Methods and materials for enzymatic synthesis of mogroside compounds

1. An in vitro method for producing a mogroside compound, comprising:

(a) adding one or more isolated recombinant polypeptides capable of catalyzing glycosylation of mogrol to produce a mogroside compound and having at least 90% sequence identity to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NOs:1-5 and a plant-derived or synthetic mogrol to a reaction mixture; and synthesizing the mogroside compound thereby; and

(b) recovering the mogroside compound produced in step (a) from the reaction mixture.

2. An in vitro method for producing a mogroside compound, comprising:

(a) adding a cell lysate prepared from a recombinant host expressing one or more recombinant polypeptides capable of catalyzing glycosylation of mogrol to produce a mogroside compound and having at least 90% sequence identity to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NOs:1-5 and a plant-derived or synthetic mogrol to a reaction mixture; and synthesizing the mogroside compound thereby; and

(b) recovering the mogroside compound produced in step (a) from the reaction mixture.

3. An in vitro method for producing a mogroside compound, comprising:

(a) (i) adding one or more isolated recombinant polypeptides capable of catalyzing glycosylation of mogrol to produce a mogroside compound and having at least 90% sequence identity to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NOs:1-5 and a plant-derived or synthetic mogrol to a reaction mixture; and producing the mogroside compound thereby;

wherein the one or more isolated recombinant polypeptides is produced in a recombinant host or by chemical synthesis; and

(ii) recovering the mogroside compound produced in step (a)(i) from the reaction mixture;

(b) (i) adding a cell lysate prepared from a recombinant host expressing one or more recombinant polypeptides capable of catalyzing glycosylation of mogrol to produce a mogroside compound and having at least 90% sequence identity to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NOs:1-5 and a plant-derived or synthetic mogrol to a reaction mixture; and synthesizing the mogroside compound thereby; and

(ii) recovering the mogroside compound produced in step (b)(i) from the reaction mixture;

(c) (i) contacting and glycosylating mogrol in a first reaction vessel with one or more isolated recombinant polypeptides capable of catalyzing glycosylation of mogrol to produce a mogroside compound and having at least 90% sequence identity to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NOs:1-5, thereby producing an intermediate compound;

(ii) contacting and glycosylating the intermediate compound in a second reaction vessel with the one or more isolated recombinant polypeptides capable of catalyzing glycosylation of mogrol to produce a mogroside compound and having at least 90% sequence identity to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NOs:1-5;

wherein the one or more isolated polypeptides is produced in a recombinant host or by chemical synthesis; and

(iii) recovering the mogroside compound produced in step (c)(ii); or

(d) (i) contacting and glycosylating mogrol in a first reaction vessel with a cell lysate prepared from a recombinant host expressing one or more recombinant polypeptides capable of catalyzing glycosylation of mogrol to produce a mogroside compound and having at least 90% sequence identity to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NOs:1-5, thereby producing an intermediate compound;

(ii) contacting and glycosylating the intermediate compound in a second reaction vessel with one or more isolated recombinant polypeptides capable of catalyzing glycosylation of mogrol to produce a mogroside compound and having at least 90% sequence identity to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NOs:1-5; and

(iii) recovering the mogroside compound produced in step (d)(ii).

4. The method of any one of claim 1 , 2 or 3 , wherein:

(a) the glycosylation is effected by the activity of the polypeptide having at least 90% sequence identity to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:2 and the mogroside compound is mogroside Ia;

(b) the glycosylation is effected by the activity of one or more of the polypeptides having at least 90% sequence identity to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NOs:1-5 and the mogroside compound is mogroside Ib; or

(c) the glycosylation is effected by the activity of the polypeptide having at least 90% sequence identity to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:4 and the mogroside compound is a mogroside compound glycosylated at C25-OH.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more isolated recombinant polypeptide is produced in a recombinant host.

6. The method of any one of claim 1 , 2 or 3 , wherein the polypeptide capable of catalyzing glycosylation of mogrol to produce a mogroside compound comprises a tag sequence located at either a carboxyl or an amino terminus of the polypeptide.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the tag sequence comprises a green fluorescent protein (GFP), a glutathione S transferase (GST), a HIS tag, a Flag tag, a chloroplast transit peptide, a mitochondrial transit peptide, an amyloplast peptide, a signal peptide, or a secretion tag.

8. The method of any one of claim 2 , 3 or 5 , wherein the recombinant host is a microorganism transformed with recombinant bacteriophage DNA, plasmid DNA, or cosmid DNA expression vectors.

9. The method of any one of claim 2 , 3 or 5 , wherein the recombinant host is an insect cell system infected with recombinant virus expression vectors.

10. The method of any one of claim 2 , 3 or 5 , wherein the recombinant host is a plant cell system infected with recombinant virus expression vectors or transformed with recombinant virus expression vectors.

11. The method of any one of claim 2 , 3 or 5 , wherein the recombinant host is a mammalian expression system harboring recombinant expression constructs comprising promoters derived from the genome of mammalian cells or from mammalian viruses.

12. An in vitro method for transferring a sugar moiety to a C24′ position, C3′ position, both C24′ and C3′ positions, or C25′ position of mogrol, comprising:

contacting the mogrol with one or more isolated recombinant polypeptides having at least 90% sequence identity to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NOs:1-5, capable of C24′ glycosylation, C3′ glycosylation, both C24′ glycosylation and C3′ glycosylation, or C25′ glycosylation of mogrol, and a UDP-sugar under suitable reaction conditions for the transfer of the sugar moiety to the mogrol,

wherein a mogroside Ia, mogroside Ib, a mogroside compound glycosylated at C25-OH, an isomer thereof, and/or a mogroside composition thereof is produced upon transfer of the sugar moiety.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein:

(a) the sugar moiety is glucose, the glycosylation is effected by the activity of the polypeptide having at least 90% sequence identity to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:2, and mogroside Ia is produced upon transfer of the glucose moiety to mogrol;

(b) the sugar moiety is glucose, the glycosylation is effected by the activity of one or more of the polypeptides having at least 90% sequence identity to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NOs:1-5, and mogroside Ib is produced upon transfer of the glucose moiety to mogrol; or

(c) the sugar moiety is glucose, the glycosylation is effected by the activity of the polypeptide having at least 90% sequence identity to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:4, and mogroside I is produced upon transfer of the glucose moiety to mogrol.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the mogroside compound is mogroside Ia;

wherein the glycosylation is effected by the activity of the polypeptide having at least 90% sequence identity to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:2.

15. The method of claim 12 , wherein the mogroside compound is mogroside Ib;

wherein the glycosylation is effected by the activity of one or more of the polypeptides having at least 90% sequence identity to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NOs:1-5.

16. The method of claim 12 , wherein the mogroside compound is a mogroside compound glycosylated at C25-OH;

wherein glycosylation is effected by the activity of the polypeptide having at least 90% sequence identity to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:4.