1n20

Publication Abstract from PubMed

The x-ray crystal structure of dimeric (+)-bornyl diphosphate synthase, a metal-requiring monoterpene cyclase from Salvia officinalis, is reported at 2.0-A resolution. Each monomer contains two alpha-helical domains: the C-terminal domain catalyzes the cyclization of geranyl diphosphate, orienting and stabilizing multiple reactive carbocation intermediates; the N-terminal domain has no clearly defined function, although its N terminus caps the active site in the C-terminal domain during catalysis. Structures of complexes with aza analogues of substrate and carbocation intermediates, as well as complexes with pyrophosphate and bornyl diphosphate, provide "snapshots" of the terpene cyclization cascade.

Bornyl diphosphate synthase: structure and strategy for carbocation manipulation by a terpenoid cyclase.,Whittington DA, Wise ML, Urbansky M, Coates RM, Croteau RB, Christianson DW Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2002 Nov 26;99(24):15375-80. Epub 2002 Nov 13. PMID:12432096^[2]

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.