Functional identification of hyoscyamine 6β-hydroxylase from Anisodus acutangulus and overproduction of scopolamine in genetically-engineered Escherichia coli

Hyoscyamine 6β-hydroxylase (H6H; EC 1.14.11.11) converts hyoscyamine to scopolamine in the last step of scopolamine biosynthetic pathway. The gene encoding H6H in Anisodus acutangulus was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli and the recombinant proteins fused with His-tag or GST-tag at its N-terminal were purified and then confirmed by Western bolt analysis. The biofunctional assay revealed that the His-AaH6H and GST-AaH6H converted hyoscyamine (40 mg/l) to scopolamine at 32 and 31 mg/l, respectively. This is the first report on AaH6H expression, purification and functional characterization facilitates further genetic improvement of scopolamine yield in A. acutangulus.