Optimized enzymatic preparation of 1-deoxy-d-xylulose 5-phosphate.

The preparation of 1-deoxy-d-xylulose 5-phosphate, the key intermediate of MEP biosynthetic pathway for terpenoids by using recombinant 1-deoxy-d-xylulose 5-phosphate synthase of Rhodobacter capsulatus was optimized. The simple one-pot synthesis coupling with a newly established ion-exchange purification process affords the target compound with more than 80% yield and high purity (>95%). The procedure can also be employed to synthesize isotope labeled 1-deoxy-d-xylulose 5-phosphate by using isotope labeled starting materials.