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Biosynthesis

Not just passing through

Nature Chemistry volume 2, pages 805–807 (2010)Cite this article

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Identifying the genes responsible for each step of a natural product biosynthesis has allowed the synthesis to be 'hijacked' to make bioactive compounds, and reveals that some suspected transporter enzymes could have other important roles in fungal defence systems.

Combinations of a few basic reactions can join together a limited set of starting materials to construct the stunning structural diversity found in the small molecules known as natural products1. These molecules have challenged and entertained chemists since the origins of modern chemistry, and they also form the basis for many of our most successful and effective therapeutic agents. In spite of their extensive history, natural products can still surprise.

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Figure 1: The biosynthesis of pyripyropene A and some related bioactive compounds.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jason M. Crawford and Jon Clardy are in the Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.,

    Jason M. Crawford & Jon Clardy

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  1. Jason M. Crawford
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  2. Jon Clardy
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Correspondence to Jon Clardy.

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Crawford, J., Clardy, J. Not just passing through. Nature Chem 2, 805–807 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nchem.848

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nchem.848

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