Abstract
The biosynthesis of natural rubber, Z-polyisoprene, is reviewed in the light of the recent elucidation of its detailed chemical structure. Natural rubber is homologous with a group of the polyprenols. The identity of the putative rubber transferase isolated from Hevea latex serum and guayule tissue as well as the published assay for rubber transferase are questioned. A rationale is proposed for the initiation of rubber particles. Factors influencing rubber formation in plants are addressed and a suggestion is made that the genes for rubber transferase are expressed not as a direct result of environmental factors but as a result of the production of photosynthate in excess of normal metabolic requirements; natural rubber probably represents a metabolic «overspill».
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