Terpene cyclases are enzymes that catalyze the formation of terpene natural products from linear isoprenoid pyrophosphates.   The cyclases catalyze carbocation formation of these precursors followed by complex carbocation chemistry to generate the terpene hydrocarbon framework.  Epi-isozizane synthase, which generates the terpene epi-isozizaene, has a complex carbocation cascade mechanism and has a known three-dimensional structure by X-ray crystallography.  However, how it manages the carbocation chemistry en route to the product remains poorly understood.  It is the goal of our lab to address the question of how epi-isozizaene synthase funnels the reaction cascade towards its unique product.   We seek to synthesize ammonium and sulfonium analogs of the carbocation intermediates and co-crystallize them with the enzyme.  These co-crystal structures will collectively shed light on the enzymatic reaction mechanism.

Elucidating the enzymatic mechanism of epi-isozizaene synthase

245th National Meeting (2013)

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