Terpene synthases in disguise: enzymology, structure, and opportunities of non-canonical terpene synthases.

ABSTRACT: Covering: up to July 2019 Terpene synthases (TSs) are responsible for generating much of the structural diversity found in the superfamily of terpenoid natural products. These elegant enzymes mediate complex carbocation-based cyclization and rearrangement cascades with a variety of electron-rich linear and cyclic substrates. For decades, two main classes of TSs, divided by how they generate the reaction-triggering initial carbocation, have dominated the field of terpene enzymology. Recently, several novel and unconventional TSs that perform TS-like reactions but do not resemble canonical TSs in sequence or structure have been discovered. In this review, we identify 12 families of non-canonical TSs and examine their sequences, structures, functions, and proposed mechanisms. Nature provides

SUBMITTER: Rudolf JD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7101268 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature