Mevalonate shunt

In contrast to chondrillasterol, in the higher plant Lemna gibba, which was also grown on [l- C]glucose (6), sitosterol was labelled as expected via the acetate/mevalonate pathway (Fig. 1). [1- C]Glucose essentially labelled all carbon positions of sitosterol which correspond to C-2, C-4 and C-5 of IPP (Fig. 2). Some minor but significant C-enrichment was also found at carbon positions which correspond to C-I of IPP. This can be interpreted in the frame of the incorporation of C02 (liberated from [l- C]glucose via the oxidative pentose phosphate cycle) into IPP possibly via the leucine bypass or the mevalonate shunt. 

Plant metabolism can be separated into primary pathways that are found in all cells and deal with manipulating a uniform group of basic compounds, and secondary pathways that occur in specialized cells and produce a wide variety of unique compounds. The primary pathways deal with the metabolism of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids and act through the many-step reactions of glycolysis, the tricarboxylic acid cycle, the pentose phosphate shunt, and lipid, protein, and nucleic acid biosynthesis. In contrast, the secondary metabolites (e.g., terpenes, alkaloids, phenylpropanoids, lignin, flavonoids, coumarins, and related compounds) are produced by the shikimic, malonic, and mevalonic acid pathways, and the methylerythritol phosphate pathway (Fig. 3.1). This chapter concentrates on the synthesis and metabolism of phenolic compounds and on how the activities of these pathways and the compounds produced affect product quality. 

The activity of hydroxymethylglutarate CoA reductase, which produces mevalonic acid—a precursor of cholesterol—was unchanged in diabetic rats. The observations made on diabetic rats contrast with those made in fasted animals in which ketosis is likely to result from activation of the hydroxymethylglutarate CoA shunt pathway, probably due to decreased activity of the hydroxymethylglutarate CoA reductase. In the presence of NADH and a specific mitochondrial dehydrogenase, acetoacetic acid is reduced to yield j8-hydroxybutyric acid, one of the ketone bodies that is excreted in the urine in ketosis. In fact, D-jS-hydroxy-butyric acid represents 50-75% of the blood content of ketone bodies. Therefore, hydroxybutyric acid metabolism assumes a particular importance. 

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