title: Diversity and analysis of bacterial terpene synthases.
abstract: Terpenoid compounds are generally considered to be plant or fungal metabolites, although a small number of odorous terpenoid metabolites of bacterial origin have been known for many years. Recently, extensive bacterial genome sequencing and bioinformatic analysis of deduced bacterial proteins using a profile hidden Markov model have revealed more than a hundred distinct predicted terpene synthase genes. Although some of these synthase genes might be silent in the parent microorganisms under normal laboratory culture conditions, the controlled overexpression of these genes in a versatile heterologous host has made it possible to identify the biochemical function of cryptic genes and isolate new terpenoid metabolites.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Microbial Engineering, Kitasato Institute for Life Sciences, Kitasato University, Kanagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: David E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Cane
authors.forename: Haruo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ikeda
mesh_terms: D019883:Alkyl and Aryl Transferases / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D019295:Computational Biology / Q000379:methods; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D005822:Genetic Vectors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D010802:Phylogeny; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013729:Terpenes / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D013729:Terpenes; D019883:Alkyl and Aryl Transferases; C108877:terpene synthase