De novo transcriptome assembly of Conium maculatum L. to identify candidate genes for coniine biosynthesis.

Poison hemlock (Conium maculatum L.) is a notorious weed containing the potent alkaloid coniine. Only some of the enzymes in the coniine biosynthesis have so far been characterized.

The killer of Socrates: Coniine and Related Alkaloids in the Plant Kingdom.

Coniine, a polyketide-derived alkaloid, is poisonous to humans and animals. It is a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor antagonist, which leads to inhibition of the nervous system, eventually causing death by suffocation in mammals. Coniine's most famous victim is Socrates who was sentenced to death by poison chalice containing poison hemlock in 399 BC.

Metabolite profiling of the carnivorous pitcher plants Darlingtonia and Sarracenia.

Sarraceniaceae is a New World carnivorous plant family comprising three genera: Darlingtonia, Heliamphora, and Sarracenia. The plants occur in nutrient-poor environments and have developed insectivorous capability in order to supplement their nutrient uptake. Sarracenia flava contains the alkaloid coniine, otherwise only found in Conium maculatum, in which its biosynthesis has been studied, and several Aloe species.

Polyketide synthases from poison hemlock (Conium maculatum L.).

Coniine is a toxic alkaloid, the biosynthesis of which is not well understood. A possible route, supported by evidence from labelling experiments, involves a polyketide formed by the condensation of one acetyl-CoA and three malonyl-CoAs catalysed by a polyketide synthase (PKS). We isolated PKS genes or their fragments from poison hemlock (Conium maculatum L.