This enzyme belongs to the family of lyases, specifically those carbon-oxygen lyases acting on phosphates. The systematic name of this enzyme class is geranylgeranyl-diphosphate diphosphate-lyase (cyclizing, taxa-4,11-diene-forming). Other names in common use include geranylgeranyl-diphosphate diphosphate-lyase (cyclizing, and taxadiene-forming). This enzyme participates in diterpenoid biosynthesis.

References

Croteau R; Hezari, M; Zajicek, J; Vogel, BS; Lafever, RE; Lewis, NG; Croteau, R (1995). "Cyclization of geranylgeranyl diphosphate to taxa-4(5),11(12)-diene is the committed step of taxol biosynthesis in Pacific yew". J. Biol. Chem. 270 (15): 8686–90. doi:10.1074/jbc.270.15.8686. PMID 7721772.
Hezari M, Lewis NG, Croteau R (1995). "Purification and characterization of taxa-4(5),11(12)-diene synthase from Pacific yew (Taxus brevifolia) that catalyzes the first committed step of taxol biosynthesis". Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 322 (2): 437–44. doi:10.1006/abbi.1995.1486. PMID 7574719.
Lin X, Hezari M, Koepp AE, Floss HG, Croteau R (1996). "Mechanism of taxadiene synthase, a diterpene cyclase that catalyzes the first step of taxol biosynthesis in Pacific yew". Biochemistry. 35 (9): 2968–77. doi:10.1021/bi9526239. PMID 8608134.
Hezari M, Ketchum RE, Gibson DM, Croteau R (1997). "Taxol production and taxadiene synthase activity in Taxus canadensis cell suspension cultures". Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 337 (2): 185–90. doi:10.1006/abbi.1996.9772. PMID 9016812.
Coates RM, Williams RM, Croteau R (2000). "Intramolecular proton transfer in the cyclization of geranylgeranyl diphosphate to the taxadiene precursor of taxol catalyzed by recombinant taxadiene synthase". Chem. Biol. 7 (12): 969–77. doi:10.1016/S1074-5521(00)00046-6. PMID 11137819.

v t e Carbon–oxygen lyases (EC 4.2) (primarily dehydratases)
4.2.1: Hydro-Lyases	Carbonic anhydrase Fumarase Aconitase Enolase Alpha Enolase 2 Enoyl-CoA hydratase/3-Hydroxyacyl ACP dehydrase Methylglutaconyl-CoA hydratase Tryptophan synthase Cystathionine beta synthase Porphobilinogen synthase 3-Isopropylmalate dehydratase Urocanase Uroporphyrinogen III synthase Nitrile hydratase
4.2.2: Acting on polysaccharides	Hyaluronate lyase Pectin lyase
4.2.3: Acting on phosphates	Threonine synthase
4.2.99: Other	Carboxymethyloxysuccinate lyase Hydroperoxide lyase

v t e Enzymes
Activity	Active site Binding site Catalytic triad Oxyanion hole Enzyme promiscuity Diffusion-limited enzyme Cofactor Enzyme catalysis
Regulation	Allosteric regulation Cooperativity Enzyme inhibitor Enzyme activator
Classification	EC number Enzyme superfamily Enzyme family List of enzymes
Kinetics	Enzyme kinetics Eadie–Hofstee diagram Hanes–Woolf plot Lineweaver–Burk plot Michaelis–Menten kinetics
Types	EC1 Oxidoreductases (list) EC2 Transferases (list) EC3 Hydrolases (list) EC4 Lyases (list) EC5 Isomerases (list) EC6 Ligases (list) EC7 Translocases (list)