Abstract
THE monopyrrole porphobilinogen (PBG; Fig. 1) is polymerized and cyclized to uroporphyrinogen III (Fig. 2) in the early stages of the biosynthesis of the haems, chlorophylls and bile pigments1,2. It is relatively easy to visualize the condensation of four PBG molecules to give uroporphyrinogen I (Fig. 2), the only other uroporphyrinogen isomer found in nature. The topological problems posed by the formation of the III isomer through PBG condensation have led to several hypotheses about the reaction sequence3–5, none of which seem to be completely in accord with all the available evidence1,2,6. This report is concerned with a new hypothesis about this reaction sequence which has been deduced from a study of molecular models of presumed intermediates.
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DALTON, J., DOUGHERTY, R. Formation of the Macrocyclic Ring in Tetrapyrrole Biosynthesis. Nature 223, 1151–1153 (1969). https://doi.org/10.1038/2231151a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/2231151a0
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