Terpenes: From entourage to center stage and how to control them

Mlange

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https://youtu.be/m6EaERdvcuY
Terpenes: From entourage to center stage and how to control them
 
Mark Lange, Interim Director & Professor, Institute of Biological Chemistry,
Washington State University 
 
Terpenes are responsible for the characteristic aroma of different cannabis cultivars. The first committed step in the biosynthesis of these volatiles is catalyzed by terpene synthases. The functions of characterized terpene synthases across cannabis cultivars will be discussed. An analysis of the locations of genes coding for volatile-related terpene synthases in the chromosome-level assembly of the reference cultivar CBDRx will be provided. Interestingly, some terpene synthases are highly specific, accepting only one precursor and generating mostly one signature product, whereas others are promiscuous and catalyze the formation of multiple products, in some cases from multiple substrates. By employing sequence comparisons and homology structural modeling, inferences can made as to which amino acid residues are likely to constrain the available space in the active sites of cannabis terpene synthases, thereby contributing to the experimentally observed substrate binding selectivity. These structure-function analyses are laying the foundation for future studies to better understand the determinants of substrate and product specificity in these fascinating enzymes. The implications of these findings for the aroma characteristics of cannabis cultivars will be discussed.
 

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