KOBE, Japan—Sumitomo Rubber Industries has succeeded in elucidation and functional modification of cis-prenyltransferase (NDPS1)—an achievement that is claimed to advance the synthetic production of natural rubber.
Found in tomatoes, NDPS1 is an enzyme involved in the formation of terpenes—isoprene compounds that serve as the precursors for many substances found in plants—as well as the biosynthesis of natural rubber.