Terpenoids DMAPP

The conversion of isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP) to terpenoids begins with its isomerization to dimethylallyl diphosphate, abbreviated DMAPP and formerly called dimethylallyl pyrophosphate. These two C5 building blocks then combine to give the C10 unit geranyl diphosphate (GPP). The corresponding alcohol, geraniol, is itself a fragrant terpenoid that occurs in rose oil. 

Ginsenosides are bios)mthesized via the isoprenoid pathway in the cytosol with mevalonic acid as the precursor for isopentenyl diphosphate (IFF) and dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP), which are the two C5 starting units in the bios)mthesis of ginsenosides and other terpenoids... 

IPP and DMAPP are reactive hemiterpene intermediates in the pathways leading to more complex terpenoid structures. They are also used as alkylating agents in the formation of meroterpenoids as indicated above, but examples of these structures are discussed under the section appropriate to the major substructure, e.g. alkaloids, shiki-mate, acetate. Relatively few true hemiterpenes are produced in nature, with isoprene, a volatile compound which is released by many species of plants, especially trees, being the notable example. Isoprene is formed by loss of a proton from the allylic cation (Figure 5.7). 

The prenyl transferase from avian liver has been crystallized,40 and was found to be a dimer of molecular weight 86 000 dalton the subunits could not be resolved by SDS electrophoresis. The enzyme catalysed the formation of FPP from IPP and either DMAPP or GPP, and this was accompanied by the synthesis of small amounts of geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate (GGPP). This is the first stable crystalline enzyme of the steroid and terpenoid pathways to be prepared. 

Early attempts to reveal the biosynthetic route of ginkgolides, using [2- " C]-acetate and dl-[2- " C]-mevalonate, suggested the overall terpenoid origin of ginkgoUdes, and it was believed that ginkgolides were biosynthesized through the conventional mevalonate pathway." However, only recently it was reaUzed that the two conventional precursors, dimethylallyl pyrophosphate (DMAPP) and isopentenyl pyrophosphate (IPP), can participate in what is now known as the nonmevalonate pathway. 

All isoprenoids are biosynthesized from two isomeric 5-carbon compounds, isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP, 86) and dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP, 87) (Fig. 11). The mammalian pathway for the biosynthesis of these key biosynthetic precursors from three acetyl-CoA units (83) via mevalonate (85) had been elucidated in the 1950s (51). In the wake of that pioneering work, it became established dogma that all terpenoids are invariably of mevalonate origin, even in the face of significant aberrant findings. 

Most terpenoids are derived from mevalonic acid (MVA) through the universal precursor isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP) and its allylic isomer dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP). Thus, the vast majority of terpenoids contain the basic structural residue 2-methylbutane, often less precisely referred to as isoprene units. These C5 hemiterpene units combine with... 

The universal precursors to terpenoids, the C5-compounds dimethylallyl pyrophosphate (DMAPP) and isopentenyl pyrophosphate (IPP), originate from two pathways in plants (Fig. 1). The mevalonate (MEV) pathway is well described in many eukaryotic organisms. This pathway is present in the cy-tosol/endoplasmic reticulum of plants. More recently, another pathway has been described, the 2C-methyl-D-erythritol-4-phosphate (MEP) pathway, which is found in the plastids of plants (19). The localization of the different pathways and the plastid-directing transit peptides found in hemi-TPS, mono-TPS, and di-TPS, but not in sesqui-TPS, result in the production of terpenoids from at least two different precursors pools. 

Hemiterpenoids are produced from the isoprenyl diphosphate DMAPP. All other terpenoids are produced from DMAPP and IPP via longer-chain prenyl diphosphate intermediates formed by prenyl transferases. Prenyl transferases (20) catalyze the formation of geranyl diphosphate (GPP), famesyl diphosphate (FPP), and geranylgeranyl diphosphate (GGPP) from one molecule of DMAPP and one, two, or three molecules of IPP, respectively (Fig. 1). Isoprenyl diphosphates are the substrates for all TPS, which lead to the hemiterpenoids, monoterpenoids, sesquiterpenoids, and diterpenoids, which will be highlighted with selected examples in the following sections. 

Although terpenoids are extraordinarily diverse, all of them originate through the condensation of the universal five-carbon precursors, isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP) and dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP), Fig. (5). 

The role of 3,3-dimethylacrylate in terpenoid biosynthesis has never been adequately defined although it has often been proposed as the source of the DMAPP moiety. In the plant Senecio mikanioides it has been found that [ C]leucine is a more effective precursor of this acid than is [ C]MVA. ... 

Of the two existing isoprenoid biosynthetic pathways (Fig. 3), DXP is used by most prokaryotes for production of IPP and dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP) [65,66]. With the available knowledge of the genes involved in the DXP pathway, several groups have studied the impact of changed expression levels of these genes on the production of reporter terpenoids. Farmer and liao reconstructed the isoprene biosynthetic pathway in Escherichia coli (E. colt) to produce lycopene, which was used as an indication... 

