Abstract
Studies with purified chloroplasts of L. polyphyllus Lindl. leaflets indicate that the first 2 enzymes of quinolizidine alkaloid biosynthesis, lysine decarboxylase and 17-oxosparteine synthase, are localized in the chloroplast stroma. Both enzymes share the same subcellular compartment as the biosynthetic pathway of lysine, the precursor of quinolizidine alkaloids. The activity of diaminopimelate decarboxylase, the final enzyme in lysine biosynthesis, is .apprx. 2-3 orders of magnitude higher than that of the enzymes of alkaloid formation.