Matsuda Kazuhiko
Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Kinki University, Nakamachi, Japan.
Top Curr Chem. 2012;314:73-81. doi: 10.1007/128_2011_271.
Pyrethrins are a natural insecticide biosynthesized by the plant pyrethrum [Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium (Current species name: Tanacetum cinerariifolium)] of the family Asteraceae. Although pyrethrins have been used to control household pests for the past century, little is known about the mechanism of biosynthesis, contrasting with intensive research on their synthetic analogs, pyrethroids. The author studied pyrethrin biosynthesis in young seedlings of C. cinerariaefolium. The results of experiments using (13)C-labeled glucose as the biosynthesis precursor indicated that the acid and alcohol moieties are biosynthesized via the 2-C-methyl-D: -erythritol 4-phosphate (MEP) and oxylipin pathways, respectively. Further study on the effects of wound-induced signals in leaves showed that biosynthesis is enhanced in response to both volatile and nonvolatile signals.
除虫菊酯是菊科植物除虫菊（菊蒿属，当前物种名称：白花除虫菊）生物合成的一种天然杀虫剂。尽管在过去的一个世纪里除虫菊酯一直被用于控制家庭害虫，但与对其合成类似物拟除虫菊酯的深入研究形成对比的是，人们对其生物合成机制知之甚少。作者研究了白花除虫菊幼苗中除虫菊酯的生物合成。使用¹³C标记的葡萄糖作为生物合成前体的实验结果表明，酸部分和醇部分分别通过2-C-甲基-D-赤藓糖醇4-磷酸（MEP）途径和氧化脂质途径进行生物合成。对叶片伤口诱导信号影响的进一步研究表明，生物合成会对挥发性和非挥发性信号做出反应而增强。
