Expansion of the geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate synthase gene family underlies the evolution of terpenoid biosynthesis in termites
Termites produce the most diverse array of terpenoids among terrestrial metazoans, comprising over 200 structures. However, their biosynthesis has not yet been elucidated. Here, we identify a gene family which arose through a series of duplications of geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate synthase in the common ancestor of Neoisoptera, the terpene-producing termite lineage. We functionally characterized several proteins from this rich GGPPS-like family as terpene synthases generating biologically relevant sesqui- and diterpenes. These include the queen pheromone (3R,6E)-nerolidol in Embiratermes neotenicus and the presumed precursor of polycyclic defensive diterpenes (E,E,E)-neocembrene in Nasutitermes takasagoensis. We report significant enrichment of transposable elements in the GGPPS-like genomic loci, study the selection pressures acting in the evolution of the GGPPS-like family, and highlight an amino acid site crucial for cyclization capacity and enantiospecificity of the characterized enzymes. We conclude that we have identified an enzyme family that facilitated the emergence of the remarkable richness of termite terpenoids.
Authors
- Natan Horáček
- Simon Hellemans (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1266-9134)
- Jitka Štáfková (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7346-5445)
- Ondřej Lukšan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3201-7486)
- Lana Mutabdžija (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9424-0782)
- Radek Pohl (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7898-946X)
- Dorothea Tholl (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2636-6345)
- Zarley Rebholz
- Karel Harant (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9654-5392)
- Pavlína Kyjaková (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0081-3717)
- Jan Křivánek (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5229-6902)
- Daniel Jungwirth
- Anna Amirianová
- Thomas Bourguignon
- Robert Hanus
Institutions
- Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (JP)
- Charles University (CZ)
- Indiana University Bloomington (US)
- Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry (CZ)
- Virginia Tech (US)
- University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague (CZ)
Publication Details
- Journal
- PLoS Biology
- Published
- 2026-04-27
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3003648
- Primary Topic
- Plant biochemistry and biosynthesis
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Univerzita Karlova v Praze
- Grantová Agentura, Univerzita Karlova
- Ministerstvo Školství, Mládeže a Tělovýchovy
- Grantová Agentura České Republiky
- Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University
- Directorate for Biological Sciences
- Ústav organické chemie a biochemie Akademie věd České republiky