INVOLVEMENT OF THE MEVALONIC ACID PATHWAY AND THE GLYCERALDEHYDE-PYRUVATE PATHWAY IN TERPENOID BIOSYNTHESIS OF THE LIVERWORTS RICCIOCARPOS NATANS AND CONOCEPHALUM-CONICUM

The incorporation of C-13-labeled glucose into borneol, bornyl acetate , the sesquiterpenes cubebanol and ricciocarpin A, phytol, and stigmas terol has been studied in axenic cultures of the liverworts Ricciocarp os natans and Conocephalum conicum. Quantitative C-13 NMR spectroscopi c analysis of the resulting labeling patterns showed that the isoprene building blocks of the sesquiterpenes and stigmasterol are built up v ia the mevalonic acid pathway, whereas the isoprene units of the monot erpenes and the diterpene phytol are exclusively derived from the glyc eraldehyde-pyruvate pathway, These results indicate the involvement of both isopentenyl diphosphate biosynthetic pathways in different cellu lar compartments. (C) 1998 Academic Press.