Abstract
VARIOUS reports1–3 have indicated that the biosynthesis of 6-methylsalicylic acid (2,6-cresotic acid; 6-MSA) may be patterned after fatty acids, involving the condensation of one acetyl and three malonyl derivatives (presumably derivatives of coenzyme A or of a protein analogous to the acyl carrier protein4 in E. coli). Bu'Lock and Ryan5 and later Tanenbaum and Bassett6 showed that 6-MSA is metabolized by Penicillium patulum to form patulin and possibly other compounds as well. These compounds, which have been designated secondary metabolites7, have no apparent function in the organism. While the formation of 6-MSA is limited to a few species, the phenomenon of secondary metabolite formation is widespread in micro-organisms.
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ARIHOOD, S., LIGHT, R. Inhibition of 6-Methylsalicylic Acid Synthesis in Penicillium patulum. Nature 210, 629–630 (1966). https://doi.org/10.1038/210629a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/210629a0
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