Baccatin III is an isolate from the yew tree (Genera ''

Taxus ''Taxus'' is a genus of coniferous trees or shrubs known as yews in the family Taxaceae. They are relatively slow-growing and can be very long-lived, and reach heights of , with trunk girth averaging . They have reddish bark, lanceolate, flat, ...

''). Baccatin III is a precursor to the anti-

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

drug

paclitaxel Paclitaxel (PTX), sold under the brand name Taxol among others, is a chemotherapy medication used to treat a number of types of cancer. This includes ovarian cancer, esophageal cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, Kaposi's sarcoma, cervical cancer ...

(Taxol). In 2014, researchers reported introduction and expression of the endophytic fungal gene responsible for synthesizing baccatin III (

10-deacetylbaccatin III 10-O-acetyltransferase In enzymology, a 10-deacetylbaccatin III 10-O-acetyltransferase () is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction :acetyl-CoA + 10-deacetylbaccatin III \rightleftharpoons CoA + baccatin III Thus, the two substrates of this enzyme are acety ...

), to the mushroom ''

Flammulina velutipes ''Flammulina velutipes'' is a species of gilled mushroom in the family Physalacriaceae. In the UK, it has been given the recommended English name of velvet shank. The species occurs in Europe and North America. Until recently ''Flammulina veluti ...

''. Researchers achieved the same accomplishment with''

Escherichia coli ''Escherichia coli'' (),Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. also known as ''E. coli'' (), is a Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus ''Escher ...

'' in 2000.

References

Taxanes Benzoate esters Acetate esters {{ester-stub

See also

References