Strategies of isoprenoids production in engineered bacteria

Isoprenoids are the largest family of natural products, over 40 000 compounds have been described, which have been widely used in various fields. Currently, the isoprenoid products are mainly produced by natural extraction or chemical synthesis, however, limited yield and high cost is far behind the increasing need. Most bacteria synthesize the precursors of isoprenoids through the methylerythritol 4‐phosphate pathway, microbial synthesis of isoprenoids by fermentation becomes more attractive mainly in terms of environmental concern and renewable resources. In this review, the strategies of isoprenoid production in bacteria by synthetic biology are discussed. Introducing foreign genes associated with desired products made it possible to produce isoprenoids in bacteria. Furthermore, the yield of isoprenoids is increased by the strategies of overexpression of native or foreign genes, introducing heterologous mevalonate pathway, balancing of the precursors and inactivating the competing pathway, these methods were used separately or simultaneously.     

Evidence of isoprenoid precursor toxicity in Bacillus subtilis

The mevalonic acid (MVA) and methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathways for isoprenoid biosynthesis both culminate in the production of the two-five carbon prenyl diphosphates: dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP) and isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP). These are the building blocks for higher isoprenoids, including many that have industrial and pharmaceutical applications. With growing interest in producing commercial isoprenoids through microbial engineering, reports have appeared of toxicity associated with the accumulation of prenyl diphosphates in Escherichia coli expressing a heterologous MVA pathway. Here we explored whether similar prenyl diphosphate toxicity, related to MEP pathway flux, could also be observed in the bacterium Bacillus subtilis. After genetic and metabolic manipulations of the endogenous MEP pathway in B. subtilis, measurements of cell growth, MEP pathway flux, and DMAPP contents suggested cytotoxicity related to prenyl diphosphate accumulation. These results have implications as to understanding the factors impacting isoprenoid biosynthesis in microbial systems.     

Opportunistic emissions of volatile isoprenoids

Isoprene, monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes are synthesized and emitted by some plant species, but not all plant species have this ability. These volatile, nonessential isoprenoid compounds share the same biochemical precursors as larger essential isoprenoids such as gibberellic acids and carotenoids. They have many protective and ecological functions for the plant species that produce them, but plant species that do not produce these compounds also grow and reproduce successfully. Here, we develop an 'opportunist hypothesis' suggesting that (i) volatile isoprenoid production takes advantage of dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP) and its isomer isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP), which are synthesized primarily to produce essential isoprenoids, and (ii) conditions affecting synthesis of the higher isoprenoids will affect the production and emission of volatile isoprenoids.     

Evidence of Isoprenoid Precursor Toxicity in Bacillus subtilis

The mevalonic acid (MVA) and methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathways for isoprenoid biosynthesis both culminate in the production of the two-five carbon prenyl diphosphates: dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP) and isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP). These are the building blocks for higher isoprenoids, including many that have industrial and pharmaceutical applications. With growing interest in producing commercial isoprenoids through microbial engineering, reports have appeared of toxicity associated with the accumulation of prenyl diphosphates in Escherichia coli expressing a heterologous MVA pathway. Here we explored whether similar prenyl diphosphate toxicity, related to MEP pathway flux, could also be observed in the bacterium Bacillus subtilis. After genetic and metabolic manipulations of the endogenous MEP pathway in B. subtilis, measurements of cell growth, MEP pathway flux, and DMAPP contents suggested cytotoxicity related to prenyl diphosphate accumulation. These results have implications as to understanding the factors impacting isoprenoid biosynthesis in microbial systems.     

Characterization of a feedback-resistant mevalonate kinase from the archaeon Methanosarcina mazei

The mevalonate pathway is utilized for the biosynthesis of isoprenoids in many bacterial, eukaryotic, and archaeal organisms. Based on previous reports of its feedback inhibition, mevalonate kinase (MVK) may play an important regulatory role in the biosynthesis of mevalonate pathway-derived compounds. Here we report the purification, kinetic characterization, and inhibition analysis of the MVK from the archaeon Methanosarcina mazei. The inhibition of the M. mazei MVK by the following metabolites derived from the mevalonate pathway was explored: dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP), geranyl pyrophosphate (GPP), farnesyl pyrophosphate (FPP), isopentenyl monophosphate (IP), and diphosphomevalonate. M. mazei MVK was not inhibited by DMAPP, GPP, FPP, diphosphomevalonate, or IP, a proposed intermediate in an alternative isoprenoid pathway present in archaea. Our findings suggest that the M. mazei MVK represents a distinct class of mevalonate kinases that can be differentiated from previously characterized MVKs based on its inhibition profile.     

