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On the Cover: 3-Methylcrotonyl-CoA carboxylase (MCCase) is a mitochondrial biotin-containing enzyme whose metabolic function is not well understood in plants. Anderson et al. (pp. 1127-1138) used radiotracer studies to demonstrate that plants catabolize Leu via a MCCase-dependent mitochondrial pathway (red arrows), as well as a previously described MCCase-independent peroxisomal pathway. The last three steps of the mitochondrial Leu catabolism may also be common to two elements of the isoprenoid metabolism, catabolism of geranoyl-CoA and the mevalonate shunt. The central position of MCCase in Leu and isoprenoid metabolism (yellow arrows), as well as the numerous fates of the ultimate product, acetyl-CoA (blue arrows), illustrates the potential importance of MCCase in regulating the carbon flux among these pathways. The photomicrograph of Arabidopsis was provided by Ms. Beth Fatland.
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