Sarah Ellen O'Connor

The paper shows that beetle larvae mimic floral scents to attract bees by biosynthesizing volatile compounds similar to those of flowers.

The paper identifies an auxiliary protein, FoGS, that enhances the activity of geissoschizine synthase in producing alkaloid intermediates and controls product stereochemistry.

The paper identifies an STR ortholog in Pogonopus speciosus that produces the 3R epimer of strictosidine, revealing amino acids responsible for stereoselectivity and enabling engineered switches in stereoselectivity.

The paper identifies and characterizes stemmadenine acetate pathway genes from Tabernanthe iboga, reconstitutes the biosynthesis in Nicotiana benthamiana, and identifies shunt products affecting pathway flux.

The paper demonstrates multiplexing single-cell RNA-seq and metabolomics on the same plant cell to directly correlate gene expression and metabolite levels.

The paper identifies an enzyme, ICYC, that catalyzes the cyclization of an enol intermediate in the iridoid biosynthesis pathway in asterids, completing the pathway and enabling metabolic engineering of iridoid compounds.

This study identifies an oxidase/reductase pair in Kratom that catalyzes the epimerization of 3S to 3R stereocenters in monoterpene indole alkaloids, enabling access to previously inaccessible compounds.

The paper reveals an alternative pathway in eudicot plants for indole synthesis, where a non-catalytic TSB-like paralogue hijacks TSA to produce indole for defense.

This study shows that ipecac alkaloid biosynthesis evolved independently in two plant species using different monoterpene precursors and non-enzymatic reactions.

This study uses single-cell mass spectrometry to reveal metabolic heterogeneity in apple callus cells and shows that abiotic stress increases triterpenic acid production.

The paper demonstrates the use of single cell mass spectrometry to track isotopic labeling in plant protoplasts, showing the synthesis and transport of alkaloids over 24 hours.

The paper investigates how three cytochrome P450 enzymes in Catharanthus roseus transform 19E-geissoschizine into four distinct alkaloid scaffolds through oxidative transformations.

This paper identifies enzymes in the oleuropein biosynthesis pathway in olive using comparative transcriptomics and discovers novel genes involved in the pathway.

This paper identifies acyltransferase genes involved in ingenol-3-angelate biosynthesis in Euphorbia peplus and shows functional redundancy in acetylation steps.

The paper identifies the biosynthetic origin of the methoxy group in quinine and related Cinchona alkaloids, showing it is introduced onto tryptamine and demonstrating the pathway in planta.

The paper constructs a cell-type-aware gene regulatory network for MIA biosynthesis in C. roseus using single-cell multi-omics data, identifying a novel idioblast-specific TF that regulates late-stage biosynthetic genes.

This paper identifies and characterizes pachysiphine synthase genes in Tabernaemontana elegans using genome sequencing and computational analysis, enabling engineered yeast production of MIAs.

The paper identifies two CYP450 enzymes in Tabernanthe iboga responsible for oxidative modifications of tabersonine scaffolds using a streamlined screening strategy in Nicotiana benthamiana.

The paper develops a method for single cell mass spectrometry to quantify natural products in plant cells, revealing biosynthetic dynamics not captured by scRNA-seq.

Three CYP716 enzymes in Nicotiana attenuata catalyze distinct steps in triterpene biosynthesis, influencing growth and development through ABA and stress responses.

The paper reports directed evolution of an NRPS adenylation domain to incorporate piperazic acid, demonstrating that low-throughput methods can alter NRPS substrate specificity.

The paper describes the generation and characterization of 301 new LexA enhancer trap lines in Drosophila through an international network of educational institutions.

The paper reconstitutes strictosidine biosynthesis in Nicotiana benthamiana by co-expressing 14 enzymes, with MLPL from Nepeta enhancing flux through the iridoid pathway.