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Antisense and chemical suppression of the nonmevalonate pathway affects ent-kaurene biosynthesis in Arabidopsis

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Abstract.

Transgenic plants of Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. (ecotype Columbia) expressing the antisense AtMECT gene, encoding 2-C-methyl-D-erythritol 4-phosphate cytidylyltransferase, were generated to elucidate the physiological role of the nonmevalonate pathway for production of ent-kaurene, the latter being the plastidic precursor of gibberellins. In transformed plants pigmentation and accumulation of ent-kaurene were reduced compared to wild-type plants. Fosmidomycin, an inhibitor of 1-deoxy-D-xylulose 5-phosphate reductoisomerase (DXR), caused a similar depletion of these compounds in transgenic plants. These observations suggest that both AtMECT and DXR are important in the synthesis of isopentenyl diphosphate and dimethylallyl diphosphate and that ent-kaurene is mainly produced through the nonmevalonate pathway in the plastid.

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Okada, K., Kawaide, H., Kuzuyama, T. et al. Antisense and chemical suppression of the nonmevalonate pathway affects ent-kaurene biosynthesis in Arabidopsis . Planta 215, 339–344 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-002-0762-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-002-0762-0

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