Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 30, 2026

A Customizable Approach for the Enzymatic Production and Purification of Diterpenoid Natural Products
Published on: October 4, 2019
An overview of the non-mevalonate pathway for terpenoid biosynthesis in plants
Vinod Shanker Dubey1, Ritu Bhalla, Rajesh Luthra
1Neurobiotechnology Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA. vdubey@mail.ucf.edu
Abstract:
Terpenoids are known to have many important biological and physiological functions. Some of them are also known for their pharmaceutical significance. In the late nineties after the discovery of a novel non-mevalonate (non-MVA) pathway, the whole concept of terpenoid biosynthesis has changed. In higher plants, the conventional acetate-mevalonate (Ac-MVA) pathway operates mainly in the cytoplasm and mitochondria and synthesizes sterols, sesquiterpenes and ubiquinones predominantly. The plastidic non-MVA pathway however synthesizes hemi-, mono-, sesqui- and di-terpenes, along with carotenoids and phytol chain of chlorophyll. In this paper, recent developments on terpenoids biosynthesis are reviewed with respect to the non-MVA pathway.
Related Concept Videos
C4 Pathway and CAM
C4 Pathway
The C4 pathway is used by plants such as...
Biosynthesis of Lipids
Amino Acid Biosynthetic Pathways
Aromatic Compounds: Overview
In 1825, Faraday isolated benzene...
Defenses Against Pathogens and Herbivores
Other Glycolytic Pathways
