Isoprenyl diphosphate synthases: the chain length determining step in terpene biosynthesis

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Plant Molecular Biology
• Natural Product Synthesis

Background:

• Terpenes, a diverse class of natural products, are synthesized from five-carbon precursors: dimethylallyl diphosphate and isopentenyl diphosphate.
• Isoprenyl diphosphate synthases (IDS) catalyze the elongation reactions, determining the prenyl diphosphate chain length, which dictates the final terpene structure.
• IDS are classified as trans- or cis- depending on the double bond configuration and by the length of their prenyl diphosphate product.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent advancements in understanding isoprenyl diphosphate synthases (IDS).
• To highlight analytical techniques for determining IDS product length and factors influencing it.
• To discuss the physiological effects of manipulating IDS expression in plants and novel IDS functions.

Main Methods:

• Review of current literature on isoprenyl diphosphate synthases.
• Analysis of recent studies employing advanced analytical techniques for product length determination.
• Examination of research on the genetic manipulation of IDS expression in planta.

Main Results:

• Recent analytical advances have led to re-evaluation of product lengths for several Arabidopsis thaliana IDS.
• The length of prenyl diphosphate products synthesized by IDS directly influences the class of terpenes produced.
• Altering IDS expression levels significantly impacts the accumulation of specific terpenoid natural products in plants.

Conclusions:

• Isoprenyl diphosphate synthases play a pivotal role in controlling terpene diversity through product length determination.
• Understanding IDS function is critical for manipulating plant metabolic pathways to produce desired terpenoids.
• Emerging research indicates some IDS may exhibit non-canonical activities, producing irregular products or acting as terpene synthases.