Evolution of rosmarinic acid biosynthesis

迷迭香酸合成酶（RAS; hydroxycinnamyyl - coa:hydroxyphenyllactate hydroxycinna-moyltransferase）是生物合成迷迭香酸（RA）的必需酶，在分子的hydroxycinnamoyl部分和hydroxyphenyllactate部分之间形成酯链。因此，在广泛分布于植物界的所有迷迭香酸（RA）积累植物中都应该存在RAS。在低等植物中，类风湿性关节炎存在于角苔（如Anthoceros）和蕨类植物（Blechnum）中。此外，RA在单子叶和双子叶被子植物的几个科中都有记载，因此是一种广泛存在于陆地植物中的天然化合物。近年来已成功克隆到蓝花Coleus blumei （Lamiaceae）的RAS基因，为进一步从植物中分离RAS基因/ cdna并表达其编码蛋白进行活性分析奠定了基础。来自这些不同植物类群的ras -序列的分子特征和系统发育分析将为ra -生物合成的进化提供指示，表明ra -生物合成要么是在许多分类群中被关闭的单系性状，要么是作为一种多次独立获得的能力。

Rosmarinic acid synthase (RAS; hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA:hydroxyphenyllactate hydroxycinna-moyltransferase) is the essential enzyme for the biosynthesis of rosmarinic acid (RA) forming the ester linkage between the hydroxycinnamoyl part and the hydroxyphenyllactate moiety of the molecule. RAS should therefore be present in all rosmarinic acid (RA)-accumulating plants which can be found widely distributed throughout the plant kingdom. In lower plants, RA is present in hornworts (e.g. Anthoceros) and ferns (Blechnum). RA is moreover documented from several families of monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous angiosperms, thus being a natural compound found in a wide range of land plants. RAS from Coleus blumei (Lamiaceae) has been cloned recently and will be used as basis to isolate further RAS-genes/cDNAs from plants and express the encoded proteins for activity assays. A molecular characterization of RAS-sequences from these different plant groups and phylogenetic analyses will give indications on the evolution of RA-biosynthesis either as a monophyletic trait which has been switched off in many taxa or as an ability that has been gained several times independently.