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Updated: Jul 17, 2026
A Customizable Approach for the Enzymatic Production and Purification of Diterpenoid Natural Products
Published on: October 4, 2019
Cloning and expression of a geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase gene: insights into the synthesis of termite defence
Masaru Hojo1, Tadao Matsumoto, Toru Miura
1Department of Biology, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
Abstract:
In Nasutitermes takasagoensis, a termite in which soldiers perform specialized chemical defence, Nts19-1 gene is highly expressed exclusively in soldier head. In this study, two types of transcripts for this gene were obtained, and the full-length cDNAs were determined by rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). These transcripts were putative homologues of the geranylgeranyl diphosphate (GGPP) synthase gene, involved in the condensation of dimethylallyl diphosphate with isopentenyl diphosphate in the isoprenoid biosynthetic pathway. The genes were thus termed NtGGPPS1. GGPP is a precursor of diterpenes in plants. In situ hybridization localized NtGGPPS1 expression to the epidermal secretory cells of the frontal gland reservoir where many kinds of diterpenes are produced, suggesting that NtGGPPS1 is involved in the biosynthesis of defence secretion.
