Emergence of terpene chemical communication in insects: Evolutionary recruitment of isoprenoid metabolism.

ABSTRACT: Insects have evolved a chemical communication system using terpenoids, a structurally diverse class of specialized metabolites, previously thought to be exclusively produced by plants and microbes. Gene discovery, bioinformatics, and biochemical characterization of multiple insect terpene synthases (TPSs) revealed that isopentenyl diphosphate synthases (IDS), enzymes from primary isoprenoid metabolism, are their likely evolutionary progenitors. However, the mutations underlying the emergence of the TPS function remain a mystery. To address this gap, we present the first structural and mechanistic model for the evolutionary emergence of TPS function in insects. Through identifying key mechanistic differences between IDS and TPS enzymes, we hypothesize that the loss of isopentenyl diphosphat

SUBMITTER: Rebholz Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10108439 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature