This article appears in the following Journal of Experimental Botany issue: Special Issue: Crop Science for a Changing Climate and Plant Biomass for Food and Energy [View the issue table of contents]
REVIEW-ARTICLE |
Unravelling the regulatory mechanisms that modulate the MEP pathway in higher plants
Departamento de Biología Molecular de Plantas, Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. Universidad 2001, Col. Chamilpa, Cuernavaca, Morelos 62250, México
* To whom correspondence should be addressed: E-mail: patricia{at}ibt.unam.mx
The methyl-D-erythritol 4-phosphate pathway is responsible for the biosynthesis of a substantial number of natural compounds of biological and biotechnological importance. In recent years, this pathway has become an obvious target to develop new herbicides and antimicrobial drugs. In addition, the production of a variety of compounds of medical and agricultural interest may be possible through the genetic manipulation of this pathway. To this end, a complete understanding of the molecular mechanisms that regulate this pathway is of tremendous importance. Recent data have accumulated that show some of the multiple mechanisms that regulate the methyl-D-erythritol 4-phosphate pathway in plants. In this review we will describe some of these and discuss their implications. It has been demonstrated that 1-deoxy-D-xylulose-5-phosphate synthase (DXS), the first enzyme of this route, plays a major role in the overall regulation of the pathway. A small gene family codes for this enzyme in most of the plants which have been analysed so far, and the members of these gene families belong to different phylogenetic groups. Each of these genes exhibits a distinct expression pattern, suggesting unique functions. One of the most interesting regulatory mechanisms recently described for this pathway is the post-transcriptional regulation of the level of DXS and DXR proteins. In the case of DXS, this regulation appears conserved among plants, supporting its importance. The evidence accumulated suggests that this regulation might link the activity of this pathway with the plant's physiological conditions and the metabolic demand for the final products of this route.
Key words: DXS enzyme, isoprenoids, MEP pathway, plastids
Received 23 March 2009; Revised 14 May 2009 Accepted 15 May 2009