All carotenoids are derived from the isoprenoid or terpenoid pathway. From prenyl diphosphates of different chain lengths, specific routes branch off into various terpenoid end products. The prenyl diphosphates are formed by different prenyl transferases after isomerization of IPP to DMAPP by successive T-4 condensations with IPP molecules. Condensation of one molecule of dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMADP) and three molecules of isopentyl diphosphate (IDP) produces the diter-pene geranylgeranyl diphosphate (GGDP) that forms one-half of all C40 carotenoids. The head-to-head condensation of two GGDP molecules results in the first colorless carotenoid, phytoene. Phytoene synthesis is the first committed step in C40 carotenoid biosynthesis (Britton et al. 1998, Sandmann 2001). 

Fig. 1.4 Outline of terpenoid biosynthesis from isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP) via dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP), gcranyl diphosphate (GPP), famesyl diphosphate (FPP) and geranylgcranyl diphosphate (GGPP). These reactions are catalyzed by isoprenyl diphosphate synthases and terpene synthases. The major products of the monoterpene, sesquiterpene, and diterpene pathways that constitute the oleoresm of Picea abies are listed. The general precursor IPP is derived either from the plastidial methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathway or the cytosolic mevalonaic pathway.

The isoprenoids are derived from mevalonic acid (MVA), which is formed from three molecules of acetyl-CoA (Fig. 3). Two molecules of acetyl-CoA are condensed, yielding acetoacetyl-CoA. Subsequently, this product is coupled with another molecule of acetyl-CoA to yield 35-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA (HMG-CoA). By reduction of HMG-CoA MVA is obtained. MVA is further converted in some steps to yield the Cs-unit isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP), which is then isomerized to dimethy-lallyl diphosphate (DMAPP), the starter molecule of the isoprenoid pathway. Coupling of DMAPP with one or more IPP molecules yields the basic structures which form the backbone of terpenoid biosynthesis. A number of reviews on the early steps in the terpenoid biosynthesis have been published (70-77). 

Mevalonic acid (MVA) is transformed into isopentenyl pyrophosphate (IPP) by decarboxylation, and is further transformed into dimethylallyl pyrophosphorate (DMAPP). IPP and DMAPP are the fundamental building blocks that are incorporated into terpenoids. Terpenoids are therefore regarded as compounds derived from the combination of multiple C5 units. These biosynthetic pathways are demonstrated by specific incorporation studies with T( H)- and C-labeled compounds [2-5],... 

The stereochemistry is well established, and many questions concerning the overall mechanism of the condensation have now been resolved. Famesyl pyrophosphate synthetase (EC 2.5.1.1) is the key enzyme in the biosynthetic pathways for several classes of terpenes. This enzyme catalyzes l -4 condensation between IPP and DMAPP, or geranyl pyrophosphate, polymerizations that constitute the major building steps of terpenoid biosynthesis (Fig. 21.2) (Poulter and Rilling, 1978 Poulter et al., 1978, 1981). The condensation... 

Although, terpenoids show enormous chemical and structural diversity, their backbones are synthesized from only two universal precursors isopentenyl pyrophosphate (IPP) and its highly electrophilic allyUc isomer dimethylaUyl pyrophosphate (DMAPP) [25]. IPP is isomerized to DMAPP by the enzyme isopentenyl pyrophosphate isomerase. The mevalonate pathway for the biosynthesis of terpenoids has been illustrated in Fig. 86.3. To summarize, the active isoprene unit (IPP) is repetitively added to DMAPP or a prenyl diphosphate in sequential head-to-tail... 

Terpene synthases constitute a large class of enzymes that are able to convert just a handful of linear isoprenoid precursors, made from IPP and DMAPP by prenyltransferases, into a large diversity of thousands of terpenoids. As most of the enzyme products are of (poly)cyclic nature, these enzymes are often called terpene cyclases. Two types of terpene synthases can be mechanistically distinguished by their formation of a reactive carbocationic species. Class I terpene synthases contain a highly conserved DDXXD motif as also found in a-type prenyltransferases and perform substrate ionization via metal-triggered abstraction... 

As presented in this chapter, today, much is known about the process of terpene biosynthesis. The accumulated knowledge includes a detailed picture about the biosynthesis of the terpenoid monomers IPP and DMAPP either via the mevalonate or the DXP route and their interconversion by isomerases. Also, the stereochemical courses and enzyme mechanisms of all transformations have been largely elucidated. Especially the recently obtained structural data of prenyltransferases and various kinds of terpene synthases resulted in an evolutionary model that involves six domains (a, P, 7,8, e, and Q for the biosynthesis of linear polyisoprenoids from IPP and DMAPP and their subsequent transformation into (poly)cyclic terpenes. All these insights may open up new chances in controlling terpene biosynthesis, e.g., by directed evolution of terpene cyclases or domain swaps in multi-domain enzymes for the production of new terpenes, reconstitution of terpene biosynthetic pathways in heterologous hosts for production optimization, or targeted inhibitirm of pathways in pathogens for disease control. 

There are two biosynthetic pathways, (1) the mevalonate pathway and (2) the MEP/ DOXP pathway, responsible for the production of the terpenoid building blocks isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP) and dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP), which serve as the basis for the biosynthesis of molecules used in processes as diverse as terpenoid/ steroid/hormone synthesis, protein prenylation, protein anchoring, cell membrane maintenance, and N-glycosylation. 

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