Publications of Sarah E. O’Connor

Colinas, M.; Morweiser, C.; Dittberner, O.; Chioca, B.; Alam, R. M.; Leucke, H.; Nakamura, Y.; Serna Guerrero, D. A.; Heinicke, S.; Kunert, M. et al.; Wurlitzer, J.; Ploss, K.; Hong, B.; Grabe, V.; Lopes, A. A.; O’Connor, S. E.: Ipecac alkaloid biosynthesis in two evolutionarily distant plants. Nature Chemical Biology (2025)

Laezza, C.; Heinicke, S.; Wurlitzer, J.; D'Amelia, V.; Caputi, L.; Rigano, M. M.; O’Connor, S. E.: Single-cell mass spectrometry reveals heterogeneous triterpenic acid accumulation in apple callus-derived cells. Plant Biotechnology Journal (2025)

Caputi, L.; O’Connor, S. E.: Flowers with bad breath: How an old gene acquired a new function to exploit an insect’s sense of smell. Science 388 (6747), pp. 586 - 587 (2025)

Zschoche, N.; Schober, S.; Walther, K.; Chadeayne, A. R.; Gressler, M.; Bartram, S.; O’Connor, S. E.; Hoffmeister, D.: Clade III synthases add cyclic and linear terpenoids to the Psilocybe metabolome. ChemBioChem: A European Journal of Chemical Biology (accepted)

Kamileen, M. O.; Hong, B.; Gase, K.; Kunert, M.; Caputi, L.; Lichman, B. R.; O’Connor, S. E.: Oxidative rearrangements of the alkaloid intermediate geissoschizine. Angewandte Chemie, International Edition in English, e202501323 (2025)

Stathaki, A.; Alam, R. M.; Köllner, T. G.; O’Connor, S. E.: Engineering of insect juvenile hormone III biosynthesis in the plant Nicotiana benthamiana. Metabolic Engineering 88, pp. 77 - 84 (2025)

Kimbadi Lombe, B.; Zhou, T.; Caputi, L.; Ploss, K.; O’Connor, S. E.: Biosynthetic origin of the methoxy group in quinine and related alkaloids. Angewandte Chemie International Edition 64 (5), e202418306 (2025)

Florean, M.; Schultz, H.; Wurlitzer, J.; O’Connor, S. E.; Köllner, T. G.: Independent evolution of plant natural products: Formation of benzoxazinoids in Consolida orientalis (Ranunculaceae). Journal of Biological Chemistry 301 (1), 108019 (2025)

Grzech, D.; Smit, S. J.; Alam, R. M.; Boccia, M.; Nakamura, Y.; Hong, B.; Barbole, R.; Heinicke, S.; Kunert, M.; Seibt, W. et al.; Grabe, V.; Caputi, L.; Lichman, B. R.; O’Connor, S. E.; Aharoni, A.; Sonawane, P. D.: Incorporation of nitrogen in antinutritional Solanum alkaloid biosynthesis. Nature Chemical Biology 21, pp. 131 - 142 (2025)

Li, C.; Colinas, M.; Wood, J. C.; Vaillancourt, B.; Hamilton, J. P.; Jones, S. L.; Caputi, L.; O’Connor, S. E.; Buell, C. R.: Cell-type-aware regulatory landscapes governing monoterpene indole alkaloid biosynthesis in the medicinal plant Catharanthus roseus. New Phytologist 245 (1), pp. 347 - 362 (2025)

Lezin, E.; Carqueijeiro, I.; Cuello, C.; Durand, M.; Jansen, H. J.; Vergès, V.; Williams, C. B.; Oudin, A.; De Bernonville, T. D.; Petrignet, J. et al.; Celton, N.; St-Pierre, B.; Papon, N.; Sun, C.; Dirks, R. P.; O’Connor, S. E.; Jensen, M. K.; Besseau, S.; Courdavault, V.: A chromosome-scale genome assembly of Rauvolfia tetraphylla facilitates the identification of the complete ajmaline biosynthetic pathway. Plant Communications, 100784 (2024)

Chen, X.; Urban, J. M.; Wurlitzer, J.; Wei, X.; Han, J.; O’Connor, S. E.; Rudolf, J. D.; Köllner, T. G.; Chen, F.: Canonical terpene synthases in arthropods: Intraphylum gene transfer. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 121 (51), e2413007121 (2024)

Boccia, M.; Kessler, D.; Seibt, W.; Grabe, V.; Rodriguez Lopez, C. E.; Grzech, D.; Heinicke, S.; O’Connor, S. E.; Sonawane, P. D.: A scaffold protein manages the biosynthesis of steroidal defense metabolites in plants. Science 386 (6728), pp. 1366 - 1372 (2024)

Boccia, M.; Ploß, K.; Kunert, M.; Keshan, R.; Hatam, M.; Grabe, V.; O’Connor, S. E.; Sonawane, P. D.: Metabolic engineering of vitamin D3 in Solanaceae plants. Plant Biotechnology Journal 22 (12), pp. 3389 - 3391 (2024)

Lezin, E.; Durand, M.; Williams, C. B.; Vazquez, A. L. L.; Perrot, T.; Gautron, N.; Petrignet, J.; Cuello, C.; Jansen, H.; Magot, F. et al.; Szwarc, S.; Le Pogam, P.; Beniddir, M.; Koudounas, K.; Oudin, A.; St-Pierre, B.; Giglioli-Guivarch, N.; Sun, C.; Papon, N.; Jensen, M. K.; Dirks, R.; O’Connor, S. E.; Besseau, S.; Courdavault, V.: Genome-based discovery of pachysiphine synthases in Tabernaemontana elegans. The Plant Journal 120 (5), pp. 1880 - 1900 (2024)

Kamileen, M. O.; Nakamura, Y.; Luck, K.; Heinicke, S.; Hong, B.; Colinas, M.; Lichman, B. R.; O’Connor, S. E.: Streamlined screening platforms lead to the discovery of pachysiphine synthase from Tabernanthe iboga. New Phytologist 244 (4), pp. 1437 - 1449 (2024)

Yang, C.; Halitschke, R.; O’Connor, S. E.; Baldwin, I. T.: Roles of three cytochrome P450 monooxygenases in triterpene biosynthesis and their potential impact on growth and development. Plant Physiology 196 (2), pp. 1407 - 1425 (2024)

Lucier, R.; Kamileen, M. O.; Nakamura, Y.; Serediuk, S.; Barbole, R.; Wurlitzer, J.; Kunert, M.; Heinicke, S.; O’Connor, S. E.; Sonawane, P. D.: Steroidal scaffold decorations in Solanum alkaloid biosynthesis. Molecular Plant 17 (8), pp. 1236 - 1254 (2024)

Vu, A. H.; Kang, M.; Wurlitzer, J.; Heinicke, S.; Li, C.; Wood, J. C.; Grabe, V.; Buell, C. R.; Caputi, L.; O’Connor, S. E.: Quantitative single-cell mass spectrometry provides a highly resolved analysis of natural product biosynthesis partitioning in plants. Journal of the American Chemical Society 146 (34), pp. 23891 - 23900 (2024)

O’Connor, S. E.: Reduction hits the sweet spot: A revised biosynthesis of dolichol. Cell 187 (14), pp. 3502 - 3503 (2024)