Terpenes are the most abundant group of natural products, occurring in plants, bacteria and fungi and constituting their basic metabolites, e.g. sterols or carotenoids. The vast structural diversity found among terpenoids is generated by terpene synthases, the enzymes forming terpenes through carbocation-based cyclization and electron rearrangements.
The biochemistry of terpene synthases has been intensely researched, modelling and other techniques are gradually being implemented to further understand the biochemistry and to explore the reaction mechanism of a terpene synthase. However, so far, enzyme product prediction has been challenging due to the nature of the reaction involving a carbocation formation, hydrogen and methyl group shifts, ring closure, and finally, either hydrogen abstraction or hydroxylation.
The ModBioTerp project aims to provide fundamental insight into the enzymatic mechanism and product prediction of terpene synthases through modelling based on crystal structures and understanding the evolution of terpene synthases.
Staff
- Dr. Marion Ringel (Project management)
- Grzegorz Jamróg
- Nina Egeler
Homepage: ModBioTerp
