Biotechnological Approaches to the Production of Isoquinoline Alkaloids

Summary

Isoquinoline alkaloids are a major group of medicinally important compounds. Their structural complexity and diversity have made them an interesting subject of study for chemists and biochemists alike. Although these natural products have significant pharmaceutical value, quantities sufficient to meet commercial demand are in some cases difficult to obtain due to limited or expensive supplies of the plant material from which they are derived. Many of these products have sophisticated structures, including chiral centres, which make their chemical synthesis difficult and impractical. Alternative methods of production are therefore essential. Production of natural compounds from plant cell cultures has been successful. Other means of achieving specific products are the biotransformation of drug precursors by immobilized plant cells or biomimetic enzyme-assisted synthesis. For more general application, we are now interested in using the techniques of molecular genetics to develop methods for the microbial production of the enzymes of plant secondary metabolism.