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Pathway Description
Chlorophyll a Biosynthesis I
Arabidopsis thaliana
Category:
Metabolite Pathway
Sub-Category:
Metabolic
Created: 2017-02-24
Last Updated: 2026-01-08
Chlorophyll a is the primary form of chlorophyll in plants. Chlorophylls are pigments that give plants their perceived green colour and are essential for photosynthesis, the process by which light energy is converted into chemical energy. Chlorophyll a, in particular, absorbs energy from wavelengths of violet-blue and orange-red light. Two pathways exist for chlorophyll a biosynthesis whereby geranylgeranyl diphosphate and 3,8-divinyl chlorophyllide a becomes chlorophyll a. Both of these pathways take place in the chloroplast. This is the first pathway of chlorophyll a biosynthesis. The three reactions of the subpathway to synthesize phytyl diphosphate from geranylgeranyl diphosphate are catalyzed by the same enzyme, geranylgeranyl dehydrogenase. This enzyme converts geranylgeranyl diphosphate into dihydrogeranylgeranyl diphosphate, dihydrogeranylgeranyl diphosphate into tetrahydrogeranylgeranyl diphosphate, and tetrahydrogeranylgeranyl diphosphate into phytyl diphosphate. The only reaction in the subpathway to synthesize chlorophyllide a from 3,8-divinyl chlorophyllide a is catalyzed by 3,8-divinyl protochlorophyllide a 8-vinyl-reductase. Lastly, chlorophyll synthetase converts chlorophyllide into chlorophyll a. It requires a magnesium ion as a cofactor.
References
Chlorophyll a Biosynthesis I References
Keller Y, Bouvier F, d'Harlingue A, Camara B: Metabolic compartmentation of plastid prenyllipid biosynthesis--evidence for the involvement of a multifunctional geranylgeranyl reductase. Eur J Biochem. 1998 Jan 15;251(1-2):413-7.
Pubmed: 9492312
Nagata N, Tanaka R, Tanaka A: The major route for chlorophyll synthesis includes [3,8-divinyl]-chlorophyllide a reduction in Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Cell Physiol. 2007 Dec;48(12):1803-8. doi: 10.1093/pcp/pcm153. Epub 2007 Nov 7.
Pubmed: 17991629
Keller Y, Bouvier F, d'Harlingue A, Camara B: Metabolic compartmentation of plastid prenyllipid biosynthesis--evidence for the involvement of a multifunctional geranylgeranyl reductase. Eur J Biochem. 1998 Jan 15;251(1-2):413-7. doi: 10.1046/j.1432-1327.1998.2510413.x.
Pubmed: 9492312
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Pubmed: 11130712
Cheng CY, Krishnakumar V, Chan AP, Thibaud-Nissen F, Schobel S, Town CD: Araport11: a complete reannotation of the Arabidopsis thaliana reference genome. Plant J. 2017 Feb;89(4):789-804. doi: 10.1111/tpj.13415. Epub 2017 Feb 10.
Pubmed: 27862469
Nagata N, Tanaka R, Satoh S, Tanaka A: Identification of a vinyl reductase gene for chlorophyll synthesis in Arabidopsis thaliana and implications for the evolution of Prochlorococcus species. Plant Cell. 2005 Jan;17(1):233-40. doi: 10.1105/tpc.104.027276.
Pubmed: 15632054
Nakanishi H, Nozue H, Suzuki K, Kaneko Y, Taguchi G, Hayashida N: Characterization of the Arabidopsis thaliana mutant pcb2 which accumulates divinyl chlorophylls. Plant Cell Physiol. 2005 Mar;46(3):467-73. doi: 10.1093/pcp/pci053. Epub 2005 Feb 2.
Pubmed: 15695432
Tabata S, Kaneko T, Nakamura Y, Kotani H, Kato T, Asamizu E, Miyajima N, Sasamoto S, Kimura T, Hosouchi T, Kawashima K, Kohara M, Matsumoto M, Matsuno A, Muraki A, Nakayama S, Nakazaki N, Naruo K, Okumura S, Shinpo S, Takeuchi C, Wada T, Watanabe A, Yamada M, Yasuda M, Sato S, de la Bastide M, Huang E, Spiegel L, Gnoj L, O'Shaughnessy A, Preston R, Habermann K, Murray J, Johnson D, Rohlfing T, Nelson J, Stoneking T, Pepin K, Spieth J, Sekhon M, Armstrong J, Becker M, Belter E, Cordum H, Cordes M, Courtney L, Courtney W, Dante M, Du H, Edwards J, Fryman J, Haakensen B, Lamar E, Latreille P, Leonard S, Meyer R, Mulvaney E, Ozersky P, Riley A, Strowmatt C, Wagner-McPherson C, Wollam A, Yoakum M, Bell M, Dedhia N, Parnell L, Shah R, Rodriguez M, See LH, Vil D, Baker J, Kirchoff K, Toth K, King L, Bahret A, Miller B, Marra M, Martienssen R, McCombie WR, Wilson RK, Murphy G, Bancroft I, Volckaert G, Wambutt R, Dusterhoft A, Stiekema W, Pohl T, Entian KD, Terryn N, Hartley N, Bent E, Johnson S, Langham SA, McCullagh B, Robben J, Grymonprez B, Zimmermann W, Ramsperger U, Wedler H, Balke K, Wedler E, Peters S, van Staveren M, Dirkse W, Mooijman P, Lankhorst RK, Weitzenegger T, Bothe G, Rose M, Hauf J, Berneiser S, Hempel S, Feldpausch M, Lamberth S, Villarroel R, Gielen J, Ardiles W, Bents O, Lemcke K, Kolesov G, Mayer K, Rudd S, Schoof H, Schueller C, Zaccaria P, Mewes HW, Bevan M, Fransz P: Sequence and analysis of chromosome 5 of the plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Nature. 2000 Dec 14;408(6814):823-6. doi: 10.1038/35048507.
Pubmed: 11130714
Gaubier P, Wu HJ, Laudie M, Delseny M, Grellet F: A chlorophyll synthetase gene from Arabidopsis thaliana. Mol Gen Genet. 1995 Nov 1;249(1):58-64. doi: 10.1007/bf00290236.
Pubmed: 8552034
Comella P, Wu HJ, Laudie M, Berger C, Cooke R, Delseny M, Grellet F: Fine sequence analysis of 60 kb around the Arabidopsis thaliana AtEm1 locus on chromosome III. Plant Mol Biol. 1999 Nov;41(5):687-700. doi: 10.1023/a:1006395324818.
Pubmed: 10645728
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