Isoprenoids represent the oldest class of known low molecular-mass natural products
synthesized by plants. Their biogenesis in plastids, mitochondria and the endoplasmic …

As succinctly summarized by Wolf, 1 lack of vitamin A (all-trans-retinol) was recognized by
ancient Egyptians as causing a visual deficiency involving the retina and cornea that could …

Carotenoids represent a large class of terpenoids characterized by an extensively
conjugated polyene chain. The conjugation system imparts carotenoids with excellent light …

The recently discovered non-mevalonate biosynthetic route to isoprenoid precursors is an
essential metabolic pathway in plants, apicomplexan parasites, and many species of …

Many enzymes that show a large specificity in binding the enzymatic transition state with a
higher affinity than the substrate utilize substrate binding energy to drive protein …

Even if the isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP) isomerases have been discovered in the 50s, it is
only in the last decade that the genetical, enzymatical, structural richness and cellular …

Since convergent evolution of enzyme active sites was first identified in serine proteases,
other individual instances of this phenomenon have been documented. However, a …

Processive DNA synthesis by the αεθ core of the Escherichia coli Pol III replicase requires it
to be bound to the β2 clamp via a site in the α polymerase subunit. How the ε proofreading …

Plants synthesize carotenoids, which are essential for plant development and survival.
These metabolites also serve as essential nutrients for human health. The biosynthetic …

A fourth and large family of lycopene cyclases was identified in photosynthetic prokaryotes.
The first member of this family, encoded by the cruA gene of the green sulfur bacterium …