Combining Genotype Improvement and Statistical Media Optimization for Isoprenoid Production in E. coli

Isoprenoids are a large and diverse class of compounds that includes many high value natural products and are thus in great demand. To meet the increasing demand for isoprenoid compounds, metabolic engineering of microbes has been used to produce isoprenoids in an economical and sustainable manner. To achieve high isoprenoid yields using this technology, the availability of metabolic precursors feeding the deoxyxylulose phosphate (DXP) pathway, responsible for isoprenoid biosynthesis, has to be optimized. In this study, phosphoenolpyruvate, a vital DXP pathway precursor, was enriched by deleting the genes encoding the carbohydrate phosphotransferase system (PTS) in E. coli. Production of lycopene (a C40 isoprenoid) was maximized by optimizing growth medium and culture conditions. In optimized conditions, the lycopene yield from PTS mutant was seven fold higher than that obtained from the wild type strain. This resulted in the highest reported specific yield of lycopene produced from the DXP pathway in E. coli to date (20,000 µg/g dry cell weight). Both the copy number of the plasmid encoding the lycopene biosynthetic genes and the expression were found to be increased in the optimized media. Deletion of PTS together with a similar optimization strategy was also successful in enhancing the production of amorpha-1,4-diene, a distinct C15 isoprenoid, suggesting that the approaches developed herein can be generally applied to optimize production of other isoprenoids.     

Biosynthesis of geranate via isopentenol utilization pathway in Escherichia coli

Isoprenoids are a large family of natural products with diverse structures, which allow them to play diverse and important roles in the physiology of plants and animals. They also have important commercial uses as pharmaceuticals, flavoring agents, fragrances, and nutritional supplements. Recently, metabolic engineering has been intensively investigated and emerged as the technology of choice for the production of isoprenoids through microbial fermentation. Isoprenoid biosynthesis typically originates in plants from acetyl-coA in central carbon metabolism, however, a recent study reported an alternative pathway, the isopentenol utilization pathway (IUP), that can provide the building blocks of isoprenoid biosynthesis from affordable C5 substrates. In this study, we expressed the IUP in Escherichia coli to efficiently convert isopentenols into geranate, a valuable isoprenoid compound. We first established a geraniol-producing strain in E. coli that uses the IUP. Then, we extended the geraniol synthesis pathway to produce geranate through two oxidation reactions catalyzed by two alcohol/aldehyde dehydrogenases from Castellaniella defragrans. The geranate titer was further increased by optimizing the expression of the two dehydrogenases and also parameters of the fermentation process. The best strain produced 764 mg/L geranate in 24 h from 2 g/L isopentenols (a mixture of isoprenol and prenol). We also investigated if the dehydrogenases could accept other isoprenoid alcohols as substrates.     

Engineering an Isoprenoid Pathway in Escherichia coli for Production of 2-Methyl-3-buten-2-ol: A Potential Biofuel

2-Methyl-3-buten-2-ol (MBO) is a natural volatile 5-carbon alcohol produced by several pine species that have the potential to be used as biofuel. MBO has a high energy content making it superior to ethanol in terms of energy output, and due to its volatility and lower solubility in water, MBO is easier to recover than ethanol. Pine’s MBO synthase enzyme utilizes the intermediate dimethylallyl pyrophosphate (DMAPP) produced by the methyl-erythritol-4-phosphate isoprenoid pathway for the production of MBO. In this study, we performed metabolic engineering of Escherichia coli to express an alternate mevalonate dependent pathway for production of DMAPP, along with a codon optimized Pinus sabiniana MBO synthase gene. This heterologous expressed pathway carried out the conversion of an acetyl CoA precursor to DMAPP leading to production of MBO.     

