Geranyl pyrophosphate

Template:Chembox Geranyl pyrophosphate (GPP), also known as geranyl diphosphate (GDP), is the pyrophosphate ester of the terpenoid geraniol. Its salts are colorless. It is a precursor to many thousands of natural products.

Occurrence

GPP is an intermediate in the isoprenoid biosynthesis pathway that produces longer prenyl chains such as farnesyl pyrophosphate and geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate as well as many terpenes. It can be prepared in the laboratory from geraniol.

File:Synthesis of geranyl pyrophosphate.png

Isopentenyl pyrophosphate (IPP) and dimethylallyl pyrophosphate (DMAPP) are condensed by geranyl pyrophosphate synthase (dimethylallyltranstransferase) to produce geranyl pyrophosphate (GPP) and pyrophosphate. The carbon skeletons of DMAPP and IPP have been colored to indicate their location in GPP.

Microbial toxicity

Intracellularly produced GPP has been shown to be toxic to the bacteria E. coli at moderate doses.

Related compounds

• Geraniol
• Farnesyl pyrophosphate
• Geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate

See also

• Dimethylallyltranstransferase

Further reading

• Kulkarni RS, Pandit SS, Chidley HG, Nagel R, Schmidt A, Gershenzon J, Pujari KH, Giri AP and Gupta VS, 2013, Characterization of three novel isoprenyl diphosphate synthases from the terpenoid rich mango fruit. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, 71, 121–131.