Provided is a method of producing one or more sesquiterpene compounds comprising: contacting an acyclic FPP precursor with a polypeptide having terpene synthase activity, wherein the polypeptide comprises an amino acid sequence that has at least 55% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 1, to produce one or more terpenes selected from the group consisting of isovalencene, spirovetiva-1(10),7(11)-diene and valencene or derivatives thereof, or mixture of sesquiterpenes comprising one or more of isovalencene, spirovetiva-1(10),7(11)-diene and/or valencene; and optionally isolating the one or more terpenes or the mixture. Also described is a nucleic acid derived from Vetiveria zizanoides encoding a polypeptide having sesquiterpene synthase activity, a polypeptide that can be used to produce one or more sesquiterpenes or a mixture of sesquiterpenes comprising one or more of isovalencene, spirovetiva-1(10),7(11)-diene and/or valencene, and a non-human organism or cell comprising the nucleic acid or comprising an expression vector comprising the nucleic acid.

Provided is a method of producing one or more sesquiterpene compounds comprising: contacting an acyclic FPP precursor with a polypeptide having terpene synthase activity, wherein the polypeptide comprises an amino acid sequence that has at least 55% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 1, to produce one or more terpenes selected from the group consisting of isovalencene, spirovetiva-1(10),7(11)-diene and valencene or derivatives thereof, or mixture of sesquiterpenes comprising one or more of isovalencene, spirovetiva-1(10),7(11)-diene and/or valencene; and optionally isolating the one or more terpenes or the mixture. Also described is a nucleic acid derived from Vetiveria zizanoides encoding a polypeptide having sesquiterpene synthase activity, a polypeptide that can be used to produce one or more sesquiterpenes or a mixture of sesquiterpenes comprising one or more of isovalencene, spirovetiva-1(10),7(11)-diene and/or valencene, and a non-human organism or cell comprising the nucleic acid or comprising an expression vector comprising the nucleic acid.

The present invention relates to a novel valencene synthase, to a nucleic acid encoding such valencene synthase, to a host cell comprising said encoding nucleic acid sequence and to a method or preparing valencene, comprising converting farnesyl diphosphate to valencene in the presence of a valencene synthase according to the invention.

The invention relates to methods for producing glycosylated nootkatol. In particular, a recombinant host comprising a gene encoding a UDP-glycosyltransferase polypeptide capable of glycosylating nootkatol is disclosed. Glycosylation of nootkatol detoxifies nootkatol, allowing for greater production of (glycosylated-)nootkatol, a precursor of nootkatone, and therefore greater production of nootkatone. The invention also relates to methods of converting non-toxic, glycosylated nootkatol produced by a recombinant host to nootkatol, wherein the nootkatol can subsequently be converted to large quantities of nootkatone to be used in flavorings, perfumes, and/or insect repellents.

The present disclosure belongs to the field of synthetic biology and relates to a valencene synthase mutant and a valencene high-yield strain. An enzyme for synthesizing valencene is derived from Eryngium glaciale, and upon enzyme directed evolution of the enzyme, a valencene synthase mutant with improved enzyme performance is obtained, and the yield of a strain containing the mutant is 3.15 times the yield of a strain containing a wild-type synthase. The valencene synthase mutant of the present disclosure enhances the capability of synthesizing valencene by a strain, and a powerful foundation is laid for the industrial production thereof. A high-yield strain for synthesizing valencene is constructed by using the valencene synthetase mutant, and the yield of a fermentation tank reaches 12.4 g/L, which is the highest level reported to date.

The invention relates to sesquiterpene synthases and methods for their production and use. Particularly, the invention provides nucleic acids comprising the nucleotide sequence of citrus valencene synthase (CVS) which codes for at least one CVS. The invention further provides nucleic acids comprising the nucleotide sequence coding for amino acid residues forming the tier 1 and tier 2 domains of CVS. The invention also provides for methods of making and using the nucleic acids and amino acids of the current invention.

Disclosed are production of terpenoid compound and the strain used by, which belong to the technical field of bioengineering. The disclosure constructs an engineered strain of Serratia marcescens in production of hemiterpenes or monoterpenes, and the engineered strain of S. marcescens can produce linalool, isoprene, isopentenol, 1,8-cineole, -pinene, pinene, -terpinene, geraniol, (+)-limonene, ()-limonene, myrcene, -ocimene, sabinene, ()--bisabolol, farnesol, longifolene, valencene, -elemene, farnesene, patchoulol, pentalenene, and -santalene. In a 30 L fermenter, the yield of linalool produced by the engineered strain of S. marcescens is 40.72 g.Math.L.sup.1.