Digeranyl bisphosphonate inhibits geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate synthase

A primary cellular target of the clinical nitrogenous bisphosphonates is the isoprenoid biosynthetic pathway. Specifically these drugs inhibit the enzyme farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase and deplete cells of larger isoprenoids. Inhibition of this enzyme results in impaired processing of both farnesylated and geranylgeranylated proteins. We recently showed that isoprenoid-containing bisphosphonates such as digeranyl bisphosphonate inhibit protein geranylgeranylation and not farnesylation. Here, we show that this impairment results from potent and specific inhibition of geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate synthase, which leads to enhanced depletion of intracellular geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate relative to the nitrogenous bisphosphonate zoledronate.     

Carotenoid-based phenotypic screen of the yeast deletion collection reveals new genes with roles in isoprenoid production

Beside their essential cellular functions, isoprenoids have value as pharmaceuticals, nutriceuticals, pesticides, and fuel alternatives. Engineering microorganisms for production of isoprenoids is relatively easy, sustainable, and cost effective in comparison to chemical synthesis or extraction from natural producers. We introduced genes encoding carotenoid biosynthetic enzymes into the haploid yeast deletion collection to identify gene deletions that improved isoprenoid production. Deletions that showed significant improvement in carotenoid production were further screened for production of bisabolene, an isoprenoid alternative to petroleum-derived diesel. Combining those deletions with other mevalonate pathway modifications increased production of bisabolene from 40 mg/L to 800 mg/L in shake-flask cultures. In a fermentation process, this engineered strain produced 5.2 g/L of bisabolene.     

Engineered isoprenoid pathway enhances astaxanthin production in Escherichia coli

The isoprenoid pathway is a versatile biosynthetic network leading to over 23,000 compounds. Similar to other biosynthetic pathways, the production of isoprenoids in microorganisms is controlled by the supply of precursors, among other factors. To engineer a host that has the capability to supply geranylgeranyl diphosphate (GGPP), a common precursor of isoprenoids, we cloned and overexpressed isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP) isomerase (encoded by idi) from Escherichia coli and GGPP synthase (encoded by gps) from the archaebacterium Archaeoglobus fulgidus. The latter was shown to be a multifunctional enzyme converting dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP) to GGPP. These two genes and the gene cluster (crtBIYZW) of the marine bacterium Agrobacterium aurantiacum were introduced into E. coli to produce astaxanthin, an orange pigment and antioxidant. This metabolically engineered strain produces astaxanthin 50 times higher than values reported before. To determine the rate-controlling steps in GGPP production, the IDI-GPS pathway was compared with another construct containing idi, ispA (encoding farnesyl diphosphate (FPP) synthase in E. coli), and crtE (encoding GGPP synthase from Erwinia uredovora). Results show that the conversion from FPP to GGPP is the first bottleneck, followed sequentially by IPP isomerization and FPP synthesis. Removal of these bottlenecks results in an E. coli strain providing sufficient precursors for in vivo synthesis of isoprenoids.     

Isoprenoids and protein prenylation: implications in the pathogenesis and therapeutic intervention of Alzheimer’s disease

The mevalonate–isoprenoid–cholesterol biosynthesis pathway plays a key role in human health and disease. The importance of this pathway is underscored by the discovery that two major isoprenoids, farnesyl and geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate, are required to modify an array of proteins through a process known as protein prenylation, catalyzed by prenyltransferases. The lipophilic prenyl group facilitates the anchoring of proteins in cell membranes, mediating protein–protein interactions and signal transduction. Numerous essential intracellular proteins undergo prenylation, including most members of the small GTPase superfamily as well as heterotrimeric G proteins and nuclear lamins, and are involved in regulating a plethora of cellular processes and functions. Dysregulation of isoprenoids and protein prenylation is implicated in various disorders, including cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, cancers, bone diseases, infectious diseases, progeria, and neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Therefore, isoprenoids and/or prenyltransferases have emerged as attractive targets for developing therapeutic agents. Here, we provide a general overview of isoprenoid synthesis, the process of protein prenylation and the complexity of prenylated proteins, and pharmacological agents that regulate isoprenoids and protein prenylation. Recent findings that connect isoprenoids/protein prenylation with AD are summarized and potential applications of new prenylomic technologies for uncovering the role of prenylated proteins in the pathogenesis of AD are discussed.     

