Metabolic engineering to biosynthesize terpenoids

CHED 214

Alyssa M. Baevich, abaevich@rice.edu, Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, 6100 Main St. MS-60, Houston, TX 77005, Caroline V McNeil, cvpardue@rice.edu, Department of Chemistry, Rice University, 6100 Main St. MS-60, Houston, TX 77005, and Seiichi P. T. Matsuda, Department of Chemistry and Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Rice University, 6100 S. Main Street, Houston, TX 77005.
The terpenoids are a large family of natural products derived from the five-carbon precursors isopentenyl diphosphate and dimethylallyl diphosphate. Because the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae biosynthesizes substantial amounts of sterols from these precursors, appropriate manipulation of its sterol biosynthetic pathway provides access to a variety of terpene synthase substrates. The extensive modification of this host resulting in derivatives that generate useful and interesting metabolites will be described.
 

Undergraduate Research Poster Session
2:30 PM-4:30 PM, Monday, August 20, 2007 BCEC -- Exhibit Hall - B2, Poster

Division of Chemical Education

The 234th ACS National Meeting, Boston, MA, August 19-23, 2007