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Biosynthesis and engineering of isoprenoid small molecules

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Abstract

Isoprenoid secondary metabolites are a rich source of commercial products that have not been fully explored. At present, there are isoprenoid products used in cancer therapy, the treatment of infectious diseases, and crop protection. All isoprenoids share universal prenyl diphosphate precursors synthesized via two distinct pathways. From these universal precursors, the biosynthetic pathways to specific isoprenoids diverge resulting in a staggering array of products. Taking advantage of this diversity has been the focus of much effort in metabolic engineering heterologous hosts. In addition, the engineering of the mevalonate pathway has increased levels of the universal precursors available for heterologous production. Finally, we will describe the efforts to produce to commercial terpenoids, paclitaxel and artemisinin.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Sydnor T. Withers & Jay D. Keasling

  2. Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Jay D. Keasling

  3. Berkeley Center for Synthetic Biology, Physical Bioscience Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 717 Potter Street, Building 977, Mail code 3224, Berkeley, CA, 94720-3224, USA

    Jay D. Keasling

  4. California Institute for Quantitative Biomedical Research (QB3), University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Sydnor T. Withers & Jay D. Keasling

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Correspondence to Jay D. Keasling.

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Withers, S.T., Keasling, J.D. Biosynthesis and engineering of isoprenoid small molecules. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 73, 980–990 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-006-0593-1

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