Dr. Indra Wibowo, Dr. Ahmad Faizal, and their colleague explored the production of oleanane-type saponins produced by the genus Talinum. The first aim of the study was to isolate the probable gene encoding bAS, a key enzyme involved in the cyclization of 2,3-oxidosqualene producing the backbone of the oleanane-type saponin β-amyrin and characterize the gene sequence and the predicted protein sequence using in silico approach. The second aim was to analyze the correlation between the TpbAS gene expression level and saponin production in various plant organs. The results showed that the full-length TpbAS gene consists of 2298 base pairs encoding for a 765-amino acid protein. From in silico study, the (GA)n sequence was identified in the 5′-untranslated regions and predicted to be a candidate of the gene expression modulator. In addition, functional RNA motifs and sites analysis predicted the presence of exon splicing enhancers and silencers within the coding sequence and miRNA target sites candidate. Amino acid sequence analysis showed DCTAE, QW, and WCYCR motifs that were conserved in all classes of oxidosqualene cyclase enzymes. Phylogenetic tree analysis showed that TpbAS is closely related to other plant oxidosqualene cyclase groups.

Article Citation:
Afifah ,I.Q., Wibowo, I., Faizal, A. (2023). A newly identified β-amyrin synthase gene hypothetically involved in oleanane-saponin biosynthesis from Talinum paniculatum (Jacq.) Gaertn. Heliyon 28;9(7):e17707. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e17707.

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Dr. Indra Wibowo, S.Si, M.Sc. Profile Picture
(Source: https://sith.itb.ac.id/en/dr-indra-wibowo-rev/)
Dr. Ahmad Faizal Profile Picture
(Source: https://sith.itb.ac.id/en/dr-ahmad-faizal/)
Heliyon Cover
(Source: https://www.cell.com/heliyon/home)
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