We have solved the 2.5-Å crystal structure of 1-deoxy-D-xylulose-5-phosphate reductoisomerase, an enzyme involved in the mevalonate-independent 2-C-methyl-Derythritol-4-phosphate pathway of isoprenoid biosynthesis. The structure reveals that the enzyme is present as a homodimer. Each monomer displays a V-like shape and is composed of an amino-terminal dinucleotide binding domain, a connective domain, and a carboxyl-terminal four-helix bundle domain. The connective domain is responsible for dimerization and harbors most of the active site. The strictly conserved acidic residues Asp 150 , Glu 152 , Glu 231 , and Glu 234 are clustered at the putative active site and are probably involved in the binding of divalent cations mandatory for enzyme activity. The connective and four-helix bundle domains show significant mobility upon superposition of the dinucleotide binding domains of the three conformational states present in the asymmetric unit of the crystal. A still more pronounced flexibility is observed for a loop spanning residues 186 to 216, which adopts two completely different conformations within the three protein conformers. A possible involvement of this loop in an induced fit during substrate binding is discussed.
Isoprenoids, formed by the condensation of varying numbers of isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP)1 units, constitute a major class of both primary and secondary metabolites including, for example, the ubiquitous sterols as well as dolichols, plastochinones, carotenoids, the prenyl side chains of chlorophylls, and ubiquinones (1). In archaea, fungi, and mammals, the central building block of isoprenoids, IPP, is formed from acetyl-CoA via the classical mevalonate pathway that was described in the 1950s (reviewed in Ref. 2). Only about 8 years ago, however, the existence of an alternative IPP biosynthesis pathway was established (3) (Fig. 1). The first step, in which the condensation of pyruvate and D-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate leads to the formation of 1-deoxy-D-xylulose-5-phosphate (DOXP) under release of CO 2 , is catalyzed by DOXP synthase. Subsequently, DOXP reductoisomerase mediates an intramolecular rearrangement followed by reduction using NADPH as hydrogen donor with 2-C-methyl-D-erythritol-4-phosphate (MEP) as product. In addition to NADPH, this reaction depends on the presence of divalent cations, with Mn 2ϩ being most effective (4). In subsequent steps, MEP is cytidylated by the enzyme CDP-ME synthetase under release of pyrophosphate and phosphorylated by CDP-ME kinase to yield 4-diphosphocytidyl-2-Cmethyl-D-erythritol-2-phosphate (CDP-ME-2-phosphate). This intermediate is then cyclized by MECDP synthase under release of CMP, resulting in the formation of 2-C-methyl-D-erythritol-2,4-cyclodiphosphate (MECDP) (reviewed in Ref. 5). The remaining terminal steps necessary for the synthesis of IPP are largely unknown as yet, although two genes controlling these steps, gcpE and lytB, have been characterized (6, 7). This second IPP biosynthesis pathway has been named the MEP pathway after its key meta...