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Biochemistry

The surprising history of an antioxidant

Nature volume 551, pages 37–38 (2017)Cite this article

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What came first: oxygen-producing photosynthesis, or compounds that protect cells from oxygen-induced damage? It emerges that one such compound might have been produced in microbes before Earth's oxygenation.

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Figure 1: Biosynthetic pathways to ergothioneine.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, 78712, Texas, USA

    Mark W. Ruszczycky

  2. Department of Chemistry, University of Texas, Austin

    Hung-wen Liu

Authors
  1. Mark W. Ruszczycky
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  2. Hung-wen Liu
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Correspondence to Mark W. Ruszczycky.

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Ruszczycky, M., Liu, Hw. The surprising history of an antioxidant. Nature 551, 37–38 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/551037a

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