title: Biosynthesis of L-ascorbic acid in plants: new pathways for an old antioxidant.
abstract: The biosynthetic pathway of L-ascorbic acid (vitamin C) in plants has been established for several years. However, recent reports describe alternative pathways, revealing a more complex picture of L-ascorbic acid biosynthesis than had been expected. GDP-L-gulose and myo-inositol are proposed as new intermediates in L-ascorbic acid biosynthesis, indicating that part of the animal pathway might also be operating in plants. Enzymatic studies on the GDP-mannose- 3',5'-epimerase and L-galactono-1,4-lactone dehydrogenase suggest that they are important regulatory steps for L-ascorbic acid biosynthesis.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biología Molecular y Bioquímica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Málaga, 29071 Málaga, Spain. valpuesta@uma.es
authors.forename: Victoriano
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Valpuesta
authors.forename: Miguel A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Botella
mesh_terms: D001205:Ascorbic Acid / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D008956:Models, Chemical; D015394:Molecular Structure; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010944:Plants / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D001205:Ascorbic Acid