Comparative and Functional Aspects of the Isoprene Pathway in Fungi

Abstract

The main pathways of isoprenoid biosynthesis in fungi are reviewed, with particular emphasis on the sterol and carotene pathways and on the comparative aspects of particular features. Isoprenoid biosynthesis in Mucorales is considered in more detail. In these fungi the mechanisms of isoprenoid metabolism, and an understanding of their regulation, are crucial for a biochemical interpretation of their system of sexual reproduction. More generally, mechanistic and regulatory studies are as suitable as structural data for comparative exercises in biochemical taxonomy, but the present range of available information is in many respects too limited. © 1973, Walter de Gruyter. All rights reserved.