Engineered Microbes for Producing Anticholinergics

The tropane alkaloids (TAs) hyoscyamine and scopolamine function as acetylcholine receptor antagonists and are used clinically as parasympatholytics to treat neuromuscular disorders in humans. While TAs are synthesized in a small subset of plant families, these specialized metabolites are only accumulated in limited quantities in plant organs. The complex chemical structures of these compounds make their industrial production by chemical synthesis very challenging, Therefore, the supply of these TAs still relies on intensive farming of Duboisia shrubs in tropical countries. Many adverse factors such as climate fluctuations and pandemics can thus influence annual world production. Based on the landmark microbial production of the antimalarial semi-synthetic artemisinin, the Smolke group recently developed a yeast cell factory capable of de novo synthesizing hyoscyamine and scopolamine, thus paving the way for an alternative production of these compounds.