Enzyme-assisted preparation of isotope-labeled 1-deoxy-D-xylulose 5-phosphate

Recombinant l-deoxy-D-xylulose 5-phosphate synthase of Bacillus subtilis was used for the preparation of isotope-labeled 1-deoxy-D-xylulose 5-phosphate using isotope-labeled glucose and/ or isotope-labeled pyruvate as starting materials. The simple one-pot methods described afford almost every conceivable isotopomer of l-deoxy-rt-xylulose 5-phosphate carrying C-13 Or C-14 from commercially available precursors with an overall yield around 50%.