Abstract
Plants have two distinct biosynthesis pathways for providing isoprenoid precursors; the methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathway in plastids and the mevalonate pathway in the cytoplasm. Recent studies have shown that the MEP and the MVA pathways are not totally separated from each other, indicating some crossover between the two pathways. Thus, to understand the contributions of each pathway to individual downstream isoprenoid biosyntheses, it is crucial to study how these pathways are regulated and how the crossover occurs. In order to identify components regulating the MEP pathway and proteins involved in the crossover between the two pathways, we looked for Arabidopsis mutants that are resistant to fosmidomycin, an inhibitor for 1-deoxy-D-xylulose 5-phosphate reductoisomerase in the MEP pathway. We have screened 16000 T-DNA insertion lines and identified some mutants that are more resistant to fosmidomycin than wild-type plants during cotyledon greening. Genes responsible for fosmidomycin resistance in these mutants are being investigated.
