Linear Hydrocarbon Producing Pathways in Plants, Algae and Microbes

Abstract

Many different types of organisms synthesize hydrocarbons in nature, but for all their ubiquity, the biochemical and genetic bases for how these compounds are synthesized are not well understood. Several biochemical mechanisms have been proposed for non-isoprenoid hydrocarbon biosynthesis, most notably the head-to-head condensation and elongation-decarboxylation pathways from fatty acid precursors, but definitive characterization of these and other possible mechanisms have largely remained elusive. This review explores the possible metabolic pathways that various plant, algal, and microbial species use to synthesize linear hydrocarbons and the genetic factors that are involved in regulating those pathways. © Springer-Verlag London Limited 2012.