Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Biological chemistry

Just add chlorine

Nature volume 436, pages 1094–1095 (2005)Cite this article

Nature provides lessons about developing ‘green chemistry’ in seemingly out-of-the-way places. One such lesson comes from an enzymatic step in the production of a leaf toxin by a bacterium.

As they describe on page 1191 of this issue1, a group of researchers led by Christopher Walsh has identified how chlorine is attached enzymatically to an intermediate during the formation of a natural product. This is not surprising in itself — the significance lies in the unreactive nature of the carbon centre concerned.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Get just this article for as long as you need it

$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Chlorine in natural-product synthesis.
Figure 2: Chlorinating unreactive organic compounds.

References

  1. Vaillancourt, F. H., Yeh, E., Vosburg, D. A., O'Connor, S. E. & Walsh, C. T. Nature 436, 1191–1194 (2005).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Hausinger, R. P. Crit. Rev. Biochem. Mol. Biol. 39, 21–68 (2004).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Yeh, E., Garneau, S. & Walsh, C. T. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 102, 3960–3965 (2005).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Vaillancourt, F. H., Yin, J. & Walsh, C. T. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 102, 10111–10116 (2005).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, 94305-5025, California, USA

    Nathan A. Schnarr & Chaitan Khosla

Authors
  1. Nathan A. Schnarr
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Chaitan Khosla
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Schnarr, N., Khosla, C. Just add chlorine. Nature 436, 1094–1095 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/4361094a

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/4361094a

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing