Natural rubber (cis-1,4-polyisoprene) is an isoprenoid compound produced exclusively in plants by the action of rubber transferase. Despite a keen interest in revealing the mechanisms of rubber chain elongation and chain length determination, the molecular nature of rubber transferase has not yet been identified. A recent report has revealed that a 24 kDa protein tightly associated with the sma...

Guayule (Parthenium argentatum Gray, Asteraceae) is a latex-producing perennial desert shrub native to southwestern Texas and north central Mexico. It is potentially an economically viable new crop for the desert Southwest, with the advantages of having low water requirements and producing non-allergenic latex (Thompson and Ray 1988). Diploid guayule plants reproduce predominantly sexually, and...

Guayule (Parthenium argentatum Gray) is a perennial shrub of the Asteraceae family native to arid southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico that produces high-quality, hypoallergenic natural rubber. processing three output streams: high-molecular weight rubber as primary product, mixture resin/low-molecular rubber, fine, dry woody bagasse. The goal this review was evaluate guayule resin source seco...

Metal cofactors are necessary for the activity of alkylation by prenyl transfer in enzyme-catalyzed reactions. Rubber transferase (RuT, a cis-prenyl transferase) associated with purified rubber particles from Hevea brasiliensis, Parthenium argentatum and Ficus elastica can use magnesium and manganese interchangably to achieve maximum velocity. We define the concentration of activator required f...