Determination of amino-acidic positions important for Ocimum basilicum geraniol synthase activity

Terpenes are one of the largest and most diversified families of natural compounds. Although they have found numerous industrial applications, the molecular basis of their synthesis in plants has, until now, not been fully understood. Plant genomes have been shown to contain dozens of terpene synthase (TPS) genes, however knowledge of their amino-acidic protein sequence in not sufficient to predict which terpene(s) will be produced by a particular enzyme. In order to investigate the structural basis of a TPS specificity, we performed site directed mutations in the geraniol synthase from Ocimum basilicum. The results obtained suggest that a specific region on the catalytic site plays an important role in GPP transformation, either by stabilizing the GPP substrate on the catalytic site, or by enabling its transformation into a monoterpenol via an intermediate carbocation.