Biosynthetic pathways for secondary metabolites usually make many products, not just one. In this Commentary, we consider why molecular promiscuity might be an evolutionarily advantageous feature of these pathways.
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Acknowledgements
We dedicate this paper to A.I. Scott for his pioneering efforts in natural product biosynthesis. We thank C. Walsh for helpful discussions. J.C. is supported by US National Institutes of Health grants CA59021 and CA24487, and M.A.F. is supported by a fellowship from the Hertz Foundation.
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Fischbach, M., Clardy, J. One pathway, many products. Nat Chem Biol 3, 353–355 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nchembio0707-353
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nchembio0707-353
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