Transcriptome analysis of 20 taxonomically related benzylisoquinoline alkaloid-producing plants

Background: Benzylisoquinoline alkaloids (BIAs) represent a diverse class of plant specialized metabolites sharing a common biosynthetic origin beginning with tyrosine. Many BIAs have potent pharmacological activities, and plants accumulating them boast long histories of use in traditional medicine and cultural practices. The decades-long focus on a select number of plant species as model systems has allowed near or full elucidation of major BIA pathways, including those of morphine, sanguinarine and berberine. However, this focus has created a dearth of knowledge surrounding non-model species, which also are known to accumulate a wide-range of BIAs but whose biosynthesis is thus far entirely unexplored. Further, these non-model species represent a rich source of catalyst diversity valuable to plant biochemists and emerging synthetic biology efforts. Results: In order to access the genetic diversity of non-model plants accumulating BIAs, we selected 20 species representing 4 families wi...