PLENARY SPEAKER-Unraveling the Mystery of Natural Rubber Biosynthesis

Despite great advances in modern chemistry and materials science, natural rubber (cis-1,4-polyisoprene) remains irreplaceable in many applications with properties that cannot be matched by any synthetic materials. Natural rubber is produced by many plants, with Hevea brasiliensis (the Brazilian rubber tree) being the most important commercial source. After ten years of research by an international team, supported by NSF, Goodyear, USDA and CNRS France, we report that natural rubber can be produced in vitro from synthetic isoprene monomer in the presence of Hevea brasiliensis. The formation of new rubber is demonstrated by high resolution size exclusion chromatography, gravimetry and in situ Raman monitoring. ¹³C NMR verifies the presence of exclusively cis-1,4-polyisoprene in the new rubber. This discovery, which we term a "bioemulative" process, has broad implications in terpenoid biosynthesis, one of the most pervasive reactions in nature.