Balancing a heterologous mevalonate pathway for improved isoprenoid production in Escherichia coli

Engineering biosynthetic pathways in microbes for the production of complex chemicals and pharmaceuticals is an attractive alternative to chemical synthesis. However, in transferring large pathways to alternate hosts and manipulating expression levels, the native regulation of carbon flux through the pathway may be lost leading to imbalances in the pathways. Previously, Escherichia coli was engineered to produce large quantities of isoprenoids by creating a mevalonate-based isopentenyl pyrophosphate biosynthetic pathway [Martin, V.J., Pitera, D.J., Withers, S.T., Newman, J.D., Keasling, J.D., 2003. Engineering a mevalonate pathway in Escherichia coli for production of terpenoids. Nat. Biotechnol. 21, 796-802]. The strain produces high levels of isoprenoids, but upon further investigation we discovered that the accumulation of pathway intermediates limited flux and that high-level expression of the mevalonate pathway enzymes inhibited cell growth. Gene titration studies and metabolite profiling using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry linked the growth inhibition phenotype with the accumulation of the pathway intermediate 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA). Such an accumulation implies that the activity of HMG-CoA reductase was insufficient to balance flux in the engineered pathway. By modulating HMG-CoA reductase production, we eliminated the pathway bottleneck and increased mevalonate production. These results demonstrate that balancing carbon flux through the heterologous pathway is a key determinant in optimizing isoprenoid biosynthesis in microbial hosts.     

Toxoplasma gondii Relies on Both Host and Parasite Isoprenoids and Can Be Rendered Sensitive to Atorvastatin

Intracellular pathogens have complex metabolic interactions with their host cells to ensure a steady supply of energy and anabolic building blocks for rapid growth. Here we use the obligate intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii to probe this interaction for isoprenoids, abundant lipidic compounds essential to many cellular processes including signaling, trafficking, energy metabolism, and protein translation. Synthesis of precursors for isoprenoids in Apicomplexa occurs in the apicoplast and is essential. To synthesize longer isoprenoids from these precursors, T. gondii expresses a bifunctional farnesyl diphosphate/geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase (TgFPPS). In this work we construct and characterize T. gondii null mutants for this enzyme. Surprisingly, these mutants have only a mild growth phenotype and an isoprenoid composition similar to wild type parasites. However, when extracellular, the loss of the enzyme becomes phenotypically apparent. This strongly suggests that intracellular parasite salvage FPP and/or geranylgeranyl diphosphate (GGPP) from the host. We test this hypothesis using inhibitors of host cell isoprenoid synthesis. Mammals use the mevalonate pathway, which is susceptible to statins. We document strong synergy between statin treatment and pharmacological or genetic interference with the parasite isoprenoid pathway. Mice can be cured with atorvastatin (Lipitor) from a lethal infection with the TgFPPs mutant. We propose a double-hit strategy combining inhibitors of host and parasite pathways as a novel therapeutic approach against Apicomplexan parasites.     

Cell free biosynthesis of isoprenoids from isopentenol

Cell-free systems are growing in importance for the biosynthesis of complex molecules. These systems combine the precision of traditional chemistry with the versatility of biology in creating superior overall processes. Recently, a new synthetic pathway for the biosynthesis of isoprenoids using the substrate isopentenol, dubbed the isopentenol utilization pathway (IUP), was demonstrated to be a promising alternative to the native 2C-methyl-d -erythritol-4-phosphate (MEP) and mevalonate (MVA) pathways. This simplified pathway, which contains a minimum of four enzymes to produce basic monoterpenes and only depends on ATP and isopentenol as substrates, allows for a highly flexible approach to the commercial synthesis of isoprenoid products. In this work, we use metabolic reconstitution to characterize this new pathway in vitro and demonstrate its use for the cell-free synthesis of mono-, sesquit-, and diterpenoids. Kinetic modeling and sensitivity analysis were also used to identify the most significant parameters for taxadiene productivity, and metabolic control analysis was employed to elucidate protein-level interactions within this pathway, which demonstrated that the IUP enzymatic system is primarily controlled by the concentration and kinetics of choline kinase (CK) and not regulated by any pathway intermediates. This is a significant advantage over the natural MEP or MVA pathways as it greatly simplifies future metabolic engineering efforts, both in vitro and in vivo, aiming at improving the kinetics of CK. Finally, we used the insights gathered to demonstrate an in vitro IUP system that can produce 220 mg/L of the diterpene taxadiene, in 9 hr, almost 3-fold faster than any system reported thus far.     

