Cotton plants were transformed with an antisense construct of cdn1-Cl, a member of a complex gene family of delta-(+)cadinene (CDN) synthase. This synthase catalyzes the cyclization of (E,E)-farnesyl diphosphate to form CDN, and in cotton, it occupies the committed step in the biosynthesis of
Recombinant (+)-δ-cadinene synthase (DCS) from Gossypium arboreum catalyzes the metal-dependent cyclization of (E,E)-farnesyl diphosphate (FDP) to the cadinane sesquiterpene δ-cadinene, the parent hydrocarbon of cotton phytoalexins such as gossypol. In contrast to some other sesquiterpene cyclases,