuss the current issues and future developments of manufacturing MIAs by synthetic biology approaches.

Automated summary

Monoterpene indole alkaloids (MIAs) are a diverse family of over 3000 plant natural products with a wide range of medical applications. However, their low abundance in natural sources and complex synthesis processes hinder further utilization. Metabolic engineering of MIAs biosynthesis in heterologous hosts is an attractive approach to increase yield and expand chemical diversity. This review discusses recent advances, strategies, current issues, and future developments in manufacturing MIAs through synthetic biology approaches.