Pharmacognosy & Metabolic Engineering

ABOUT THE COURSE: Pharmacognosy broadly covers the study of medicinal plants. Through diverse specialized pathways plants produce a wealth of phytochemicals often termed as natural products or specialized metabolites, many of which are useful to us as drugs, dye, flavouring agents, and nutraceuticals. Advances in our understanding of the biosynthetic pathways ledto cloning of genes encoding many of the important biosynthetic enzymes of these complex pathways.It may now be possible to design strategies to alter biosynthetic routes leading to enhanced production of desired products of pharmaceutical importance. This has been termed as metabolic engineering. This course provides knowledge about the various types of specialized metabolites such as alkaloids, phenolics and terpenoids thatare synthesized by plants through specific metabolic pathways.The principal focus would beon thebiotechnological approaches that can be used to increase or manipulate the production ofthese commercially important compounds mainly through the application of metabolic engineering strategies.INTENDED AUDIENCE: PG students of Biotechnology, Agriculture, Botany, Biochemistry and UG Biotechnology.PREREQUISITES: Knowledge of basic biology and chemistry at 10+2 level. Appropriate basic background knowledge will be imparted while introducing each thematic topic.INDUSTRY SUPPORT: Dabur, Himalaya, Patanjali are industries that make herbal products will recognize this course.

Week 1:
Medicinal and aromatic plants – evolution of plant specialized metabolism – approaches of metabolic phytochemistry
Week 2:
Genetic transformation in plants for manipulation of metabolic pathways

Engineering tropane alkaloid pathways in plants
Week 3:
Engineering morphine and indole alkaloid pathways in plants
Week 4:
Metabolic reprogramming for non-natural alkaloid production in plants

Discovery of new alkaloid pathways in plants
Week 5:
Terpenoid metabolism and pathway modification for enhanced production of volatile fragrance and essential oil contents in plants
Week 6:
Phenylpropanoid/benzenoid metabolism – an outline.

Pathway manipulation for reduction of lignin contents in plants
Week 7:
Biochemical pathways for phenolic fragrance formation

Metabolic engineering of vanillin biosynthesis in plants
Week 8:
Chemistry and biosynthesis of anthocyanin pigments

Genetic engineering for creation of blue rose
Week 9:
Plant cell culture and two-stage production of shikonin

Engineering pathways for enhanced production of shikonin
Week 10:
Molecular Pharming

Human somatotropin production in transplastomic plants
Week 11:
Spectral light-mediated modulation of specialized metabolism for generating plants with enriched phytochemicals
Week 12:
Application of CRISPR-Cas technology for enhancement of phytochemical contents in plants