EXPLOITING BIOLOGICAL COMPLEXITY TO UNDERSTAND THE METABOLIC FLUX OF ANTICANCER ALKALOIDS IN Catharanthus roseus

The medicinal plant Catharanthus roseus accumulates in the leaves low levels of the anticancer monoterpenoid indole alkaloids (MIAs) vinblastine and vincristine. Hence, the MIA pathway has been intensively investigated and C. roseus has become one of the most studied medicinal plants. In our lab, we took advantage of the complex architecture of the MIA pathway in C. roseus leaves, to design and implement several omic strategies aiming to uncover key molecular components of the pathway. Recent and ongoing work concerning our understanding of the biosynthesis, transport and regulation of MIAs will be presented.

Mariana Sottomayor has a PhD degree in Biology from the Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, with part of the PhD project performed at the Department of Botany, University of Toronto, Canada, and most of it at the Department of Plant Physiology, University of Murcia, Spain. She is “Professora Auxiliar” at FCUP, she was previously leader of the group Bioactive Natural Products at IBMC – Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, and she now integrates the group PLANTBIO at CIBIO-InBIO. Main research interests include plant specialized metabolism with a special focus in the anticancer alkaloid pathway of Catharanthus roseus, and plant redox processes involving plant peroxidases, namely with relevance for cell signalling and plant development.

[Group Leader: Cristina Garcia Perez, Plant Biology]

Image credits: Luísa Cardoso, Sara Bettencourt, Ana Luísa Guimarães, Inês Carqueijeiro