ABSTRACT
Crop plants are an essential source of energy and raw materials that are used in the food chain. One approach to increasing the efficiency of crop production is to induce host defense mechanisms that stimulate chemical protection by switching carbon flow from sterol to terpene and triterpene production. A second approach is to use sterol biosynthesis inhibitors that control disease development. Phytosterols are known to play multiple physiological roles, the expression of which controls plant growth, development, and reproduction. The enzymes that compose the sterol pathway are specifically mated for tetracycles that possess the stereochemistry, and through that mating the sterol pathway differs from other isopentenoid pathways. Sterols are ultimately produced in plants from the photosynthetic fixation of carbon dioxide to sugar. The sitosterol pathway, involving the stereospecific transfer of two methyl groups to C-24, may be favored during active cell proliferation.
