Furanocoumarins (FCs) are plant-specialized metabolites with potent allelochemical properties. The distribution of FCs is scattered with a chemotaxonomical tendency towards four distant families with highly similar FC pathways. The mechanism by which this pathway emerged and spread in plants has not been elucidated. Furanocoumarin biosynthesis was investigated in Ficus carica (fig, Moraceae), focusing on the first committed reaction catalysed by an umbelliferone dimethylallyltransferase (UDT). Comparative RNA-seq analysis among latexes of different fig organs led to the identification of a UDT. The phylogenetic relationship of this UDT to previously reported Apiaceae UDTs was evaluated.The expression pattern of F. carica prenyltransferase 1 (FcPT1) was related to the FC contents in different latexes. Enzymatic characterization demonstrated that one of the main functions of FcPT1 is UDT activity. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that FcPT1 and Apiaceae UDTs are derived from distinct ancestors, although they both belong to the UbiA superfamily. These findings are supported by significant differences in the related gene structures.This report describes the identification of FcPT1 involved in FC biosynthesis in fig and provides new insights into multiple origins of the FC pathway and, more broadly, into the adaptation of plants to their environments.

Furanocoumarins are specialized metabolites that are involved in the defense of plants against phytophagous insects. The molecular and functional characterization of the genes involved in their biosynthetic pathway is only partially complete. Many recent reports have described gene clusters responsible for the biosynthesis of specialized metabolites in plants. To investigate possible co-localization of the genes involved in the furanocoumarin pathway, we sequenced parsnip BAC clones spanning two different gene loci. We found that two genes previously identified in this pathway, CYP71AJ3 and CYP71AJ4, were located on the same BAC, whereas a third gene, PsPT1, belonged to a different BAC clone. Chromosome mapping using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) indicated that PsPT1 and the CYP71AJ3-CYP71AJ4 clusters are located on two different chromosomes. Sequencing the BAC clone harboring PsPT1 led to the identification of a gene encoding an Fe(II) α-ketoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase (PsDIOX) situated in the neighborhood of PsPT1 and confirmed the occurrence of a second gene cluster involved in the furanocoumarin pathway. This enzyme metabolizes p-coumaroyl CoA, leading exclusively to the synthesis of umbelliferone, an important intermediate compound in furanocoumarin synthesis. This work provides an insight into the genomic organization of genes from the furanocoumarin biosynthesis pathway organized in more than one gene cluster. It also confirms that the screening of a genomic library and the sequencing of BAC clones represent a valuable tool to identify genes involved in biosynthetic pathways dedicated to specialized metabolite synthesis.

The production of coumarins and furanocoumarins (FCs) in higher plants is widely considered a model illustration of the adaptation of plants to their environment. In this report, we show that the multiplication of cytochrome P450 variants within the CYP71AZ subfamily has contributed to the diversification of these molecules. Multiple copies of genes encoding this enzyme family are found in Apiaceae, and their phylogenetic analysis suggests that they have different functions within these plants. CYP71AZ1 from Ammi majus and CYP71AZ3, 4, and 6 from Pastinaca sativa were functionally characterized. While CYP71AZ3 merely hydroxylated esculetin, the other enzymes accepted both simple coumarins and FCs. Superimposing in silico models of these enzymes led to the identification of different conformations of three regions in the enzyme active site. These sequences were subsequently utilized to mutate CYP71AZ4 to resemble CYP71AZ3. The swapping of these regions lead to significantly modified substrate specificity. Simultaneous mutations of all three regions shifted the specificity of CYP71AZ4 to that of CYP71AZ3, exclusively accepting esculetin. This approach may explain the evolution of this cytochrome P450 family regarding the appearance of FCs in parsnip and possibly in the Apiaceae.