text: The basic building blocks of carotenoids are isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP) and dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP). These two isoprene isomers are used to create various compounds depending on the biological pathway used to synthesize the isomers. Plants are known to use two different pathways for IPP production: the cytosolic mevalonic acid pathway (MVA) and the plastidic methylerythritol 4-phosphate (MEP). In animals, the production of cholesterol starts by creating IPP and DMAPP using the MVA. For carotenoid production plants use MEP to generate IPP and DMAPP. The MEP pathway results in a 5:1 mixture of IPP:DMAPP. IPP and DMAPP undergo several reactions, resulting in the major carotenoid precursor, geranylgeranyl diphosphate (GGPP). GGPP can be converted into carotenes or xanthophylls by undergoing a number of different steps within the carotenoid biosynthetic pathway.