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THE 1-DEOXY-D-XYLULOSE-5-PHOSPHATE PATHWAY OF ISOPRENOID BIOSYNTHESIS IN PLANTS
1Botanisches Institut (Plant Physiology and Biochemistry), University of Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, D-76128 Germany;
Abstract:
In plants the biosynthesis of prenyllipids and isoprenoids proceeds via two independent pathways: (a) the cytosolic classical acetate/mevalonate pathway for the biosynthesis of sterols, sesquiterpenes, triterpenoids; and (b) the alternative, non-mevalonate 1-deoxy-d-xylulose-5-phosphate (DOXP) pathway for the biosynthesis of plastidic isoprenoids, such as carotenoids, phytol (a side-chain of chlorophylls), plastoquinone-9, isoprene, mono-, and diterpenes. Both pathways form the active C5-unit isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP) as the precursor from which all other isoprenoids are formed via head-to-tail addition. This review summarizes current knowledge of the novel 1-deoxy-d-xylulose-5-phosphate (DOXP) pathway for isopentenyl diphosphate biosynthesis, apparently located in plastids. The DOXP pathway of IPP formation starts from D-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (GA-3-P) and pyruvate, with DOXP-synthase as the starting enzyme. This pathway provides new insight into the regulation of chloroplast metabolism.
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