Roots of Biosynthetic Diversity

摘要

With more than 50,000 compounds serving myriad functions in all forms of life, the terpenoids or isoprenoids are the most structurally and stereochemically diverse family of natural products found on Earth. Despite the complexity and magnitude of this chemical library—referred to as the terpenome—all terpenoid compounds ultimately derive from one or both of two simple precursors: isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP) and dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP) (see the first figure).