Crosstalk between cytosolic and plastidial pathways of isoprenoid biosynthesis in Arabidopsis thaliana

In plants, the formation of isopentenyl diphosphate and dimethylallyl diphosphate, the central intermediates in the biosynthesis of isoprenoids, is compartmentalized: the mevalonate (MVA) pathway, which is localized to the cytosol, is responsible for the synthesis of sterols, certain sesquiterpenes, and the side chain of ubiquinone; in contrast, the recently discovered MVA-independent pathway, which operates in plastids, is involved in providing the precursors for monoterpenes, certain sesquiterpenes, diterpenes, carotenoids, and the side chains of chlorophylls and plastoquinone. Specific inhibitors of the MVA pathway (lovastatin) and the MVA-independent pathway (fosmidomycin) were used to perturb biosynthetic…