Increased Carotenoid Production by the Food Yeast Candida utilis through Metabolic Engineering of the Isoprenoid Pathway

The yeast Candida utilis does not possess an endogenous biochemical pathway for the synthesis of carotenoids. The central isoprenoid pathway concerned with the synthesis of prenyl lipids is present in C. utilis and active in the biosynthesis of ergosterol. In our previous study, we showed that the introduction of exogenous carotenoid genes, crtE, crtB, and crtI, responsible for the formation of lycopene from the precursor farnesyl pyrophosphate, results in the C. utilis strain that yields lycopene at 1.1 mg per g (dry weight) of cells (Y. Miura, K. Kondo, T. Saito, H. Shimada, P. D. Fraser, and N. Misawa, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 64:1226–1229, 1998). Through metabolic engineering of the isoprenoid pathway, a sevenfold increase in the yield of lycopene has been achieved. The influential steps in the pathway that were manipulated were 3-hydroxy methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase, encoded by the HMG gene, and squalene synthase, encoded by the ERG9 gene. Strains overexpressing the C. utilis HMG-CoA reductase yielded lycopene at 2.1 mg/g (dry weight) of cells. Expression of the HMG-CoA catalytic domain alone gave 4.3 mg/g (dry weight) of cells; disruption of the ERG9 gene had no significant effect, but a combination of ERG9 gene disruption and the overexpression of the HMG catalytic domain yielded lycopene at 7.8 mg/g (dry weight) of cells. The findings of this study illustrate how modifications in related biochemical pathways can be utilized to enhance the production of commercially desirable compounds such as carotenoids.     

Enhanced flux through the methylerythritol 4-phosphate pathway in Arabidopsis plants overexpressing deoxyxylulose 5-phosphate reductoisomerase

The methylerythritol 4-phosphate (MEP) pathway synthesizes the precursors for an astonishing diversity of plastid isoprenoids, including the major photosynthetic pigments chlorophylls and carotenoids. Since the identification of the first two enzymes of the pathway, deoxyxylulose 5-phoshate (DXP) synthase (DXS) and DXP reductoisomerase (DXR), they both were proposed as potential control points. Increased DXS activity has been shown to up-regulate the production of plastid isoprenoids in all systems tested, but the relative contribution of DXR to the supply of isoprenoid precursors is less clear. In this work, we have generated transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants with altered DXS and DXR enzyme levels, as estimated from their resistance to clomazone and fosmidomycin, respectively. The down-regulation of DXR resulted in variegation, reduced pigmentation and defects in chloroplast development, whereas DXR-overexpressing lines showed an increased accumulation of MEP- derived plastid isoprenoids such as chlorophylls, carotenoids, and taxadiene in transgenic plants engineered to produce this non-native isoprenoid. Changes in DXR levels in transgenic plants did not result in changes in␣DXS gene expression or enzyme accumulation, confirming that the observed effects on plastid isoprenoid levels in DXR-overexpressing lines were not an indirect consequence of altering DXS levels. The results indicate that the biosynthesis of MEP (the first committed intermediate of the pathway) limits the production of downstream isoprenoids in Arabidopsis chloroplasts, supporting a role for DXR in the control of the metabolic flux through the MEP pathway.     

