Part:BBa_K3140000

PsiD - Tryptophan decarboxylase from Psilocybe cubensis

PsiD is a tryptophan decarboxylase that catalyses the conversion of L-tryptophan to tryptamine.

• NCBI: ASU62239.1
• UniProt: P0DPA6
• EC number: 4.1.1.105

Usage and Biology

The mechanism of psilocybin biosynthesis in Psilocybe sp. was recently elucidated by Fricke et al., demonstrating that L-tryptophan proceeds through decarboxylation (mediated by PsiD), hydroxylation (mediated by PsiH), phosphorylation (mediated by PsiK), and finally N,N-dimethylation (mediated by PsiM) to yield psilocybin.

PsiD is a native enzyme obtained from the Psilocybe cubensis, which is involved in the metabolic biosynthesis of psilocybin from tryptophan. It accepts both L-tryptophan and 4-hydroxy-L-tryptophan as substrates, producing tryptamine (Fig. 1) and 4-hydroxytryptamine (Fig. 2), respectively. In a native state, PsiD is a 439 amino acid protein (49.6 kDa) with a theoretical pI of 5.44 calculated with the ExPASy ProtParam tool.

Fig. 1: Decarboxylation of L-tryptophan to tryptamine, mediated by PsiD. CO₂ is released as a by-product. Source: KEGG

Fig. 2: Decarboxylation of 4-hydroxy-L-tryptophan to 4-hydroxytryptamine, mediated by PsiD. CO₂ is released as a by-product. Source: KEGG

Heterologous expression of PsiD has been achieved in a T7 induction system using pET-28c(+) transformed into Escherichia coli BL21(DE3), co-transformed with chaperone plasmid pGro7 (Fig. 3), resulting in a 475 amino acid polypeptide, with a computed molecular weight of 53.6 kDa.

Fig. 3: pET-28c(+):PsiD plasmid map, showing C-terminal histidine tag, and T7 promoter under the control of the lac operator. Translated peptide is shown as the thin lime green arrow.

A band consistent with expression of PsiD in cells induced with IPTG was observed on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (Fig. 4).

Fig. 4: Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis image of soluble protein extract from uninduced and IPTG induced E. coli BL21(DE3)::pGro7 cells containing pET-28c(+):PsiD, pET-28c(+):PsiK, and pET-28c(+):PsiM, run on an Mini-PROTEAN® TGX Stain-Free™ precast gel (Bio-Rad) at 120V for 60 minutes.

Activity of PsiD was confirmed with LC/MS. Protein extract from E. coli BL21(DE3) cells co-transformed with pET-28c(+):PsiD and pGro7 was subject to LC/MS, both with and without the addition of the PsiD substrate, tryptophan. The PsiD product, tryptamine, was only identified in the sample to which tryptophan was added, confirming the activity of PsiD in vitro (Fig. 5).

Fig. 5: Mass spectra obtained LC/MS of protein extract of E. coli BL21(DE3) co-transformed with pET-28c(+):PsiD and pGro7, with the addition of tryptophan. A peak at m/z = 161.10732 with chemical formula C10H13N2 was identified, matching PsiD product tryptamine.

The presence of tryptophan in sample to which tryptophan was added may indicate autoxidation of tryptamine, as this compound was also observed in the mass spectrum of a 1 mM tryptamine standard (Table 1). However, neither hydroxytryptamine nor tryptamine was not observed in the sample to which tryptophan was not added (Table 2).

Table 1: Identified compounds in LC/MS of protein extract of E. coli BL21(DE3) co-transformed with pET-28c(+):PsiD and pGro7, with the addition of tryptophan.

Retention time (min)	Signal/noise ratio	Measured m/z	Formula	Ion identity
3.67	5.3	177.1023	C10H13N2O	hydroxytryptamine
4.91	16.6	205.0973	C11H13N2O2	tryptophan
5.39	17.8	161.1074	C10H13N2	tryptamine
10.12	9.6	285.1336	C14H21O6	unknown
10.12	9.6	285.1336	C9H18N8OP	unknown

Table 2: Identified compounds in LC/MS of protein extract of E. coli BL21(DE3) co-transformed with pET-28c(+):PsiD and pGro7, without the addition of tryptophan.

Retention time (min)	Signal/noise ratio	Measured m/z	Formula	Ion identity
10.12	9.6	285.1336	C14H21O6	unknown
10.12	9.6	285.1336	C9H18N8OP	unknown

In vivo expression of PsiD was also confirmed. PsiD, PsiK, and PsiM were cloned into a pUS250 backbone as a gene cluster using Golden Gate cloning, yielding pUS387 (Fig. 6). Expression in pUS387 is driven by a class 1 integron gene cassette Pc promoter controlled by a cumate induction system. E. coli DH5α cells co-transformed with pUS387 and pGro7 were cultured in terrific broth (TB) supplemented with 4-hydroxytryptamine. Whole cell culture was subject to LC/MS.

Fig. 6: pUS387 plasmid map, showing PsiD, PsiK, and PsiM genes organised in a cluster, driven by a class 1 integron gene cassette Pc promoter, flanked by CuO, a cumate repressor binding operator.

Table 3: Identified compounds in LC/MS of protein extract of E. coli DH5α co-transformed with pUS387 and pGro7, with the addition of 4-hydroxytryptamine.

Retention time (min)	Signal/noise ratio	Measured m/z	Formula	Ion identity
0.56	23.2	271.0817	C12H15O7	unknown
1.16	12.4	257.0689	C10H14N2O4P	norbaeocystin
1.9	0.9	271.0844	C11H16N2O4P	baeocystin
2.75	5.2	177.1023	C10H13N2O	hydroxytryptamine
5.08	6.4	205.0972	C11H13N2O2	tryptophan
5.82	6.4	161.1074	C10H13N2	tryptamine
10.15	14.4	285.1335	C14H21O6	unknown
10.15	14.4	285.1335	C9H18N8OP	unknown

The presence of tryptophan in LC/MS confirms the presence of endogenous tryptophan in E. coli. As tryptophan was not added to these cultures, in vivo activity of PsiD is confirmed by observation of PsiD product tryptamine (Fig. 7).

Fig. 7: Mass spectra obtained LC/MS of protein extract of E. coli DH5α co-transformed with pUS387 and pGro7, with the addition of 4-hydroxytryptamine. A peak at m/z = 161.10732 with chemical formula C10H13N2 was identified, matching PsiD product tryptamine.

Given these results, we conclude that we have successfully expressed the tryptophan decarboxylase PsiD from Psilocybe cubensis in Escherichia coli both in vivo and in vitro.

Sequence and Features

Assembly Compatibility:

• 10
  COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[10]
• 12
  COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[12]
• 21
  COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[21]
• 23
  COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[23]
• 25
  COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[25]
• 1000
  COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[1000]