Yields of (14)CO(2) from [2-(14)C]mevalonate and [5-(14)C]mevalonate have been used by others to estimate the activity of the non-sterol-forming pathway, also called the mevalonate shunt pathway, and yields of (14)C in sterols have been used to estimate the activity of the sterol-forming pathway. Both these pathways operate following the conversion of carbon 1 of mevalonate to CO(2). The estima...

X-ray structures of two enzymes in the sterol/isoprenoid biosynthesis pathway have been determined in a structural genomics pilot study. Mevalonate-5-diphosphate decarboxylase (MDD) is a single-domain alpha/beta protein that catalyzes the last of three sequential ATP-dependent reactions which convert mevalonate to isopentenyl diphosphate. Isopentenyl disphosphate isomerase (IDI) is an alpha/bet...

Abstract Because of wide applications in food, feed, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries, the carotenoid market is growing rapidly. Most carotenoids are hydrophobic, which limits their bioavailability. Glycosylation a natural route that substantially increases water solubility, as well bioavailability, photostability biological activities carotenoids. Here, we report metabolic engineering ef...

Astragalus membranaceus is one of the most important traditional Korean and Chinese medicinal herbs because it contains triterpenoid saponins (astragaloside I, II, III, and IV), which have beneficial and pharmacological effects on health. In this study, we analyzed 10 mevalonate pathway genes that are involved in astragaloside biosynthesis using the Illumina/Solexa HiSeq2000 platform. We determ...

The red seaweeds belonging to the genus Laurencia are well known as halogenated secondary metabolites producers, mainly terpenoids and acetogennins. Several of these chemicals exhibit important ecological roles and biotechnological applications. However, knowledge regarding the genes involved in the biosynthesis of these compounds is still very limited. We detected 20 different genes involved i...

In this report, we describe a truncated Deinococcus radiodurans 1-deoxy-D-xylulose-5-phosphate synthase (DXS) protein that retains enzymatic activity, while slowing degradation and showing improved crystallization properties. With modern drug-design approaches relying heavily on the elucidation of atomic interactions potential new drugs with their targets, need for co-crystal structures compoun...

Background: Isoprenoid precursor synthesis via the mevalonate route in humans and pathogenic trypanosomatids is an important metabolic pathway. There is however, only limited information available on the structure and reactivity of the component enzymes in trypanosomatids. Since isoprenoid biosynthesis is essential for trypanosomatid viability and may provide new targets for therapeutic interve...

Although the role of acetate as a substrate for steroid biosynthesis in systems in vitro is now well established (l-4), the role of mevalonate is currently somewhat obscure. A number of conflicting reports on the utilization of the latter substance for steroidogenesis have appeared in the literature. The diversity of steroidogenic tissue preparations that have been tested for their ability to u...

This presentation is a brief review of current knowledge concerning some biochemical, physiological and medical aspects of the function of ubiquinone (coenzyme Q) in mammalian organisms. In addition to its well-established function as a component of the mitochondrial respiratory chain, ubiquinone has in recent years acquired increasing attention with regard to its function in the reduced form (...