Expansion of the geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate synthase gene family underlies the evolution of terpenoid biosynthesis in termites
By Natan Horáček, Ondřej Lukšan, Zarley Rebholz, Karel Harant, Radek Pohl, Lana Mutabdžija-Nedelcheva, Simon Hellemans, Daniel Jungwirth, Jan Křivánek, Anna Amirianová, Pavlína Kyjaková, Thomas Bourguignon, Dorothea Tholl, Robert Hanus, Jitka Štáfková••Plos.org
Termites produce a diverse array of more than 200 terpenoids, but how are these biosynthesized? This study reveals that a termite-specific expansion of the geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate synthase gene family has generated terpene synthases capable of making the…
Abstract Termites produce the most diverse array of terpenoids among terrestrial metazoans, comprising over 200 structures. However, their biosynthesis has not yet been elucidated. Here, we identify…