Genetic evidence for the role of isopentenyl diphosphate isomerases in the mevalonate pathway and plant development in Arabidopsis

Isopentenyl/dimethylallyl diphosphate isomerase (IPI) catalyzes the interconversion of isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP) and dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP), which are the universal C(5) units of isoprenoids. In plants, IPP and DMAPP are synthesized via the cytosolic mevalonate (MVA) and plastidic methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathways, respectively. However, the role of IPI in each pathway and in plant development is unknown due to a lack of genetic studies using IPI-defective mutants. Here, we show that the atipi1atipi2 double mutant, which is defective in two Arabidopsis IPI isozymes, exhibits dwarfism and male sterility under long-day conditions and decreased pigmentation under continuous light, whereas the atipi1 and atipi2 single mutants are phenotypically normal. We also show that the sterol and ubiquinone levels in the double mutant are <50% of those in wild-type plants, and that the male-sterile phenotype is chemically complemented by squalene, a sterol precursor. In vivo isotope labeling experiments using the atipi1atipi2 double mutant revealed a decrease in the incorporation of MVA (in its lactone form) into sterols, with no decrease in the incorporation of MEP pathway intermediates into tocopherol. These results demonstrate a critical role for IPI in isoprenoid biosynthesis via the MVA pathway, and they imply that IPI is essential for the maintenance of appropriate levels of IPP and DMAPP in different subcellular compartments in plants.     

Isoprenoids,small GTPases and Alzheimer's disease

The mevalonate pathway is a crucial metabolic pathway for most eukaryotic cells. Cholesterol is a highly recognized product of this pathway but growing interest is being given to the synthesis and functions of isoprenoids. Isoprenoids are a complex class of biologically active lipids including for example, dolichol, ubiquinone, farnesylpyrophosphate (FPP) and geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate (GGPP). Early work had shown that the long-chain isoprenoid dolichol is decreased but that dolichyl phosphate and ubiquinone are elevated in brains of Alzheimer′s disease (AD) patients. Until recently, levels of their biological active precursors FPP and GGPP were unknown. These short-chain isoprenoids are critical in the post-translational modification of certain proteins which function as molecular switches in numerous signaling pathways. The major protein families belong to the superfamily of small GTPases, consisting of roughly 150 members. Recent experimental evidence indicated that members of the small GTPases are involved in AD pathogenesis and stimulated interest in the role of FPP and GGPP in protein prenylation and cell function. A straightforward prediction derived from those studies was that FPP and GGPP levels would be elevated in AD brains as compared with normal neurological controls. For the first time, recent evidence shows significantly elevated levels of FPP and GGPP in human AD brain tissue. Cholesterol levels did not differ between AD and control samples. One obvious conclusion is that homeostasis of FPP and GGPP but not of cholesterol is specifically targeted in AD. Since prenylation of small GTPases by FPP or GGPP is indispensable for their proper function we are proposing that these two isoprenoids are up-regulated in AD resulting in an over abundance of certain prenylated proteins which contributes to neuronal dysfunction.     

Statistical Experimental Design Guided Optimization of a One-Pot Biphasic Multienzyme Total Synthesis of Amorpha-4,11-diene

In vitro synthesis of chemicals and pharmaceuticals using enzymes is of considerable interest as these biocatalysts facilitate a wide variety of reactions under mild conditions with excellent regio-, chemo- and stereoselectivities. A significant challenge in a multi-enzymatic reaction is the need to optimize the various steps involved simultaneously so as to obtain high-yield of a product. In this study, statistical experimental design was used to guide the optimization of a total synthesis of amorpha-4,11-diene (AD) using multienzymes in the mevalonate pathway. A combinatorial approach guided by Taguchi orthogonal array design identified the local optimum enzymatic activity ratio for Erg12:Erg8:Erg19:Idi:IspA to be 100∶100∶1∶25∶5, with a constant concentration of amorpha-4,11-diene synthase (Ads, 100 mg/L). The model also identified an unexpected inhibitory effect of farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase (IspA), where the activity was negatively correlated with AD yield. This was due to the precipitation of farnesyl pyrophosphate (FPP), the product of IspA. Response surface methodology was then used to optimize IspA and Ads activities simultaneously so as to minimize the accumulation of FPP and the result showed that Ads to be a critical factor. By increasing the concentration of Ads, a complete conversion (∼100%) of mevalonic acid (MVA) to AD was achieved. Monovalent ions and pH were effective means of enhancing the specific Ads activity and specific AD yield significantly. The results from this study represent the first in vitro reconstitution of the mevalonate pathway for the production of an isoprenoid and the approaches developed herein may be used to produce other isopentenyl pyrophosphate (IPP)/dimethylallyl pyrophosphate (DMAPP) based products.