Engineering medicinal plant-derived CYPs: a promising strategy for production of high-valued secondary metabolites

MAIN CONCLUSION: Cytochorme P450s (CYPs) play a critical role in the catalysis of secondary metabolite biosynthetic pathways. For their commercial use, various strategies for metabolic pathway engineering using CYP as a potential target have been explored. ABSTRACT: Plants produce a vast diversity of secondary metabolites which are being used to treat various ailments and diseases. Some of these metabolites are difficult to obtain in large quantities limiting their industrial use. Cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYPs) are important catalysts in the biosynthesis of highly valued secondary metabolites, and are found in all domains of life. With the development of high-throughput sequencing and high-resolution mass spectrometry, new biosynthetic pathways and associated CYPs are being identified. In this review, we present CYPs identified from medicinal plants as a potential game changer in the metabolic engineering of secondary metabolic pathways. We present the achievements made so far in enhancing the production of important bioactivities through pathway engineering, giving some popular examples. At last, current challenges and possible strategies to overcome the limitations associated with CYP engineering to enhance the biosynthesis of target secondary metabolites are also highlighted.