Terpene Synthases as Metabolic Gatekeepers in the Evolution of Plant Terpenoid Chemical Diversity.

ABSTRACT: Terpenoids comprise tens of thousands of small molecule natural products that are widely distributed across all domains of life. Plants produce by far the largest array of terpenoids with various roles in development and chemical ecology. Driven by selective pressure to adapt to their specific ecological niche, individual species form only a fraction of the myriad plant terpenoids, typically representing unique metabolite blends. Terpene synthase (TPS) enzymes are the gatekeepers in generating terpenoid diversity by catalyzing complex carbocation-driven cyclization, rearrangement, and elimination reactions that enable the transformation of a few acyclic prenyl diphosphate substrates into a vast chemical library of hydrocarbon and, for a few enzymes, oxygenated terpene scaffolds. The seven

SUBMITTER: Karunanithi PS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6779861 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature