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Published on: October 4, 2019
Phylogenetic origin of a secondary pathway: the case of pyrrolizidine alkaloids
1Institut für Pharmazeutische Biologie, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Germany.
Abstract:
Recent studies have revealed high sequence similarity between homospermidine synthase (HSS), the first pathway-specific enzyme in the biosynthesis of pyrrolizidine alkaloids, a class of sporadically occurring plant defence compounds, and deoxyhypusine synthase (DHS), a ubiquitous enzyme involved in the post-translational activation of the eukaryotic initiation factor 5A (eIF5A). The recruitment of DHS during the evolution of the alkaloid pathway is discussed and interpreted as evolution by change of function.
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