Glycoside‐specific glycosyltransferases catalyze regio‐selective sequential glucosylations for a sesame lignan, sesaminol triglucoside

Summary Sesame (Sesamum indicum) seeds contain a large number of lignans, phenylpropanoid‐related plant specialized metabolites. (+)‐Sesamin and (+)‐sesamolin are major hydrophobic lignans, whereas (+)‐sesaminol primarily accumulates as a water‐soluble sesaminol triglucoside (STG) with a sugar chain branched via β1→2 and β1→6‐O‐glucosidic linkages [i.e. (+)‐sesaminol 2‐O‐β‐d‐glucosyl‐(1→2)‐O‐β‐d‐glucoside‐(1→6)‐O‐β‐d‐glucoside]. We previously reported that the 2‐O‐glucosylation of (+)‐sesaminol aglycon and β1→6‐O‐glucosylation of (+)‐sesaminol 2‐O‐β‐d‐glucoside (SMG) are mediated by UDP‐sugar‐dependent glucosyltransferases (UGT), UGT71A9 and UGT94D1, respectively. Here we identified a distinct UGT, UGT94AG1, that specifically catalyzes the β1→2‐O‐glucosylation of SMG and (+)‐sesaminol 2‐O‐β‐d‐glucosyl‐(1→6)‐O‐β‐d‐glucoside [termed SDG(β1→6)]. UGT94AG1 was phylogenetically related to glycoside‐specific glycosyltransferases (GGTs) and co‐ordinately expressed with UGT71A9 and UGT94D1 in the seeds. The role of UGT94AG1 in STG biosynthesis was further confirmed by identification of a STG‐deficient sesame mutant that predominantly accumulates SDG(β1→6) due to a destructive insertion in the coding sequence of UGT94AG1. We also identified UGT94AA2 as an alternative UGT potentially involved in sugar–sugar β1→6‐O‐glucosylation, in addition to UGT94D1, during STG biosynthesis. Yeast two‐hybrid assays showed that UGT71A9, UGT94AG1, and UGT94AA2 were found to interact with a membrane‐associated P450 enzyme, CYP81Q1 (piperitol/sesamin synthase), suggesting that these UGTs are components of a membrane‐bound metabolon for STG biosynthesis. A comparison of kinetic parameters of these UGTs further suggested that the main β‐O‐glucosylation sequence of STG biosynthesis is β1→2‐O‐glucosylation of SMG by UGT94AG1 followed by UGT94AA2‐mediated β1→6‐O‐glucosylation. These findings together establish the complete biosynthetic pathway of STG and shed light on the evolvability of regio‐selectivity of sequential glucosylations catalyzed by GGTs. Significance Statement Sesaminol triglucoside (STG) of sesame seeds has unique bioactivities with potential health benefits, yet the STG biosynthesis pathway remains to be fully established. This study has identified the missing enzyme in STG biosynthesis that catalyzes β1→2‐O‐glucosylation, a regioselective sequential glycosylation of sesame lignan biosynthesis.