Chlorophyll synthase

In enzymology, chlorophyll synthase is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction


 * chlorophyllide a + phytyl diphosphate $$\rightleftharpoons$$ chlorophyll a + diphosphate

The two substrates of this enzyme are chlorophyllide a and phytyl diphosphate; its two products are chlorophyll a and diphosphate. The same enzyme can act on chlorophyllide b to form chlorophyll b and similarly for chlorophyll d and f.

This enzyme belongs to the family of transferases, specifically those transferring aryl or alkyl groups other than methyl groups. The systematic name of this enzyme class is chlorophyllide-a:phytyl-diphosphate phytyltransferase. This reaction is the final step of the complete biosynthetic pathway to chlorophylls from glutamic acid.