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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences
Bifunctional Abietadiene Synthase: Mutual Structural Dependence Of The Active Sites For Protonation-Initiated And Ionization-Initiated Cyclizations, Reuben J. Peters, Ora A. Carter, Yan Zhang, Brian W. Matthews, Rodney B. Croteau
Bifunctional Abietadiene Synthase: Mutual Structural Dependence Of The Active Sites For Protonation-Initiated And Ionization-Initiated Cyclizations, Reuben J. Peters, Ora A. Carter, Yan Zhang, Brian W. Matthews, Rodney B. Croteau
Reuben J. Peters
Abietadiene synthase from grand fir catalyzes two sequential, mechanistically distinct cyclizations, of geranylgeranyl diphosphate and of copalyl diphosphate, in the formation of a mixture of abietadiene isomers as the committed step of diterpenoid resin acid biosynthesis. Each reaction is independently conducted at a separate active site residing in what were considered to be structurally distinct domains typical of terpene cyclases. Despite the presence of an unusual 250-residue N-terminal insertional element, a tandem pair of charged residues distal to the insertion was shown to form a functional part of the C-terminal active site. Because abietadiene synthase resembles the ancestral plant terpene …
Mechanism Of Abietadiene Synthase Catalysis: Stereochemistry And Stabilization Of The Cryptic Pimarenyl Carbocation Intermediates, Reuben J. Peters, Matthew M. Ravn, Robert M. Coates, Rodney Croteau
Mechanism Of Abietadiene Synthase Catalysis: Stereochemistry And Stabilization Of The Cryptic Pimarenyl Carbocation Intermediates, Reuben J. Peters, Matthew M. Ravn, Robert M. Coates, Rodney Croteau
Reuben J. Peters
Abietadiene synthase (AS) catalyzes the complex cyclization-rearrangement of (E,E,E)-geranylgeranyl diphosphate (8, GGPP) to a mixture of abietadiene (1a), double bond isomers 2a-4a and pimaradienes 5a-7a as a key step in the biosynthesis of the abietane resin acid constituents (1b-4b) of conifer oleoresin. The reaction proceeds at two active sites by way of the intermediate, copalyl diphosphate (9). In the second site, a putative tricyclic pimaradiene or pimarenyl(+) carbocation intermediate of undefined C13 stereochemistry and annular double bond position is formed. Three 8-oxy-17-nor analogues of 9 (17 and 19a,b) and three isomeric 15,16-bisnorpimarenyl-N-methylamines (26a-c) were synthesized and evaluated as alternative substrates …
Abietadiene Synthase Catalysis: Conserved Residues Involved In Protonation-Initiated Cyclization Of Geranylgeranyl Diphosphate To (+)-Copalyl Diphosphate, Reuben J. Peters, Rodney B. Croteau
Abietadiene Synthase Catalysis: Conserved Residues Involved In Protonation-Initiated Cyclization Of Geranylgeranyl Diphosphate To (+)-Copalyl Diphosphate, Reuben J. Peters, Rodney B. Croteau
Reuben J. Peters
Abietadiene synthase catalyzes two sequential, mechanistically distinct cyclization reactions in the formation of a mixture of abietadiene double bond isomers as the committed step in resin acid biosynthesis. Each reaction is carried out at a separate active site residing in a structurally distinct domain, and the reactions are kinetically separable. The first cyclization reaction is initiated by protonation of the terminal double bond of the universal diterpene precursor, geranylgeranyl diphosphate. The pH dependence of the overall reaction is consistent with an acid-base catalytic mechanism, and a divalent metal ion plays a role in this reaction probably by binding the diphosphate …
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Analysis Of Molecular Mobility During Dissolution Of Poly(Vinyl Alcohol) In Water, Balaji Narasimhan, J. E.M. Snaar, R. W. Bowtell, S. Morgan, C. D. Melia, N. A. Peppas
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Analysis Of Molecular Mobility During Dissolution Of Poly(Vinyl Alcohol) In Water, Balaji Narasimhan, J. E.M. Snaar, R. W. Bowtell, S. Morgan, C. D. Melia, N. A. Peppas
Balaji Narasimhan
Magnetic resonance imaging is used to study changing microstructure and molecular motion during dissolution of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) in water. One-dimensional water concentration profiles were measured as a function of distance from the polymer-solvent interface. Diffusion-weighted profiles were used to calculate the spatial variation of the self-diffusion coefficient of water. The results indicate that diffusion coefficient values decrease toward the glassy core of the polymer. Self-diffusion coefficient values within the dissolving polymer increase with increasing dissolution time, while those near the polymer-solvent interface remain fairly constant. The effect of PVA molecular weight on the dissolution mechanism was investigated, with MÌ„n …