Firmenich Sa

Fabienne Deguerry

Michel Schalk

Qi Rong Wang

Pan Li

Xiu-Feng He

Olivier Haefliger

Yu-Hua Zhang

Xiufeng He

The present invention relates to a method of producing drimenol and/or drimenol derivatives by contacting at least one polypeptide with farnesyl diphosphate. The method may be performed in vitro or in vivo. The present invention also provides amino acid sequences of polypeptides useful in the method of the invention and nucleic acid encoding the polypeptides of the invention. The method further provides host cells or organisms genetically modified to express the polypeptides of the invention and useful to produce drimenol and/or drimenol derivatives.

Drimenol synthases II

Provided herein is an isolated polypeptide from'Beverleyensis' orcomprising a (+)-cedrol or a (&#x2212;)-thujopsene synthase. Further provided herein is an isolated nucleic acid molecule from'Beverleyensis' orencoding a (+)-cedrol or (&#x2212;)-thujopsene synthase. Further provided herein are methods of producing (+)-cedrol or (&#x2212;)-thujopsene.

Production of fragrant compounds

The present invention provides the nucleic acid and the amino acid sequences of a cytochrome P450 capable of oxidizing terpene molecules. It also provides a method of oxidizing terpene molecules comprising contacting the cytochrome P450 of the invention with the terpene molecule intended to be oxidized. In particular, said method may be carried out in vitro or in vivo to produce oxidized terpene molecules, which may be used in different technical fields such as for example perfumery and flavoring. The present invention also provides an expression vector containing the nucleic acid. A non-human host organism or a cell transformed with the nucleic acid is also an object of the invention.

Cytochrome P450 and use thereof for the enzymatic oxidation of terpenes

The present invention provides a method of producing patchoulol and 7-epi-&#x3b1;-selinene, said method comprising contacting at least one polypeptide with famesyl phyrophosphate (FPP). In particular, said method may be carried out in vitro or in vivo to produce patchoulol and 7-epi-&#x3b1;-seline, compounds which can be useful in the field of perfumery. The present invention also provides the amino acid sequence of polypeptide useful in the method of the invention. A nucleic acid encoding the polypeptide of the invention and an expression vector containing said nucleic acid are also part of the present invention. A non-human host organism or a cell transformed to be used in the method of producing patchoul and 7-epi-&#x3b1;-selinene is also an object of the present invention.

Method for producing patchoulol and 7-epi-&#x3b1;-selinene

A method of producing patchoulol and 7-epi-&#x3b1;-selinene by contacting at least one polypeptide with farnesyl phyrophosphate (fpp). The method may be carried out in vitro or in vivo to produce patchoulol and 7-epi-&#x3b1;-selinene, compounds which can be useful in the field of perfumery.

Method for producing patchoulol and 7-epi-alpha-selinene

A method of producing (+)-zizaene by contacting at least one polypeptide with farnesyl pyrophosphate (FPP) in vitro or in vivo to produce (+)-zizaene, a compound which can be used as precursor for diverse compounds useful in the fields of perfumery and flavoring. An amino acid sequence of a polypeptide useful in the method, a nucleic acid encoding the polypeptide of the invention, an expression vector containing the nucleic acid and a non-human host organism or a cell transformed to be used in the method of producing (+)-zizaene are also disclosed.

Method for producing (+)-zizaene

The invention relates to sesquiterpene synthases from Patchouli plants (), and methods of their production and use. In one embodiment, the invention provides nucleic acids comprising a nucleotide sequence as described herein that encodes for at least one sesquiterpene synthase. In a further embodiment, the invention also provides for sesquiterpene synthases and methods of making and using these enzymes. For example, sesquiterpene synthases of the invention may be used to convert farnesyl-pyrophosphate to various sesquiterpenes including patchoulol, &#x3b3;-curcumene and other germacrane-type sesquiterpenes.

Growing community of inventors

Geneva, Switzerland

Fabienne Deguerry