Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 23, 2025

A Customizable Approach for the Enzymatic Production and Purification of Diterpenoid Natural Products
Published on: October 4, 2019
Plant terpenoid biosynthetic network and its multiple layers of regulation
Matthew E Bergman1, Ruy W J Kortbeek1, Michael Gutensohn2
1Department of Biochemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States; Purdue Center for Plant Biology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States.
Abstract:
Terpenoids constitute one of the largest and most chemically diverse classes of primary and secondary metabolites in nature with an exceptional breadth of functional roles in plants. Biosynthesis of all terpenoids begins with the universal five‑carbon building blocks, isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP) and its allylic isomer dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP), which in plants are derived from two compartmentally separated but metabolically crosstalking routes, the mevalonic acid (MVA) and methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathways. Here, we review the current knowledge on the terpenoid precursor pathways and highlight the critical hidden constraints as well as multiple regulatory mechanisms that coordinate and homeostatically govern carbon flux through the terpenoid biosynthetic network in plants.
Related Concept Videos
Cell Signaling in Plants
C4 Pathway and CAM
C4 Pathway
The C4 pathway is used by plants such as...
Regulation of Expression Occurs at Multiple Steps
Morphogenesis
Plant Hormones
Regulation of Metabolism

