Intracellular localization of mevalonate-activating enzymes in plant cells.

Mevalonate-activating enzymes are shown to be present in the chloroplasts of French-bean leaves. The chloroplast membrane is impermeable to mevalonic acid. Mevalonate-activating enzymes also appear to be found outside the chloroplast. These results support the view that terpenoid biosynthesis in the plant cell is controlled by a combination of enzyme segregation and specific membrane permeability.